JPH08178278A - Repairing method and repair supporting apparatus for gas apparatus or the like - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide a method for repairing a gas apparatus, etc., in which the repair of high reliability is conducted in a short time. CONSTITUTION: A repairman operates a tester 3 connected to a hand-held computer 1 to acquire the operation data of a gas apparatus 2 to the computer 1 by operating the tester 3. The computer 1 decides an operation instruction necessary for diagnosing and repairing a fault based on the acquired data and various data regarding the operation of the apparatus 2 and displays it on a display unit 1a. Accordingly, the repairman can effectively repair based on the displayed information, and the repair of higher reliability and shorter time than those of prior art can be performed.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a repair method and a repair support apparatus for smoothly repairing gas equipment and the like, and more particularly to a repair method and repair support apparatus for gas equipment using a portable computer. .

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, when a gas device or the like has a failure and is to be repaired, a repair worker is required to go to the site and make a repair based on the information etc. from the repair requester. Many. FIG. 3 shows the concept of such a conventional repair method, and hereinafter, the conventional repair method will be described in more detail with reference to FIG.

That is, at the request of the customer, the repair worker goes to the site where the defective gas equipment 2 is located, collects information from the customer about the operating conditions and the failure condition at the site, and the repair worker himself / herself. In addition to obtaining the information visually, the operation data of the gas equipment 2 which is determined to be necessary is collected using the tester 10 brought by the user.

Further, depending on the type of gas equipment 2, when a failure occurs, an error code indicating a failure state is given to the gas equipment 2
Some remote controls (not shown) are designed to send automatically,
The repair worker confirms the error code using the remote control on site or the remote control brought with him.

Then, the repair worker decides the cause of the failure and necessary measures based on the various information obtained as described above and the brought-in technical data, and carries out the repair work. .

[0006]

However, in the above-mentioned repair method, the quality of the repair result often depends on the quality of information from the customer and the skill level of the repair worker, which may cause a repair error. Therefore, there is a problem that reliable repair cannot be secured. Further, since it takes a relatively long repair time, the repair cost tends to be expensive.

Further, even if the device has a function of transmitting an error code or the like to the remote control,
Some of the remote controls are so-called optional items, so they are not always provided with the equipment for which repairs have been requested. It is necessary to carry the control and go to the site, and there is a problem that the number of mobile devices increases and the mobility decreases.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and provides a repair method and a repair support device for a gas appliance or the like, which enables highly reliable repair in a short time. Another object of the present invention is to provide a repair method and a repair support device for a gas appliance or the like that can surely accumulate the latest repair information and can know the tendency of failure.

[0009]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of repairing a gas appliance or the like, wherein an operation signal of an external electric circuit or an electric component is input to the external electric circuit or the electric component. Inputting data related to the operation of gas equipment requiring repair to a portable handheld computer that has an input / output function that can output a control signal by using a portable storage element and can capture desired data by mounting a portable storage element. It is designed for use in repairs by obtaining fault diagnosis and work instructions.

A repair support device according to a second aspect of the present invention is a repair support device using a portable computer, wherein the portable computer inputs an operation signal of an external electric circuit and an electric component. , An input / output unit that outputs a control signal to the external electric circuit and the electric component, a sensor that detects current consumption in the gas device, and an instruction to input a test signal to the external electric circuit and the electric component In addition, it is provided with a tester unit for sending an operation signal to the computer, and a storage element that can store and read data relating to the operation and failure of the external electric circuits and electric components and that can be read out. .

[0011]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, it is possible to accurately determine at the repair site based on the failure data of the gas equipment obtained by using the portable computer and the various data of the gas equipment stored in the portable storage element. Therefore, it is possible to obtain various diagnoses and work instructions. Therefore, the ratio of the repair worker depending on the skill is reduced, and highly reliable repair can be performed.

In the present invention, it is preferable to provide a current sensor for detecting the current flowing into the gas equipment. That is, the current detected by the current sensor is read into the CPU, and while determining the sequence operation of the gas equipment, it is possible to determine what failure mode and operating state the current value has. When the failure mode is specified, the parts or the like expected to fail in the failure mode are specified,
These results will be displayed.

Since the device provided with the electric circuit and the electric parts sequentially operates the electric parts according to the sequence, the inflow current value is different for each sequence. Further, the current flowing into the device provided with the electric circuit and the electric component is different between the normal operation and the failure, and also the failure is different depending on the failure state. Therefore, if the inflow current to the device according to each failure state or operating state is known in advance, when measuring the current to the device, it is possible to compare the current with the current data that is known in advance. It is possible to judge a failure.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the tester section of the portable computer constituting the repair support device provides:
A test signal can be input to an external electric circuit and an electric component, or an operating current (voltage) signal of the external electric circuit and an electric component can be taken into a computer, and this test signal is input and tested. A response signal to the signal is sent via the input / output unit, and based on the input response signal and various databases read from the storage element, failure diagnosis and work instructions can be obtained, and it is possible to obtain a proper work site at the repair site. It will be possible to perform various tasks.

[0015]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of a repair method for a gas appliance and the like and a repair support device according to the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. Here, FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing a configuration example of a repair support device used for executing a method for repairing gas equipment and the like in the present embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a repair procedure in the present embodiment. The members, arrangements, and the like described below do not limit the present invention and can be variously modified within the scope of the gist of the present invention.

The method of repairing a gas appliance or the like in this embodiment is carried out by using a repair support device that uses a handheld computer which is a portable computer. The handheld computer 1 has, for example, a keyboard, a display unit 1a, and the like and is formed in a large size of a notebook, and is itself a general one having a known and well-known configuration. The handheld computer 1 is provided with an input / output unit 1b capable of inputting a signal from a desired measurement point of the gas device 2 to be repaired and, conversely, outputting a test signal for operation determination, The gas device 2 can be connected via the input / output unit 1b.

Further, the handheld computer 1 has
A tester 3 for generating a test signal or the like for testing the gas equipment 2, generating an operation command and capturing an operation signal is connected, and the signal from the tester 3 is once captured by the handheld computer 1, A necessary signal is output from the input / output unit 1b of the handheld computer 1 according to the operating condition of the gas device 2.

Further, the handheld computer 1 is
A portable storage element (which may be a floppy disk or the like) that stores various data relating to repair, which is called an IC card 4, is detachably attached. In addition, while the power plug 2a of the gas device 2 is connected, the power device itself is inserted into an outlet (not shown) of a commercial power source, and the gas device 2 is connected to the gas device 2 by using, for example, a current transformer. A current sensor 5 capable of detecting an inflowing current is connected to the handheld computer 1 so that the usage current of the gas device 2 can be analyzed.

The repair procedure in this configuration will be described with reference to the flow chart shown in FIG. It should be noted that the computer issues instructions for all that the repairman must operate in the following series of operations (eg, turning on the switch, attaching the tester to a predetermined component, opening the faucet). First, after receiving the repair from the customer, the repair worker goes to the site and connects the input / output unit 1b of the handheld computer 1 with the electric circuit of the gas device 2 and a predetermined terminal of the electric component board, and also the current sensor 5 The power plug 2a of the gas device 2 is connected to an outlet (not shown) of a commercial power source via the. Further, the IC card 4 is attached to the handheld computer 1 (step 100 in FIG. 2,
102).

Next, the handheld computer 1 is activated, and an identification (ID) number preset in the gas equipment 2 to be repaired is entered from a keyboard (not shown), so that the gas equipment is stored in the IC card 4. Two
Related data, and also the failure history is read from the gas equipment to be repaired (steps 104, 106, 10 in FIG.
8).

In order to reproduce the operation of the gas equipment 2 immediately before the occurrence of the failure, based on the past failure history,
A reproduction test is performed (110). When the result of the reproduction test is input to the handheld computer 1 through the current sensor or the substrate of the gas equipment, the handheld computer 1 determines the cause of the failure and identifies the cause of the failure (in step 112 of FIG. 2, " (YES), the process proceeds to step 128.

On the other hand, when the cause of the failure cannot be identified by the diagnosis of the handheld computer 1 (step 1 in FIG. 2).
12) in the case of "NO"), the handheld computer checks the board (electrical board) 2b provided with the electric circuit and electric parts in the gas device 2, and inputs the check result to the handheld computer 1 to input the electric board. The cause of the failure is identified (step 11 in FIG. 2).
4).

If the cause of failure can be identified by the diagnosis of the handheld computer 1 (in the case of "YES" in step 116 of FIG. 2), the process proceeds to step 128 of FIG. 2 described later, while the cause of failure cannot be identified. In that case (in the case of “NO” in step 116 of FIG. 2), each electric component is checked as a single unit and the failure of the electric component is checked (step 118 of FIG. 2). By inputting the check result to the handheld computer 1 in the same manner as described above, the cause of failure occurring in each electric component unit by the handheld computer 1 is specified.

In the following steps, a repairman operates the tester 3 according to an instruction from the handheld computer, if necessary. When the cause of the failure is identified (in the case of “YES” in step 120 of FIG. 2)
If the cause of the failure is not specified, the process proceeds to step 128 of FIG. 2 described later (step 12 of FIG. 2).
In the case of “NO” in 0), the operation sequence of the gas equipment 2 as a whole is checked, and as a result, the handheld computer 1 identifies the cause of failure caused by mutual influence of electric parts in the sequence. (Step 122 in FIG. 2).

If the cause of failure can be identified ("YES" in step 124 of FIG. 2), the process proceeds to step 128 of FIG. 2 described later, while if the cause of failure cannot be identified (see FIG. 2). In step 124, “N
In the case of “O”), the wiring and the like in the gas device 2 are checked in detail (step 126 in FIG. 2).

Then, the check result is input to the handheld computer 1 to identify the cause of failure. In step 128, repair work is performed (step 128 in FIG. 2) based on the cause of failure and the necessary work instruction obtained by the handheld computer 1, and then a completion test is performed (step 130 in FIG. 2). .

The completion test is carried out by collecting the test results using the tester 3 as needed by the communication of the current sensor or 1b-2b, and the series of work contents related to the repair including the test results is automatically performed. It is stored in the handheld computer 1. Further, when the repair worker performs the gas device 2 by himself or herself, the test result is saved by inputting the test result into the handheld computer 1 from a keyboard (not shown) (see FIG. 2). Step 132).

This completes the work at the repair site. After that, the handheld computer 1 is carried to the place where the host computer is installed and connected to the host computer, so that the repair result saved at the repair site is registered in the host computer (step in FIG. 2). 134).

Further, the database regarding the operating standards and repair history of various equipment stored in the host computer is updated, and the failure tendency is judged based on the failure information obtained from the handheld computer 1,
The judgment result is provided for future failure diagnosis and is also stored for future development of equipment with a low failure rate (step 1 in FIG. 2).
36, 138).

[0030]

As described above, according to the first and second aspects.
According to the described invention, since a failure diagnosis is performed using a computer and a work instruction is obtained, unlike the conventional case, it hardly depends on the skill of a repair worker, and therefore highly reliable repair is possible. In addition, the work time required for repair can be shortened.

According to the second aspect of the invention, since it is composed of a portable computer, it becomes a lightweight and compact device and is convenient to carry, which in turn contributes to the establishment of a highly mobile repair system. be able to.

Further, according to the second aspect of the present invention, the repair result is accurately and surely stored at the repair site, the database of the host computer can be updated surely later, and the failure tendency It will also be possible to make judgments, and it will be possible to establish a more reliable repair system.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing a configuration example of a repair support device for executing a method for repairing gas equipment and the like according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a work procedure in a method for repairing gas equipment and the like according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram for explaining an example of a conventional repair method.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Handheld computer 2 ... Gas equipment 3 ... Tester 4 ... IC card 5 ... Current sensor

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A portable memory device having an input / output function capable of inputting operation signals of external electric circuits and electric components and outputting control signals to the external electric circuits and electric components. A portable handheld computer that can capture desired data by wearing
A method of repairing a gas appliance or the like, characterized in that a failure diagnosis and a work instruction are obtained by inputting data relating to the operation of the gas appliance requiring repair, and the repair is provided. 2. A repair support device using a portable computer, wherein the portable computer inputs an operation signal of an external electric circuit and an electric component to the external electric circuit and the electric component. An input / output unit that outputs a control signal, a sensor that detects current consumption in a gas appliance, a tester unit that sends an operation signal to a computer while instructing input of a test signal to the external electric circuit and electric parts. A repair support device comprising: a storage element that is capable of storing and reading data related to operations and failures of the external electric circuits and electric parts and that can be mounted.