JP2002244707A - Machine maintenance control system and method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To perform maintenance and inspection for a machine tool or an NC working control machine at a proper time without delay. SOLUTION: A machine 1 to be maintained and a computer 5 for maintenance are connected so as to perform two-way communication via the Internet 4. The computer 5 for maintenance is connected with a machine shipment recording data base 7, a machine component data base 6 and a parts information data base 8. Working time data is supplied from the machine 1 to be maintained to the computer 5 for maintenance. By using the data and information in each data base 6, 7 and 8, the computer 5 for maintenance is capable of suggesting the inspection time to each machine 1 to be maintained.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a system for connecting a machine to be inspected and a computer for maintenance via a network such as the Internet to perform maintenance and consumable checks of the machine.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In many equipment machines, it is required to perform maintenance and inspection periodically and irregularly after a certain period of time after installation and installation, and to perform function check and replacement inspection of consumable parts from the viewpoint of preventive maintenance. Machine control device 1 in FIG.
Reference numeral 0 denotes an example of a control device for controlling the machine tool, that is, a so-called numerical control device, and its operation will be outlined below.

An NC program 101 created by a known technique is read by a main controller 11 in a machine control device 10 and interpreted. The motion control information of each axis obtained as a result of the program interpretation is sent to the NC command unit 150, where a movement command / speed command for each servo control cycle is generated. The movement command / speed command data for each servo control cycle is sent to the axis control unit 160. The axis control unit 160 forms a feedback loop together with the axis driving motor 180 and the position detector 170 that detects the position and speed of the axis motor, and performs position control and speed control of the axis by a known control technique. The data display unit 12 in the machine control device 10 is a man-machine interface including a CRT or a liquid crystal display and its drive device, and displays all information related to the machine operation written in a video RAM (not shown).

In the machine control device 10 as described above, for example, a display device itself such as a CRT / liquid crystal display of the data display unit 12, a fluorescent lamp for securing display luminance called a backlight in the case of a liquid crystal display, and various data are transmitted. Batteries used for battery backup, etc., have a limited life and need to be replaced regularly or irregularly. Various consumables such as wipers are also used in machine tools to be controlled. The spindle unit also needs to be replaced depending on the operation time.

[0005] These miscellaneous maintenance parts and consumables should be inspected at an appropriate time by paying attention to the customer side based on various instruction manuals or by the customer's machine manufacturer or service company using a customer delivery machine management system. Maintenance is performed by issuing the guidance.

[0009] The maintenance computer 51 in FIG. 9 is managed and operated by a manufacturer or service provider of the machine for the purpose of providing maintenance service of the machine, and its function will be described below. The maintenance computer 51 is connected to the machine component database 6, the machine shipping record database 71, and the component information database 8. The machine component database 6 stores a list of parts and units constituting the machine and a machine control device mounted on the machine in units of delivered machines. Specifically, the part number of the machine manufacturer, service part number,
The part / unit part number, required quantity, part drawing, purchase unit price / sales price by the part / unit supplier are stored. The machine shipment record database 71 stores customer information (delivery installation address, person in charge), delivery date, and repair / modification history information of the machine. In particular, the date of delivery of the machine / the date of completion of installation is important from the viewpoint of maintenance. What happens
The reason for this is that the periodic inspection execution time or various maintenance parts replacement times are set based on this date. The machine delivery date / installation completion date is determined by being described in the completion report of the machine installer, and the data of this report is input to the machine shipping record database 71, whereby the maintenance computer 51 Maintenance service operation management for

[0007] The component information database 8 stores information provided by a supplier for each of the components or units constituting the machine or the machine control device 10. This includes the reliability / lifetime data of the part / unit. The reliability / lifetime data is data indicating the time and period after which the parts / units have to be inspected and replaced after the operation of the machine.

The main control unit 511 in the maintenance computer 51 connected to these databases is a database I
The machine shipment record database 71 is accessed via F570, and the machine which has reached the periodic inspection time is specified by taking the difference between the current date and the machine delivery date / installation completion date data stored in the database. For example, 3
A machine installed and delivered one day, one week, one month, three months, six months, one year, two years ago is extracted, and the model and machine number of the machine are specified. Then, using the model and machine number data, the component of the machine is specified from the machine component database 6 and the component part number is displayed on the replacement part display unit 5.
Transfer to 41. The replacement target component display unit 541 refers to the component information database 8 for each component, obtains inspection / replacement time data of the component / unit, and displays the data together with the component part number and the component name on a display device (not shown). . From these display data, the maintenance worker determines which parts need to be inspected / replaced from the delivery date / installation completion date data of the machine. The information on the parts determined by the maintenance staff is transferred by the maintenance document creation unit 551. The maintenance document creation unit 551 creates a document indicating that it is time to perform maintenance inspection or replacement of the component unit to the customer, and notify the customer by facsimile or mail (not shown).

[0009]

Various problems occur in the above-described conventional machine maintenance system according to the prior art.

First, the maintenance computer 51 determines the delivery date / installation completion date of the machine based on the machine delivery date / installation completion date data stored in the machine shipment record database 71. This original data is based on paper. This is the delivery completion report and installation work completion report. When sending and receiving paper-based data, the report itself is often lost or the input to the machine shipping record database is delayed, so that maintenance and inspection guidance immediately after delivery may be omitted.

Next, since no means for acquiring the actual machine operation time is taken and maintenance and inspection or maintenance part replacement time is assumed based on static data of machine delivery date / installation completion date, for example, one year Similar maintenance guidance can be provided for machines that are operating 24 hours a day, and for machines that have not been used at all. That is, there is a problem that unnecessary maintenance and inspection guidance is performed for a machine that has not yet reached the time of substantial maintenance and inspection or replacement of maintenance parts.

Next, in the machine maintenance system according to the prior art, it is time-consuming to create a target parts list or careless mistakes are entered because the human being makes judgments while checking the above-mentioned various data for inspection / replacement parts. Erroneous information may be created due to the

Further, when preparing a maintenance document for the customer guide from the inspection required / replacement parts list, the maintenance document for the customer guide is written in a language (for example, Japanese, English, German, etc.) used for the machine control device. When the maintenance document is created, the convenience of the customer is enhanced. However, conventionally, the service operation is often assigned to each country, and there is a problem that the description language of the maintenance document cannot be changed flexibly.

In addition, the machine is actually inspected, and inspection is required.
For the replaced part, it is determined whether or not to replace the part after checking the actual part. At this time, since the order of the part cannot be made at the place where the part was checked while being near the machine, the order must be performed once by moving from the place where the machine is installed to the place where the part can be ordered. The customer was inconvenienced.

In view of the above, the present invention provides a machine capable of real-time processing on a maintenance computer for parts and units that need to be inspected or replaced based on actual machine delivery / installation completion date or machine operation time data. It aims to provide a management system and a management method for maintenance.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a management system and a management method for displaying the machine maintenance guide corresponding to the language used for the machine control device on the machine control device online.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a parts ordering system for ordering the parts and units using the machine control device and a method therefor.

[0018]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In a machine maintenance management system including a machine to be maintained having a network connection function and a maintenance computer connected via a network, a system includes a delivery date / installation completion date of the machine to be maintained. Machine maintenance record database, which stores the component parts of the machine to be maintained, and a component information database which stores recommended replacement information for each part. Upon receiving the machine information for identifying the machine, the maintenance computer determines a replacement time of a consumable part or a maintenance part of the machine based on the machine information and information from each database. The maintenance computer is provided with replacement guide information based on the determination result of the component replacement time determination unit. And transmits to the maintenance machine.

Further, the maintenance computer receives machine operating time information from the machine to be maintained, and the component replacement time determining unit determines the consumables of the machine or maintenance component replacement time based on the machine operating time. And

Further, in a machine maintenance management system including a monitoring computer which monitors a plurality of machines to be maintained and has a network connection function and a maintenance computer connected to the monitoring computer via a network, the monitoring computer is A machine information storage unit for holding machine information for specifying the plurality of maintenance machines, and a maintenance data display unit for displaying information sent from the maintenance computer; A component replacement time determination unit that determines a replacement time of consumables or maintenance parts of the plurality of machines to be maintained based on information in the record database and the machine component database is provided.

Further, the maintenance replacement time determination process is performed in response to a processing request from the machine to be maintained when the machine is powered on.

In a machine maintenance management system including a monitoring computer having a network connection function and a monitoring computer connected to the monitoring computer via a network, the monitoring computer monitors the plurality of machines to be maintained. The latest machine information or the operating time data of a plurality of to-be-maintained machines is recorded, and the maintenance replacement time determination process is performed in response to a processing request from the monitoring computer.

Further, according to the result of the maintenance replacement time judgment,
An order screen for parts requiring replenishment is displayed on the maintenance data display section of the machine to be maintained or on the monitor screen of the monitoring computer, and when the customer places an order for the parts, the information is sent via the network to the maintenance computer. It is characterized in that it is transmitted to.

Also, using the customer information of the machine specified from the machine shipping record database, the maintenance / replacement time judgment result and the order data of the parts requiring replacement / supplement are notified to the customer by e-mail or fax. Features.

Further, the maintenance computer includes a language specifying unit for specifying a display language of the machine from the machine information of the machine and a machine shipping record database, and a maintenance system in which fixed phrases related to machine maintenance are described in a plurality of languages. A document template storage unit, and inserts various data or images of replacement / replenishment members required as necessary into a document template in a language corresponding to the specified language of the machine, and monitors the machine or the monitor. The maintenance document is sent to a computer for use.

Also, machine specific data and operating time data transferred from the machine to be inspected and transferred via the Internet are obtained, and all parts of the machine to be maintained are referenced by referring to the machine component database based on the machine specific data.・ Specify the unit, create a list of parts requiring inspection / replacement from all parts / units by referring to the parts information database based on the operation time data, and create maintenance documents for parts / units requiring inspection / replacement. And transmitting the maintenance document to the maintenance and inspection machine via the Internet.

[0027]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below.

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a first example of a machine maintenance system according to the present embodiment. In this machine maintenance system, a numerically controlled machine tool 1 installed at a customer factory is connected to the Internet 4 via a communication computer 2, and a maintenance computer 5 is connected to the Internet 4 by WWW.
It is connected via a server 3. The maintenance computer 5 is connected to a machine component database 6, a machine shipping record database 7, and a component information database 8. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration of a machine control device (numerical control device) 100 for driving and controlling the machine tool 1 in FIG. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration of the maintenance computer 5 in FIG. FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram of a modified example of the machine control device. Hereinafter, a first example of the machine maintenance system according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4 which are denoted by the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 9 showing the conventional technology are configured by the same technology as the conventional technology, and thus the description thereof will be omitted. Only description will be given.

When the machine is installed in a predetermined place and normal operation is confirmed, the delivery installation work is completed and the machine is delivered to the customer with the approval of the customer. The customer approval at this time is the same as in the past, by receiving a signature on the delivery installation work completion report, but after obtaining the customer approval, the person in charge of the delivery installation work is not shown mounted on the machine control device 100. The completion date of the delivery installation work is stored as data in the machine information storage unit 130 via the man-machine IF and the main control unit 110. In addition, the machine information storage unit 130 stores various data such as a model, a machine serial number / controller serial number specification, and the like, which specify the machine and the machine control device at the stage of shipping the machine. The maintenance data display unit 120 is for displaying the data of the maintenance document sent from the maintenance computer 5 and for displaying the order screen of the parts requiring replacement. Network IF 140
Has a known function necessary for connecting the machine control device to the communication computer 2. The main control unit 110 performs various types of data exchange with the maintenance computer 5 via the network IF 140 in addition to the functions of the conventional machine control device.

Some machine control devices have a function of actually measuring and recording the machine operation time. FIG. 4 shows an example of a machine control device having the measurement recording function. 4 is different from FIG. 3 in that an operation time recording unit 190 is newly mounted. When the control target is a machine tool, the main control unit 110 has a function of monitoring various outputs of the machine control device itself and counting the time with an operation time meter.

Here, various times of (1) machine operation power ON time, (2) spindle rotation time, and (3) NC operation time are measured at any time and stored in the operation time recording unit 190.

The maintenance computer 5 is connected to the WWW server 3 via a network IF 520 having a known function necessary for network connection, and further connected to the Internet 4. The maintenance computer 5 is connected to a machine component database 6, a machine shipment record database 7, and a component information database 8 via a database IF 570. Machine shipment record database 7
Indicates the language used for the delivery installation completion date data of the machine / machine control device or the data display of the machine control device 100 mounted on the shipped machine based on the delivery installation work completion report. The data is stored with the customer data. The used language data is read by the main control unit 510 and transferred to the language specifying unit 530. The language specifying unit specifies the language used in the machine control device, specifies the template of the maintenance fixed document in the language, that is, specifies the start address of the maintenance document template data, and outputs the maintenance document via the main control unit 510. Send to creation unit 550. The main control unit 510 supplies the part replacement time determination unit 540 with periodic inspection time data, for example, data such as three days, one week, one month, three months, half a year, one year, and two years after delivery installation. The part number data of the inspection / replacement part / unit and the delivery / installation completion date data and the operating time record data of the machine transmitted from the machine control device 100 are transferred. The part replacement time determination unit 540 uses a known method to store the part number information and the used number information of all parts and units constituting the machine and the machine control device in the machine component database 6.
And from the machine shipping record database 7. The part replacement time determination unit 540 acquires the recommended replacement time or the recommended replacement time data for the machine and all the parts constituting the machine control device from the part information database 8, and compares the data with the above-mentioned machine operation time record data. A list of inspection / replacement parts required. If the machine operation time record data is not available, a list of inspection required / replacement parts is obtained from the data on the completion date of installation of the machine sent from the main control unit 510 and part number data of replacement parts / units requiring inspection for each elapsed period after installation. create.

The maintenance document creation unit 550 receives the processing results of the parts replacement time determination unit 540,
A maintenance document is created by listing the product name, product number, mounting location, and number of each replacement part. This maintenance document is a standard document, and is converted into a national language in advance using the machine control device language such as Japanese, English, German, or the like, and stored in the maintenance document template storage unit 560. These template documents are stored as electronic files in the HTML language format. When a part order request is received from the machine control device, the maintenance document creating unit 550 collects data necessary for order processing of the part and displays the data on the maintenance data display unit 120 of the machine control device.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a maintenance / parts ordering processing procedure of the first example of the machine maintenance system according to the present embodiment configured as described above. In FIG. 7, the left side of the dotted ellipse symbol indicating the Internet indicates the operation procedure on the machine / machine control device side including the communication computer 2, and the right side of the Internet symbol indicates W
The operation procedure on the maintenance computer side including the WW server is shown.

First, when power is turned on to the machine 1 / machine control device 100, a predetermined power-on process starts (ST).
10). When the power-on processing is completed, the main control unit 110 of the machine control device 100 executes the above-described various data stored in the machine information storage unit 130 and the operation time recording unit 190 to identify the machine / machine control device and the above-described various data. The operating data is collected and transferred to the maintenance computer 5 via the Internet 4 (ST20). By this transfer process, a desired machine maintenance inspection guidance process is started on the maintenance computer side. Whether or not to perform this transfer process depends on a contract between the customer and a service provider of the machine / machine control device.

When the maintenance computer 5 receives the above machine information and the like, it reads these received data (SM
10). In the next step SM20, all parts / units constituting the machine and the machine control device are specified using the machine component database 6 by the method described above (SM30). Next, the parts / units used in the machine / machine control device that need to be inspected / replaced are specified by the method described above (SM40 and SM40).
50). Thereafter, a maintenance document is created using the machine control device language (SM60). This processing is as described above. Thereafter, the created maintenance document is transferred to the machine control device 100 via the Internet 4 (SM7).
0).

The machine control device receives this maintenance document and
(ST30), the maintenance data display section 120 displays the
The replacement time is displayed (ST40). A desired inspection is performed based on the display data and the maintenance manual. If the part or unit becomes necessary as a result of the inspection, the part order confirmation screen created by the maintenance data display unit is displayed on a display device mounted on the machine control device.
(ST50). The screen advances by pressing the order processing start icon button on the screen (ST60). Since the desired part number, unit price, and delivery date are displayed based on the data sent from the maintenance computer, the required number of desired parts fields are designated on the screen. Thereafter, when the order button on the screen is pressed, the order information is transmitted to the maintenance computer via the Internet 4 (ST70). After that, the maintenance computer 5 receives an order for the part (SM80). Further, a document for notifying the customer that the order has been received, that is, an order confirmation, is created using the machine control device language. The order confirmation is also a fixed form document, and a template document translated into various languages is stored in the maintenance document template storage unit 560, and is created using the document. The created order confirmation is sent back to the machine controller via the Internet 4 and, if necessary, sent to the customer by facsimile or electronic mail (SM90). Thereafter, the maintenance computer returns to the SM 10 and waits here.

FIGS. 5, 6 and 8 are explanatory diagrams of a second example of the machine maintenance system according to the present embodiment. Hereinafter, the second example will be described. However, FIGS. 1, 2, 3, 4, and 7 illustrating the first example of the machine maintenance system according to the present embodiment, and those having the same reference numerals as those of the related art will be described. Since the configuration is the same as that described above, description thereof will be omitted, and only different portions will be described.

FIG. 5 shows a system in which a plurality of machines are connected to one local network, and these are monitored by one monitoring computer 2. The configuration of the monitoring computer 2 is shown in FIG. 6. The functions of the main control unit 210, the maintenance data display unit 220, the machine information storage unit 230, and the machine-specific operating time information recording unit 240 in FIG. It has the same functions as the corresponding components in the machine control device shown in FIG. 4 except that it is considered to handle the machine 1 and a plurality of machine control devices 100 that control them. FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating the operation procedure of the second example of the machine maintenance system according to the present embodiment. The monitoring computer 2 communicates with each machine / mechanical device as appropriate and communicates with each machine control device 100.
The above information stored in the machine information storage unit 130 is stored in the machine information storage unit 230 and the machine-specific operating time information recording unit 240. The monitoring computer transfers the machine information to the maintenance computer via the Internet in order to perform a maintenance check on the machine group as appropriate (ST
21). This is done collectively for the desired machine.
Hereinafter, in the monitoring computer, the operation steps described with reference to FIG. 7 are processed for the plurality of machines.

The maintenance computer that has received the machine information and operating time information for the plurality of machines is the same as FIG. 7 except that the processing is repeated for each machine until all the processes for the machine group are completed.

[0041]

As described above, according to the present invention, the machine to be maintained and the computer for maintenance are connected via the Internet so as to be capable of two-way communication, and the computer for maintenance always monitors the machine to be maintained. Therefore, it is possible to provide optimal replacement or maintenance work for each part.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a first example of a machine maintenance system according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a first example of a machine control device.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a maintenance computer and connections with various databases.

FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram of a modified example of the machine control device.

FIG. 5 is a schematic configuration diagram of a second example of the machine maintenance system according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a monitoring computer.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of a first example showing maintenance replacement time determination processing and part order processing.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart of a second example showing maintenance replacement time determination processing and part order processing.

FIG. 9 is a schematic configuration diagram of a machine maintenance system according to the related art.

[Explanation of symbols]

2 Monitoring computer, 4 Internet, 5 Maintenance computer, 6 Machine component database, 7
Machine shipping record database, 8 parts information database, 100 Machine control unit, 110 Main control unit, 120
Maintenance data display, 130 Machine information storage, 140
Network IF, 150 NC command section, 160 axis control section, 170 position detector, 180 motor, 190
Operating time recording unit, 220 Maintenance data display unit, 230
Unit information storage unit, 240 unit operating time recording unit, 5
10 Main control unit, 520 Network IF, 530
Language specifying unit, 540 parts replacement time determination unit, 550 maintenance document creation unit, 560 maintenance document template storage unit,
570 Database IF.

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. A machine maintenance management system including a maintenance computer connected via a network to a machine to be maintained having a network connection function, the system comprising: a machine shipment storing a delivery date / installation completion date of the machine to be maintained. The maintenance computer identifies the machine from the machine to be maintained, including a record database, a machine component database that stores the components of the machine to be maintained, and a component information database that stores replacement recommended information for each component. The maintenance computer receives a machine information for the maintenance, and includes a parts replacement time determining unit that determines a replacement time of a consumable part or a maintenance part of the machine based on the machine information and the information from each database. The computer transmits replacement guide information to the machine to be maintained based on the determination result of the component replacement time determination unit. Machinery maintenance management system according to claim Rukoto. 2. The maintenance computer receives machine operation time information from a machine to be maintained, and a parts replacement time determination unit determines consumables of the machine or maintenance parts replacement time based on the machine operation time. The machine maintenance management system according to claim 1, wherein 3. A machine maintenance management system including a monitoring computer monitoring a plurality of machines to be maintained and having a network connection function and a maintenance computer connected to the monitoring computer via a network, wherein the monitoring computer is A machine information storage unit for holding machine information for specifying the plurality of maintenance machines, and a maintenance data display unit for displaying information sent from the maintenance computer; 3. A part replacement time determination unit that determines a consumable part or a maintenance part replacement time of the plurality of maintenance target machines based on information in a recording database and a machine component parts database. Machine maintenance management system. 4. The machine maintenance management system according to claim 1, wherein the maintenance replacement timing determination process is performed in response to a processing request from the machine to be maintained when the machine is powered on. 5. A machine maintenance management system comprising a monitoring computer having a network connection function for monitoring a plurality of machines to be maintained and a maintenance computer connected to the monitoring computer via a network, wherein the monitoring computer is 4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the latest machine information or the operating time data of the plurality of machines to be monitored is recorded, and the maintenance replacement time determination process is performed in response to a processing request from the monitoring computer. The described machine maintenance management system. 6. An order screen for parts requiring replacement / supplement is displayed on the maintenance data display section of the machine to be maintained or on the monitor screen of the monitoring computer according to the result of the maintenance / replacement time determination, and the customer orders the parts. Wherein the information is transmitted to a maintenance computer via a network when the information is provided.
The machine maintenance management system according to any one of 3, 4, and 5. 7. Using the customer information of the machine specified from the machine shipment record database, notify the customer of the result of maintenance / replacement timing determination and order data of parts requiring replacement / supplement by e-mail or fax to the customer. The machine maintenance management system according to claim 6, wherein: 8. The maintenance computer, comprising: a language specifying unit for specifying a display language of the machine from the machine information of the machine and a machine shipping record database; and a maintenance system in which fixed phrases related to machine maintenance are described in a plurality of languages. A document template storage unit, and, if necessary, inserts various data or images of replacement / replenishment members required in a document template in a language corresponding to the specified language of the machine, and 8. The machine maintenance management system according to claim 6, wherein the maintenance document is sent to a computer for use. 9. Obtaining machine specific data and operation time data transferred from the machine to be inspected and inspected via the Internet, and referring to a machine component database based on the machine specific data, all parts of the machine to be maintained.・ Specify the unit, create a list of parts requiring inspection / replacement from all parts / units by referring to the parts information database based on the operation time data, and create maintenance documents for parts / units requiring inspection / replacement. A machine maintenance management method, comprising transferring a maintenance document to a maintenance inspection machine via the Internet.