JP2008077181A - Equipment maintenance system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an equipment maintenance system further reducing cost as a whole than before, automatically ordering parts for repair, and notifying whether or not equipment normally operates after repair. <P>SOLUTION: This equipment maintenance system is provided with: a monitoring means 12 for introducing a monitor program from a management device 40 to an equipment controller 10 based on a unique identification code attached to every housing equipment and recording monitor data 11a in a recording medium 11; a defective site specification means 13 for specifying a defective site by deleting the monitor program, and introducing a defect specification program from the management device 40 to the equipment controller 10; a repair preparation means 14 for transmitting parts information for repair to a manufacturer 50 or a selling undertaker, and for transmitting work request information to a repair shop 60; and a confirmation notification means 15 for introducing an operation confirmation program for confirming the operation of the housing equipment from the management device 40 to the equipment controller 10 and determining and notifying whether it normally operates according to confirmation data 11c. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a device maintenance system that includes a management device and a device control device configured to be communicable and performs maintenance of housing equipment.

Conventionally, after connecting an assessment client to a water heater or the like so as to be able to communicate, an example of a technique for reading usage history information by an assessment program provided in the assessment client or identifying a faulty part by a diagnostic program is disclosed. (See, for example, Patent Document 1).
JP 2002-149865 A

However, in the technique of Patent Document 1, it is necessary to store all programs such as an assessment program and a diagnostic program in the assessment client. Since a storage device capable of storing these programs is required, the cost is high.
Even if the failed part can be identified, a part for repair must be ordered from the manufacturer. Furthermore, even if it was possible to confirm whether or not the water heater or the like normally operates immediately after repair, it was not known whether or not it was operating normally after that.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and while keeping the overall cost lower than before, it is possible to automatically order parts for repair and to notify whether or not it will operate normally after repair. An object is to provide an equipment maintenance system.

(1) Means for solving the problem (hereinafter simply referred to as “solution means”) 1 includes a management device and a device control device configured to be communicable, and performs equipment maintenance for maintenance of house equipment. A system,
Based on a unique identification code assigned to each housing equipment, a monitoring program for monitoring the housing equipment is introduced from the management device to the equipment control device, and monitoring data obtained by executing the monitoring program is obtained. Monitoring means for recording on a recording medium;
Upon receiving a failure signal from the housing equipment, the monitoring program is deleted, a failure identification program for monitoring the failure of the household equipment is introduced from the management device to the equipment control device, and the failure identification program is executed. A failure part specifying means for specifying a failure part based on the obtained state data and the monitoring data recorded on the recording medium;
Repair preparation for transmitting part information necessary for repairing the faulty part specified by the faulty part specifying means to the manufacturer or distributor, and sending work request information for repairing the faulty part to the repairer Means,
Upon completion of repair of the failed part and receiving a completion signal, the failure identification program is deleted, an operation confirmation program for confirming the operation of the house equipment is introduced from the management device to the device control device, and the operation The gist of the present invention is to include confirmation notifying means for determining whether or not the operation is normal according to the confirmation data obtained by executing the confirmation program.

  “Housing equipment” corresponds to, for example, a water heater, a stove, a floor heater, an air conditioner, a lighting fixture, and a bathroom unit. “Seller” includes wholesalers.

  According to the solution means 1, the monitoring means introduces a monitoring program into the equipment control apparatus, the failure part identification means introduces a failure identification program into the equipment control apparatus, and the confirmation notification means introduces an operation confirmation program into the equipment control apparatus. . In other words, only necessary programs are introduced into the device control device, and not only the program but also the data area required for each program is reduced, so that the capacity of the storage device required for the device control device can be reduced, resulting in lower costs. Can do. Further, since the repair preparation means transmits the part information to the manufacturer or distributor, it is possible to automatically place an order. Furthermore, since the confirmation notification means determines and notifies whether or not the house equipment after repair is operating normally, it can be determined whether or not it is operating normally after repair (especially after the repairer leaves).

(2) The solution means 2 is the equipment maintenance system described in the solution means 1, and the repair preparation means transmits the parts information to a plurality of manufacturers or distributors, respectively, and the manufacturer or the sales person presenting the cheapest parts price. The main point is to place an order with a supplier.

  According to the solution 2, since the repair can be performed using the cheapest parts for repair, the repair cost can be kept low.

(3) The solution means 3 is the equipment maintenance system described in the solution means 1 or 2, and the repair preparation means transmits the work request information to a plurality of repair companies and presents the cheapest work price. The main point is to place an order.

  According to the solution 3, since it is possible to place an order with a repairer who has presented the cheapest work price, the work cost can be kept low.

(4) Solution means 4 is the equipment maintenance system described in any one of solution means 1 to 3, and the confirmation notification means performs repair if it is determined that the home equipment after repair is not operating normally. The gist is to send rework request information for re-repair to a repair company.

  According to the solution means 4, the confirmation notification means automatically transmits the rework request information and repairs the re-repair when the home equipment that has been operating normally immediately after the repair stops operating normally after that. Request (or place an order) from the supplier. Therefore, it is possible to respond quickly to re-repair without receiving a notification of failure from the user of the housing equipment.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to keep the overall cost lower than before, to automatically order parts for repair, and to notify whether or not it normally operates after repair.

  The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram schematically showing a configuration example of the equipment maintenance system. The device maintenance system includes a device control device 10 and a management device 40 configured to be communicable with each other via a network N.

  The device control apparatus 10 is also called a “server” and includes a terminal device 20 and controls one or a plurality of housing equipment through the communication means 16 described later. Housing equipment is installed indoors and can be controlled by transmitting signals (regardless of analog or digital types; the same shall apply hereinafter). For example, a hot water heater 30, a stove 31, a floor heater 32, an air conditioner 33, a lighting fixture 34, a bathroom unit 35, a fuel cell, an electromagnetic cooker, and the like are applicable. Although FIG. 1 shows an example in which one device is connected for simplicity, there are cases where two or more devices of the same type are connected.

  The device control apparatus 10 includes a recording medium 11, a monitoring unit 12, a failure site specifying unit 13, a confirmation notification unit 15, a communication unit 16, and the like. At least the monitoring unit 12, the failure part specifying unit 13, and the confirmation notifying unit 15 each realize a function by the CPU executing a program stored in the ROM or the like.

  The recording medium 11 corresponds to, for example, a memory or a disk recording device, and records monitoring data 11a, verification data 11b, confirmation data 11c, and the like. The monitoring data 11a is state data obtained by monitoring the housing equipment by executing the monitoring program. The verification data 11b is state data obtained by monitoring a failure of the house equipment by executing the failure specifying program. The confirmation data 11c is state data obtained by monitoring the housing equipment by executing the operation confirmation program. In addition, a program area 11d for storing any one of the monitoring program, the failure identification program, and the operation check program is provided.

  The monitoring unit 12 acquires a unique identification code given to each house equipment, and introduces a monitoring program from the management device 40 to the program area 11d through the network N and the communication unit 16 based on the ID information. The monitoring data 11a obtained by executing is recorded on the recording medium 11. The “unique identification code” is so-called ID information or the like, and is stored in a ROM or the like in the house equipment.

  When receiving the failure signal from the housing equipment, the failure part specifying means 13 deletes the monitoring program stored in the program area 11 d and transfers the failure specifying program from the management device 40 to the program area 11 d through the network N and the communication means 16. The failure part is specified based on the verification data 11b obtained by executing the failure specifying program and the monitoring data 11a recorded on the recording medium 11.

  The repair preparation means 14 transmits part information (for example, part name, part number, model number, etc.) necessary for repairing the failure part specified by the failure part specification means 13 to the manufacturer 50 and repairs the failure part. Work request information to be sent is sent to the repairer 60.

  When the confirmation notifying means 15 finishes repairing the failed part and receives the completion signal, the confirmation notifying means 15 deletes the failure specifying program from the program area 11 d and introduces the operation confirmation program from the management device 40 to the program area 11 d through the network N and the communication means 16. Then, according to the confirmation data 11c obtained by executing the operation confirmation program, the operation of the home equipment is confirmed to determine whether the operation is normal or not, and the terminal device 20 (specifically, the display unit 21) is notified.

  The terminal device 20 includes a display unit 21, an operation unit 22, and the like. For example, a liquid crystal display, a plasma display, or the like is used as the display unit 21 and displays whether or not the operation is normal. The operation unit 22 uses a keyboard or the like, and instructs to start a program. Both the manufacturer 50 and the repair shop 60 can communicate through the network N.

  The management device 40 is also called a “center device”, and manages one or more device control devices 10 and other control devices through the network N. In this example, the management device 40 includes the repair preparation means 14 and the like. This repair preparation means 14 implement | achieves a function, when CPU runs the program memorize | stored in ROM.

  An example of control for performing maintenance of house equipment in the device control device 10 and the management device 40 configured as described above will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3. The device maintenance process shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 is continuously executed through the connector A, and is repeatedly executed while the power of the device control apparatus 10 and the management apparatus 40 is on. In this example, steps S10 to S16 and S22 to S27 are executed by the device control apparatus 10, and steps S17 to S21 and S28 are executed by the management apparatus 40. In addition, in order to simplify description, the hot water heater 30 (gas apparatus) is demonstrated to an example among the housing equipment apparatuses connected in multiple numbers.

  In the equipment maintenance process of FIG. 2, first, ID information is read from the water heater 30 connected to the equipment control apparatus 10 and recorded in the recording medium 11 [step S10]. The ID information is a unique identification code assigned to each water heater 30 (except for the same model), and it is desirable to record the ID information of the house equipment connected to the device control apparatus 10 as an ID table.

  Based on the ID information read in step S10, a monitoring program is introduced from the management device 40 into the program area 11d through the network N and the communication means 16 [step S11]. Specifically, ID information and program information (in this example, monitoring program information) are transmitted from the device control apparatus 10 to the management apparatus 40, and the management apparatus 40 transmits a monitoring program corresponding to the ID information to the apparatus control apparatus 10. To do.

  The monitoring program recorded (introduced) in the recording medium 11 is executed [step S12]. The monitoring program monitors the water heater 30 to obtain normal state data, and records the data in the recording medium 11 as monitoring data 11a. The data such as the monitoring data 11a and the verification data 11b recorded on the recording medium 11 is desirably displayed on the display unit 21 or the like. The monitoring program is executed until a failure occurs in the water heater 30 (NO in step S13).

  FIG. 4 shows the signal flow in steps S10 to S12 described above. For example, the device control device 10 and the water heater 30 are installed in the house H, and the ID information is transmitted from the water heater 30 not only to the device control device 10 but also to the management device 40, and the device control device 10 has only a monitoring program. Instead, the monitoring data is recorded on the recording medium 11. In FIG. 4 and FIGS. 5 and 6 to be described later, the same elements as those shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 (including procedures) are denoted by the same reference numerals, and some of the elements (for example, the network N) are The display is omitted.

  Returning to FIG. 2, if a failure occurs in the water heater 30 during execution of the monitoring program, a failure signal or the like is received from the water heater 30 (YES in step S13). In response to this signal, the monitoring program recorded in the program area 11d is deleted [step S14], and a failure identification program is introduced from the management device 40 into the program area 11d through the network N and the communication means 16 based on the ID information. [Step S15], the introduced failure identification program is executed [Step S16]. The failure identification program identifies a failure site based on the verification data 11b. That is, since the monitoring data 11a and the verification data 11b are the same state data of the water heater 30, the contents of the data are almost the same (that is, within the allowable error range) if there is no failure. Therefore, the failure part is specified by the contents of the verification data 11b that is out of the allowable error range with the monitoring data 11a as a reference.

The management device 40 that has received the faulty part specified by the execution of the fault specifying program creates repair part information [step S17]. For example, a repair information table associating the failed part with the part data is prepared in the water heater 30 (or the device control device 10 or the management apparatus 40), and part information is created using the part data corresponding to the failed part. To do. The component information thus created is transmitted to the manufacturer 50 through the communication means 16 and the network N [Step S18]. The manufacturer 50 that has received the order sends the repair parts to a repair agent 60 described later.
In the case of transmission to a plurality of manufacturers 50, it is desirable to transmit ordering information to place an order with the manufacturer 50 that presented the cheapest part price [step S19].

  Moving to FIG. 3, work request information for requesting repair work is transmitted to the repair shop 60 through the communication means 16 and the network N [step S20]. If the failure part and part information are transmitted together, the repairer 60 can easily make a repair prospect. In the case of transmission to a plurality of repair shops 60, it is desirable to send ordering information to place an order with the repair shop 60 that presented the cheapest work price [step S21].

  FIG. 5 shows the signal flow in steps S13 to S21 described above. For example, the device control apparatus 10 transmits the failure part to the management apparatus 40, and the management apparatus 40 transmits individual information to the manufacturer 50 and the repair shop 60. The manufacturer 50 that received the order sends the repair parts to the repairer 60, and the repairer 60 repairs the water heater 30.

  Returning to FIG. 3, when the repair of the water heater 30 by the repairer 60 is completed (YES in step S <b> 22), signals can be transmitted to and received from the water heater 30. At this time, the failure identification program recorded in the program area 11d is deleted [step S23], and an operation check program is introduced from the management device 40 to the program area 11d through the network N and the communication means 16 based on the ID information [ Step S24], the introduced operation check program is executed [Step S25]. It is desirable that the operation confirmation program confirms the operation of the water heater 30 according to the confirmation data 11c obtained by monitoring the water heater 30, determines whether or not the water heater 30 is operating normally, and notifies the determination result on the display unit 21 or the like. . By this notification, the state of the water heater 30 after repair can be easily grasped.

  If a failure occurs again in the water heater 30 during execution of the operation check program, a failure signal or the like is received from the water heater 30 (YES in step S27), and is transmitted to the management device 40. The management device 40 that has received the failure signal or the like transmits rework request information to the repairer 60 in order to perform repair again (Step S28), and ends the equipment maintenance process. In addition, it is desirable to send rework request information to the repair shop 60 requested in steps S20 and S21 in that repair can be promptly handled.

  On the other hand, when a predetermined period (for example, one week, one month, etc.) has elapsed since the execution of the operation check program (YES in step S26), the device maintenance process is completed assuming that a failure has not occurred again.

  The signal flow in steps S22 to S28 is shown in FIG. For example, a failure signal is transmitted from the water heater 30 to the device control device 10, and the device control device 10 further transmits a failure signal to the management device 40. The management device 40 transmits re-repair information to the repair company 60, and the repair company 60 re-repairs the water heater 30.

According to the embodiment described above, the following effects can be obtained.
(1) The monitoring unit 12 introduces a monitoring program into the device control apparatus 10 (see step S11 in FIG. 2), and the failure site identification unit 13 introduces a failure identification program into the device control apparatus 10 (step S15 in FIG. 2). The confirmation notification unit 15 is configured to introduce the operation confirmation program into the device control apparatus 10 (see step S24 in FIG. 3). In other words, only the necessary program is introduced into the device control apparatus 10, and the data area required for each program as well as the program is reduced, so that the recording capacity (storage capacity) of the recording medium 11 required for the device control apparatus 10 can be reduced. As a result, the cost can be kept low. In addition, since the repair preparation means 14 transmits the part information to the manufacturer 50 in response to the occurrence of the failure (see steps S13 and S18 in FIG. 2), it is possible to automatically place an order. Furthermore, since the confirmation notification means 15 determines and notifies whether or not the hot water heater 30 after repair is operating normally (see step S25 in FIG. 3), it is normal after repair (especially after the repairer 60 has left). You can see if it works.

(2) The repair preparation means 14 transmits the part information to each of the plurality of manufacturers 50 and places an order with the manufacturer 50 that presented the cheapest part price (see step S19 in FIG. 2). Since repair can be performed using the cheapest parts for repair, the repair cost can be kept low.

(3) The repair preparation means 14 transmits work request information to each of a plurality of repair shops 60 and places an order with the repair shop 60 that presents the cheapest work price (see step S21 in FIG. 3). Since it is possible to place an order with the repair shop 60 that presents the cheapest work price, the work cost can be kept low.

(4) When the water heater 30 that has been operating normally immediately after the repair stops operating normally after the repair, the confirmation notifying unit 15 automatically transmits rework request information to the repairer 60 for the repair. (See steps S27 and S28 in FIG. 2). Therefore, it is possible to respond quickly to re-repair without receiving a failure notification from the user of the water heater 30.

[Other Embodiments]
Although the best mode for carrying out the present invention has been described above according to the embodiment, the present invention is not limited to the embodiment. In other words, the present invention can be implemented in various forms without departing from the gist of the present invention. For example, the following forms may be realized.

(1) In embodiment mentioned above, the apparatus maintenance process was demonstrated to the example of the hot water heater 30 among housing equipment apparatuses (refer FIG. 2, FIG. 3). Instead of (or in addition to) this form, the equipment maintenance process can be applied in parallel to other housing equipment (that is, the stove 31, the floor heater 32, etc. shown in FIG. 1).

(2) In the above-described embodiment, house equipment (that is, a hot water heater 30, a stove 31, a floor heater 32, etc.) is applied as a device that can be controlled from the device control apparatus 10 (see FIG. 1). Instead of (or in addition to) this form, it can be similarly applied to other devices that can be controlled from the device control device 10 such as sensor terminals and home appliances. , Security sensors and the like, and home appliances include televisions, videos, refrigerators, microwave ovens, stereo devices, and the like.

(3) In the above-described embodiment, the repair preparation means 14 is provided in the management device 40 (see FIG. 1), but may be provided in the device control device 10 (the two-dot chain line shown in FIG. reference). That is, by transmitting information directly from the device control apparatus 10 to the manufacturer 50 and the repair shop 60, it is possible to reduce the time lag until repair is performed.

(4) In the above-described embodiment, the monitoring program, the failure identification program, and the operation confirmation program are each automatically executed (see FIGS. 2 and 3), but the operation unit provided in the terminal device 20 You may comprise so that operation of 22 may be performed on condition. In this way, the operator can perform a required operation such as inspection of house equipment while monitoring the data displayed on the display unit 21.

It is a figure which represents the outline | summary of this invention typically. It is a flowchart showing an apparatus maintenance process process. It is a flowchart following FIG. It is a figure explaining the flow of a signal. It is a figure explaining the flow of a signal. It is a figure explaining the flow of a signal.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Device control apparatus 11 Recording medium 11a Monitoring data 11b Verification data 11c Confirmation data 11d Program area 12 Monitoring means 13 Failure part identification means 14 Repair preparation means 15 Confirmation notification means 16 Communication means 20 Terminal device 21 Display part 22 Operation part 30 Water heater (Housing equipment)
31 Stove (housing equipment)
32 Floor heater (household equipment)
33 Air conditioner (Housing equipment)
34 Lighting equipment (household equipment)
35 Bathroom unit (household equipment)
40 Management device 50 Manufacturer 60 Repairer N Network

Claims (4)

It has a management device and a device control device configured to be communicable, and is a device maintenance system that performs maintenance of housing equipment,
Based on a unique identification code assigned to each housing equipment, a monitoring program for monitoring the housing equipment is introduced from the management device to the equipment control device, and monitoring data obtained by executing the monitoring program is obtained. Monitoring means for recording on a recording medium;
Upon receiving a failure signal from the housing equipment, the monitoring program is deleted, a failure identification program for monitoring the failure of the household equipment is introduced from the management device to the equipment control device, and the failure identification program is executed. A failure part specifying means for specifying a failure part based on the obtained state data and the monitoring data recorded on the recording medium;
Repair preparation for transmitting part information necessary for repairing the faulty part specified by the faulty part specifying means to the manufacturer or distributor, and sending work request information for repairing the faulty part to the repairer Means,
Upon completion of repair of the failed part and receiving a completion signal, the failure identification program is deleted, an operation confirmation program for confirming the operation of the house equipment is introduced from the management device to the device control device, and the operation A device maintenance system comprising confirmation notifying means for determining whether or not normal operation is performed according to confirmation data obtained by executing a confirmation program. The equipment maintenance system according to claim 1,
The repair preparation means is an equipment maintenance system that transmits part information to a plurality of manufacturers or distributors and places an order to the manufacturer or distributor that presents the cheapest part price. An equipment maintenance system according to claim 1 or 2,
The repair preparation means is an equipment maintenance system that sends work request information to a plurality of repair companies, and places an order with the repair company that presents the cheapest work price. It is an equipment maintenance system given in any 1 paragraph of Claims 1-3,
The confirmation notifying means is a device maintenance system for transmitting rework request information for re-repairing to a repairer who has repaired the housing equipment after the repair is determined not to operate normally.

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