JP2002041137A - Operating machine and method and system for controlling operation of the machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To sharply reduce facility costs for communication and a communication fee in a system for collecting and controlling the operation information of plural operating machines in a base station. SOLUTION: The operation information of plural operating machines is detected by slave devices 1... mounted on respective working machines, and the operation information is collected through mutual transmitting and receiving parts 9 and 10 to a master device 1a which is also used as a slave device, and the information is transmitted from the master device 1a by mutual transmitting and receiving parts 11 and 12 through a communication satellite 2 to a base station 3.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a work machine such as a hydraulic shovel provided with an operation management device, a work machine operation management method for managing the operation state of a plurality of work machines, and a system thereof.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a large-scale construction work site, a plurality of main work machines such as a hydraulic excavator and peripheral work machines such as a generator and a compressor are arranged, and a large number of work machines are scattered throughout the site. It is difficult for a machine rental company or a construction company to grasp and manage operation information such as the start / end of operation, the operation time, and the remaining fuel amount.

Accordingly, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-76505, an operation management device is mounted on each work machine, and operation information of each machine is transmitted from each operation management device to a base using a communication satellite. A system for sending to a station and centrally managing at a base station has been proposed.

[0004]

However, in this known system, the operation information is separately transmitted to the base station for each operation management device (work machine).
Since expensive equipment for base station communication is required for each device, the equipment cost is high. In addition, since a basic fee is set for each communication facility, there is a problem that the communication fee is extremely high because the number of machines × the basic fee is required at a minimum.

Accordingly, the present invention provides a work machine and a work machine operation management system capable of greatly reducing communication equipment costs and communication charges in a system for collecting and managing operation information of a plurality of work machines in a base station. Methods and systems are provided.

[0006]

The invention (working machine) according to claim 1 is provided with an operation management device. The operation management device includes operation information detection means for detecting operation information of the machine, and a plurality of work machines. And a base unit communication means for performing communication including transmission of the operation information with a base unit that relays the operation information of the base unit to the base station.

According to a second aspect of the present invention (work machine), an operation management device is mounted, and the operation management device is mounted on operation information detecting means for detecting operation information of the machine and on a plurality of other work machines. Remote unit communication means for performing communication including reception of operation information with a slave unit which is an operation management device, and communication method for base station with communication including transmission of operation information of all machines with a base station Is provided.

According to a third aspect of the present invention (work machine operation management method), the operation information of a plurality of work machines is transmitted from a slave unit, which is an operation management device mounted on each work machine, to a master unit as an information relay station. And transmits the data from the master unit to the base station via a communication medium such as a communication satellite.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the method of the third aspect, a specific slave unit is also used as a master unit, and operation information of the master unit also serving as the slave unit and other slave units is transmitted to the base station. is there.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a work machine operation management system comprising a slave unit as an operation management device mounted on a plurality of work machines, a master unit as an information relay station, and a base station. Each of the slave units includes an operation information detection unit for detecting operation information of each of the slave units, and a communication unit for master unit for communicating with the master unit including transmission of the operation information detected by the operation information detection unit. Is provided, the master unit includes a slave unit communication means for communicating with each slave unit including reception of the operation information transmitted from each work machine, and the operating information received from each slave unit. Communication means for communicating with a base station via a communication medium such as a communication satellite including the transmission of the base station.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the configuration of the fifth aspect, a specific slave unit also serves as a master unit, and the master unit also serving as the slave unit is provided with a slave unit communication unit and a base station communication unit. It is a thing.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the configuration of the fifth or sixth aspect, a simple wireless device is used as a communication device for the parent device of each child device and a communication device for the child device of the parent device.

According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the configuration of any one of the fifth to seventh aspects, a presence notification signal is issued from each child device to the master device, and when the presence notification signal is interrupted, the master device transmits the presence notification signal to the base device. The station is configured to be signaled that the work machine is absent.

As described above, the operation information of the operation management device (slave unit) mounted on each work machine is collected in the master unit and transmitted from the master unit to the base station via a communication medium such as a communication satellite. The communication means for the base station may be provided only in the master unit. For this reason, the communication equipment cost and communication fee can be significantly reduced as compared with the case where the communication with the base station is performed for each work machine (each operation management device).

In particular, according to the second, fourth and sixth aspects of the present invention, a specific slave unit is also used as a master unit. Costs can be reduced.

According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, since a simple wireless device is used as the communication means for the parent device and the communication device for the child device of each of the child devices, the communication equipment is inexpensive and no license is required. But it can be handled easily.

According to the configuration of claim 8, when the presence notification signal from the slave unit is interrupted due to theft or distress of the work machine, the absence of the slave unit (work machine) is reported to the base station and grasped. You. For this reason, it is possible to promptly arrange for the police and the like. In addition, theft can be prevented by establishing such a system.

[0018]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a basic configuration of the operation information management system.

In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes an operation management device mounted on a plurality of working machines (for example, a plurality of hydraulic excavators and a generator and a compressor provided for each excavator), one of which is an operation management device 1a. Are wirelessly connected to other devices (slave units) 1 as master units, and operation information of each slave unit 1... And operation information of master unit 1a are transmitted from base unit 1a to base station 3 via communication satellite 2. Can be

FIG. 2 shows each of the slave units 1 and the master unit 1a and the base station 3.
Shows the contents of the configuration.

A controller 4 is provided in each of the slave units 1... And a master unit 1a. A signal from a key switch 5 for starting and stopping the engine. A signal from an alternator 6 for generating power during engine operation. A signal from an hour meter 7 that operates at times is sent to a controller 4 from a fuel sensor 8 that detects the remaining fuel amount.

The engine operation time (operating time) is detected by the hour meter signal at the time when the engine is started and stopped by the key switch signal and the alternator signal, and the remaining amount of fuel is detected by the fuel sensor signal. Is done.

The controller 4 has means for storing / updating machine operation information based on these signals and reading out the information as appropriate. The operation information of each slave unit 1... Is transmitted from the controller 4 to the master unit 1 a. Machine transmission / reception unit (communication means for parent machine) 9,
It is sent via the child device transmitting / receiving section (child device communication means) 10.

In this case, during operation, the slaves 1...
Operation information may always be sent to the main unit 1a.
May send an information request signal to the slave units 1 at a constant period, and in response to this, the slave units 1... May send operation information to the master unit 1a.

As the transmitter / receiver unit 9 for the parent device and the transmitter / receiver unit 10 for the child device, a low power simple wireless device (general simple wireless device, personal wireless device, etc.) that does not require a wireless license and can be used by anyone. used.

The base station 1a is provided with a base station transmission / reception section (base station communication means) 11 as equipment not provided in the base station 1 and transmits operation information of the base station 1a itself and transmission from each base station 1. The obtained operation information is transmitted from the transmission / reception unit for base station 11 to the transmission / reception unit for parent machine 3 of the base station 3 via the communication satellite 2 together with the identification signal for each machine.

In this case, as in the case of the exchange of information between the slaves 1 and the master 1a, the master 1a is in operation.
The base station 3 may always transmit the operation information to the base station 3, or the base station 3 may transmit an information request signal to the base unit 1 a at regular intervals, and in response thereto, the base unit 1 a may transmit the operation information to the base station 3. You may send it.

The base station 3 has a control unit 13 for processing, processing, organizing, storing / updating the machine operation information received by the main unit transmission / reception unit 12, and a display for displaying the operation information on a CRT or the like. A unit 14, a printer 15 for printing out, and an input unit 16 for inputting necessary information and commands to the control unit 13 by a keyboard or the like are provided.

As described above, since the operation information of each work machine (slave unit 1 and master unit 1a) is collected in the master unit 1a and sent from the master unit 1a to the base station 3 in a concentrated manner, the operation information is provided for each machine. Compared with the case of transmitting to the base station 3 separately, the use of only one transceiver unit 11 for the base station and the communication charge for this one unit greatly reduce both the equipment cost and the communication cost. Can be.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 3, the master unit 1a (transmitter / receiver unit 10) transmits each of the slave units 1 ... (transmitter / receiver unit 9).
, An existence confirmation signal is issued at regular intervals (for example, one hour) (step S1), and each child device 1... Sends a presence notification signal as a response to the parent device 1a (step S1).
It is configured as 2).

The presence confirmation signal and the presence notification signal arrive when both are within the communication distance of the simple wireless device. However, when the slave 1 is out of the transmission / reception distance due to theft or distress, a response (presence notification) is made. Signal) will be interrupted.

When the response is interrupted (NO in step S3), the remote transceiver 10 of the parent device 1a transmits the signal to the remote transceiver 12 of the base station 3 from the remote transceiver 11 of the base station 3. A signal notifying the absence of a machine is sent together with the identification signal of the machine concerned (step S4), and the absence of a specific machine is immediately reported to the base station 3 and grasped by this signal.

Therefore, particularly when the machine is stolen, it is possible to promptly arrange for the police or the like. In addition, theft can be prevented by establishing such a system.

It should be noted that base station 3 periodically issues a presence confirmation signal (a confirmation signal as to whether or not it is within the communication range) to base unit 1a, and base station 3 responds to the presence check signal. It is configured to emit a notification signal, whereby the base station 3 can grasp and deal with the theft or distress of the base unit 1a similarly to the slave units 1.

By the way, as a communication medium between the base unit 1a and the base station 3, a public communication facility other than a communication satellite (a wireless telephone network such as a mobile phone or a PHS) may be used. In addition, master unit 1
As the communication medium between a and the slaves 1..., the above-mentioned wireless telephone network may be used instead of the simple wireless device, or a wired communication means may be used when the distance is short.

On the other hand, in the above embodiment, the specific slave unit 1a is also used as the master unit, but a master unit dedicated to information relay may be provided separately from the work machine.

[0038]

As described above, according to the present invention, the operation information of the operation management device (slave unit) mounted on each work machine is collected in the master unit, and the master unit communicates with the base station via a communication satellite or the like. Since transmission is performed via a medium, the communication means with the base station may be provided only in the master unit.

For this reason, each work machine (each operation management device)
The communication equipment cost and communication fee can be significantly reduced as compared with the case where the communication with the base station is performed every time.

In particular, according to the invention of claims 2, 4, and 6, wherein a specific slave unit is also used as the master unit, the equipment cost and the management cost can be reduced as compared with the case where facilities dedicated to the master unit are separately installed. Can be.

According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, since a simple wireless device is used as communication means for each working machine with respect to the parent machine and communication means with respect to the master machine, the communication equipment is inexpensive, and anyone can use it without a license. Easy to handle.

On the other hand, according to the invention of claim 8, when the presence notification signal from the slave unit is interrupted due to the theft or distress of the work machine, the absence of the slave unit (work machine) is reported to the base station, Be grasped. For this reason, it is possible to promptly arrange for the police and the like. In addition, theft can be prevented by establishing such a system.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a basic configuration of an operation information management system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the configuration of each slave unit, master unit, and base station in the system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of this system.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 slave unit 1a master unit also serving as slave unit 5 key switch as operation information detecting means 6 alternator 7 hour meter 8 fuel sensor 9 transmitter / receiver unit for parent unit (communication means for parent unit) 10 transmitter / receiver unit for parent unit (Mechanical communication means) 11 transmitter / receiver unit for base station (communication means for base station) 2 communication satellite as communication medium 3 base station 12 transmitter / receiver unit for base unit as communication means for base unit

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) H04Q 9/00 311 H04Q 9/00 311J F term (Reference) 5B049 BB07 CC21 CC34 DD00 FF02 FF03 FF04 GG03 GG04 GG07 GG09 5H223 AA17 DD07 DD09 EE06 5K048 BA21 DB01 DC01 DC07 EB12 HA01 HA02 HA03 5K067 AA32 AA34 AA41 BB04 DD17 DD23 DD24 DD30 EE03 EE06 EE07 EE10 EE22 EE35 GG02 5K101 KK13 LL01

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. An operation management device, comprising: an operation information detection means for detecting operation information of a machine; and a master unit for relaying operation information of a plurality of work machines to a base station for relaying the operation information. A work machine comprising: a parent machine communication unit that performs communication including transmission of operation information between the master machine and the master machine. 2. An operation management apparatus, comprising: an operation information detection unit for detecting operation information of a machine; and a slave unit, which is an operation management apparatus mounted on a plurality of other work machines. And a base station communication unit for performing communication including transmission of operation information of all machines between the base station and the base station. Work machine. 3. Operation information of a plurality of work machines is collected from a slave unit, which is an operation management device mounted on each work machine, to a master unit as an information relay station, and the communication satellite is transmitted from the master unit to the base station. The operation management method of a working machine, wherein the operation management method is transmitted via a communication medium such as 4. The operation of a work machine according to claim 3, wherein a specific slave unit is also used as a master unit, and operation information of the master unit also serving as the slave unit and other slave units is transmitted to the base station. Management method. 5. A slave unit as an operation management device mounted on a plurality of work machines, a master unit as an information relay station, and a base station, and each of the slave units detects respective operation information. Operating information detecting means for performing communication with the master unit including transmission of the operating information detected by the operating information detecting means. A communication device for the slave unit that communicates with each slave unit including reception of operation information transmitted from the machine, and a communication satellite between the base station and the base station including transmission of operation information received from each slave unit. And a base station communication means for performing communication via a communication medium such as the above. 6. The work according to claim 5, wherein a specific slave unit also serves as a master unit, and the slave unit also serves as a slave unit communication means and a base station communication means. Machine operation management system. 7. The operation management system for a working machine according to claim 5, wherein a simple wireless device is used as a communication device between the child device and the parent device and a communication device between the parent device and the child device. . 8. A configuration in which each child device outputs a presence notification signal to the parent device, and when the presence notification signal is interrupted, a signal notifying the absence of the work machine is transmitted from the parent device to the base station. The operation management system for a working machine according to any one of claims 5 to 7, wherein: