JP4629906B2 - Machine trouble information transmission system and method - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a machine trouble information transmission system and method for transmitting industrial machine trouble information installed in a factory or the like using a portable terminal.
[0002]
[Prior art]
2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is an operation situation determination notification device as shown in FIG. As shown in the figure, the driving situation determination notification device 110 has a detection means 111, a determination means 112 and an automatic dial call means 113. The detection unit 111 detects the operating status of the machine tool 100, and the determination unit 112 determines whether a trouble has occurred in the machine tool 100 based on the detection result. When trouble occurs in the machine tool 100, the fact is notified to a predetermined person in charge by the automatic dial calling means 112 using a public telephone line.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, since there is a limit to the contents that can be reported by the automatic dial communication device, there is a problem that the responsible person who has received the notification cannot accurately grasp the contents of the trouble of the machine only by the reported contents.
In addition, if the person in charge is in contact with a mobile phone, the mobile phone may be in a location where radio waves do not reach, or it may be in a call. There was a problem that notification could not be made.
[0004]
The present invention is intended to solve the above-described problems, and can quickly and reliably transmit machine trouble information indicating that a trouble has occurred in a machine to a portable terminal held by a person in charge. An object of the present invention is to provide a machine trouble information transmission system and method.
In addition, the present invention provides a machine trouble information transmission system and method capable of accurately notifying the user of the trouble state of the machine by enabling the portable terminal to receive the operation information indicating the working state of the machine. The purpose is to provide.
[0005]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above problems, a machine trouble information transmission system according to the present invention is:
Detects operation information indicating the operation status of the machine, determines machine troubles based on the operation information, and when machine troubles are determined, sends operation information to the relay device to indicate that a problem has occurred in the machine A management device that transmits machine trouble information to the mobile terminal;
A relay device that receives operation information from the management device and transmits the operation information to the mobile terminal in response to an access from the mobile terminal;
And a portable terminal that receives machine trouble information from the management device, accesses the relay device, and receives operation information.
[0006]
When a machine trouble occurs, the operation information is transmitted to the relay device, and the machine trouble information is transmitted to the mobile terminal carried by the user. When the user receives the machine trouble information, the user accesses the relay device to access the machine. It is possible to confirm detailed operation information.
Further, in the machine trouble information transmission system, the management device preferably transmits the machine trouble information as an e-mail to the portable terminal, and the e-mail preferably includes address data for accessing the relay device. . Further, the address data is preferably a URL. A user who has received an e-mail at a portable terminal can access the relay device using a URL included in the e-mail and check the operation information of the machine. Therefore, it is not necessary to individually input address data for accessing the relay device from the mobile terminal.
[0007]
Furthermore, in the machine trouble information transmission system, it is preferable that the relay device transmits operation information to the portable terminal when there is an access based on address data from the portable terminal. Since there is a case where the amount of information is limited in the e-mail to the mobile terminal (for example, within 250 characters per e-mail), only machine trouble information is transmitted to the mobile terminal, and detailed operation information is transmitted from the relay device. It is configured so that it can be received and confirmed.
[0008]
Furthermore, in the machine trouble information transmission system, it is preferable that the relay device continues to transmit the machine trouble information to the portable terminal until access from the portable terminal, and transmission of the machine trouble information to the portable terminal is determined in advance. It is preferable that the set number of times is set. Furthermore, it is preferable that the relay device increases the set number of times when the machine trouble information is not transmitted from the management device to the portable terminal. Considering the case where the mobile terminal is in a place where radio waves do not reach, etc., the machine trouble information is transmitted from the relay device to the mobile terminal until the user builds the machine trouble information and accesses the relay device. . In addition, when the first machine trouble information transmission from the management device to the mobile terminal fails, by increasing the number of transmissions of the machine trouble information from the relay device to the mobile terminal after the second time, more In this configuration, the user can be surely notified that a trouble has occurred in the machine.
[0009]
Furthermore, in the machine trouble information transmission system, it is preferable that the management device, the relay device, and the mobile terminal are arranged so as to be mutually accessible via a network. Using a network such as the Internet, it is configured so that a user carrying a mobile terminal can reliably receive machine trouble information and confirm machine operation information even when the user is in a remote place.
[0010]
Furthermore, the mobile terminal is preferably a mobile phone having an electronic mail function and an Internet connection function.
In addition, in order to solve the above problems, the machine trouble information transmission method according to the present invention is:
The management device detects the operation information indicating the operation status of the machine, determines the trouble of the machine based on the operation information, and when the trouble of the machine is determined, transmits the operation information to the relay device and the trouble occurs in the machine. Send machine trouble information to your mobile device
The relay device receives the operation information from the management device,
The mobile terminal receives the machine trouble information from the management device, accesses the relay device,
The relay device sends operation information to the mobile device in response to access from the mobile device,
The portable terminal is characterized by receiving operation information from the relay device.
[0011]
In order to solve the above problems, a management device according to the present invention is arranged to be accessible to a mobile terminal and a relay device via a network, and detects operation information indicating an operation status of a machine, Based on the above, a means for determining a machine trouble, and when a machine trouble is determined, the operation information is transmitted to the relay device, and the machine trouble information indicating that a trouble has occurred in the machine and the relay means are accessed from the portable terminal. Transmission means for transmitting address data for transmission to the portable terminal.
[0012]
In order to solve the above-described problem, a machine trouble information transmission method according to the present invention is arranged such that a relay device is disposed so as to be accessible to a management device and a portable terminal that manage the machine via a network, and the management device transmits the machine. When trouble occurs, operation information indicating machine operation information is received, and machine trouble information indicating that a trouble has occurred in the machine is transmitted to the mobile terminal until access from the mobile terminal. In this case, the transmission of machine trouble information is stopped and the operation information is transmitted.
[0013]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
An outline of a machine trouble information transmission system and method according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
In the figure, a server 20, an ISP (Internet service provider) 30 and an access point 40 functioning as a relay device are configured to be accessible to each other via a communication network 10 including the Internet or an intranet. In the user factory 50, a router 51, a management PC (personal computer) 52, and a plurality of machines (No. 1 machine 53 and No. 2 machine 54) are connected via a network 55 such as a LAN (Local Area Network). . The management PC 52 is configured to be able to send and receive data to and from the server 20 and the portable terminal 60 via the router 51, ISP 30 and network 10. Furthermore, the mobile terminal 60 is configured to transmit and receive data between the server 20 and the management PC 52 via the access point 40, the network 10, and the like.
[0014]
The server 20, the management PC 52, and the portable terminal 60 are configured by a CPU and the like, a processing unit for processing and calculating various data, an input unit configured by a numeric keypad and a keyboard, a display unit configured by a display, and the network 10 Suppose that it has a transmission / reception unit for transmitting / receiving data via the memory and a storage unit configured to store various types of data. Further, it is assumed that at least a program for controlling each operation is stored in advance in each storage unit.
[0015]
The mobile terminal 60 is preferably a mobile phone having an i-mode function. However, the mobile terminal 60 does not necessarily have a telephone function as long as it has at least an e-mail receiving function and a connection function to the network 10. good.
In FIG. 1, the management PC 52 confirms the operation information of the machine tool in the factory 50 at a predetermined timing and monitors the occurrence of trouble. When a trouble occurs, the management PC 52 transmits an electronic mail describing machine trouble information indicating that the trouble has occurred and a URL (Uniform Resource Locator) indicating the Web page of the server 20 to the mobile terminal 60. Further, the management PC 52 transmits a file describing detailed operation information of the machine to the server 20. The user knows that a trouble has occurred in the machine in the factory with the portable terminal 60 by e-mail from the management PC 52, and then accesses the Web page of the server 20 using the URL described in the e-mail. It is possible to confirm the detailed operation status of the machine installed in the machine.
[0016]
Hereinafter, the details of the operation procedure on the management PC 52 side will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an operation information reception procedure of the management PC 52.
First, the management PC 52 sends an operation information file transmission request command to each machine (No. 1 machine 53, No. 2 machine 54, etc.) connected to the network 55 (step 201). Each machine has a function of detecting an operation information file transmission request command, detecting a predetermined location or operation state of each machine in response to the command detection, creating an operation information file, and transmitting the operation information file to the management PC 52. It shall have.
[0017]
Next, the management PC 52 receives the operation information file from each machine (step 202), and stores the received content in the result DB (step 203). It is assumed that the result DB is constructed in a recording unit or the like of the management PC 52 and that operation information files regarding all machines monitored by the management PC 52 are stored.
The management PC 52 repeatedly executes the procedure of steps 201 to 203 for all the machines to be monitored at a predetermined time interval (for example, every 5 seconds). It is also possible to set in advance a machine for monitoring. For example, when a plurality of machines are installed in the factory 50, when it is necessary to complete a predetermined amount of processing and production for only one specific machine during the day, only that specific machine is monitored. You may set to do. The setting of the machine monitored by the management PC 52 may be performed by the user using the input unit of the management PC 52 or may be set from the portable terminal 60.
[0018]
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a spool file creation procedure by the management PC 52.
The management PC 52 monitors the performance DB at a predetermined time interval (step 301), and determines whether an event to be reported, that is, a predetermined trouble (insufficient supplies, failure, etc.) has occurred (step). 302).
When an event occurs, a spool file in which a part or all of the data stored in the result DB is described is created (step 303). The management PC 52 repeatedly executes steps 301 to 303.
[0019]
FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an operation procedure of the management PC 52 when a trouble occurs in the machine.
First, the management PC 52 monitors whether or not the spool file exists (step 401). If the spool file does not exist, the management PC 52 waits for a set time interval and checks whether or not the spool file exists again. (Step 402).
[0020]
If there are spool files, it is determined whether or not there are a plurality of spool files (step 403). If there are a plurality of spool files, aggregation into one file is performed (step 404).
Next, the management PC 52 creates a transfer file to be transferred to the server 20 based on the contents of the spool file (step 405), and creates an e-mail to be sent to the portable terminal 60 (step 406).
[0021]
Here, in the transfer file created in step 405, at least the operation information indicating the detailed operation status of the machine described in the spool file and the number of retransmissions of the e-mail transmitted from the server 20 to the portable terminal 60 are set. It is assumed that the “retransmission setting count” data and URL data for accessing the Web page created by the server 20 are included.
[0022]
The email created in step 406 includes at least machine trouble information indicating that the management PC 52 has detected a machine trouble and a URL for accessing the Web page created by the server 20. And An example of the e-mail created in step 406 is shown at 600 in FIG. The user receives the electronic mail 600 with the mobile terminal 60 and displays it on the display unit using mail software bundled in advance with the mobile terminal. Further, by clicking the URL indicated by 601 or the like, the browser 20 bundled in advance with the mobile terminal is used to connect to the Internet, and a Web page created by the server 20 described later is accessed.
[0023]
Next, the management PC 52 instructs the dial-up router 51 to connect to the ISP 30 and confirms whether or not it is connected to the ISP 30 (step 407). If connection cannot be made due to some kind of failure, connection to the ISP is tried again after a set time interval (step 408).
Next, the management PC 52 connects to an SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) server by mail software bundled in advance with the management PC 52 (step 409), and the e-mail created in step 406 is set to the mobile phone set in advance. It transmits to the e-mail address of the terminal 60 (step 410). If the connection to the SMPT server could not be established, a correction is made to add 1 to the “retransmission set number” data described later (step 411). It is assumed that the destination of the e-mail is set in advance by the user. Further, the transmission destination may be selected in accordance with the trouble determined by the management PC 52. For example, the transmission destination may be one or more of a machine operator, a machine maintenance person, and a factory production manager depending on the trouble.
[0024]
Next, the management server 52 connects to the server 20 (step 412), and transfers the transfer file created in step 405 (step 413). If the connection to the server 20 cannot be established, the transfer file created in step 405 is discarded (step 414).
Next, the management PC 52 instructs the dial-up router 51 to disconnect from the ISP 30 (step 415) and outputs a log (step 416). The log output includes data related to the activation of the management PC 52, the detection of the event of the machine in the factory, the transmission of mail, the transfer of the transfer file, and the like, and the operation of the management PC 52 can be verified later. Yes. Note that the management PC 52 repeatedly executes steps 401 to 416.
[0025]
As described with reference to FIGS. 2 to 4, the management PC 52 monitors the operation status of the machine in the factory by polling, and creates a spool file when a trouble occurs in the machine. Further, according to the creation of the spool file, an e-mail for notifying the user of machine trouble information indicating that the machine has trouble is sent to the user's portable terminal 60 as the first report, and the machine in the factory 50 is also combined. The transfer file in which the detailed operation status is described is transferred to the server 20.
[0026]
Next, the operation procedure on the server 20 side will be described with reference to FIG.
The server 20 monitors the transfer file (step 501) and determines whether or not the transfer file has been received via the network 10 (step 502).
When the server 20 receives the transfer file, the server 20 creates a Web page and an e-mail (steps 503 and 504). The web page is created based on the operation information included in the received transfer file and indicating the detailed operation status of the machines in the factory 50.
[0027]
Subsequently, the number (N) of retransmission of the e-mail created in step 504 is set based on the “retransmission set number” data included in the transfer file (step 505). Usually, N = “the number of times of retransmission setting”.
Thereafter, the server 20 determines whether or not there is an access from the portable terminal 60 by the HTTP protocol (step 506). If there is an access, the data of the Web page created in step 503 is stored in the portable terminal 60. Transmit (step 507). The web page is given a file name corresponding to the URL data included in the transfer file, and when there is an access from the portable terminal 60 using the http protocol using the URL described in the e-mail 600, The web page data created in step 503 is configured to be transmitted to the portable terminal 60.
[0028]
If the server 20 does not receive an access using the http protocol in step 506, the server 20 transmits the e-mail created in step 504 to the portable terminal 60 (step 508). Next, the number of times the mail was actually retransmitted is compared with the set number of retransmissions (N) set in step 505 (step 509). If the actual number of retransmissions is greater than the set number (N), the process proceeds to step 510. E-mail retransmission stop processing is performed (step 510).
[0029]
If the actual number of retransmissions is less than or equal to the set number (N), the process proceeds to step 511 to determine whether or not the transfer file has been received again. If the transfer file has not been received, the actual number of retransmissions is incremented by 1 and the process proceeds to step 506, and steps 506 to 509 are repeated.
If the transfer file has been received in step 511, an e-mail retransmission stop process is performed (step 512), and the operations in and after step 503 are repeated according to the newly received transfer file. The fact that a new transfer file has been received is considered to indicate that a new trouble has occurred in the factory 50 or that the content of the trouble has changed, so the contents of the Web page are used to convey the latest information to the user. Need to be updated.
[0030]
An example of the e-mail created in step 504 is shown at 610 in FIG. The e-mail 610 is basically the same as the e-mail 600 transmitted directly from the management PC 52 to the portable terminal 60, but differs only in that the number of retransmissions 612 is displayed.
Also, examples of Web pages created in step 503 are shown in 620, 630, and 640 in FIG. In 620 of FIG. 6, detailed operation information 621 and trouble content 622 of Unit 1 are described. When the machine remote operation 623 on the screen 620 is clicked, the screen 630 is transmitted to the portable terminal 60, and by clicking the buttons 631 and 632 in the 630, the instruction data is transmitted from the server 20 via the router 51. The instructions sent to each machine and instructed are performed. Also, when the factory operation information 624 on the screen 620 is clicked, a screen 640 on which operation information of all machines including the first machine can be viewed is transmitted to the portable terminal 60. When a button 642 indicating, for example, the second machine is clicked on the screen 640, a detailed operation information screen (not shown) regarding the second machine similar to the screen 620 is transmitted to the mobile terminal 60.
[0031]
When the operations of the management PC 52, the server 20, and the portable terminal 60 are summarized, when the management PC 52 determines a trouble in a machine (53, 54, etc.) in the factory 50, the management PC 52 sends an e-mail to the portable terminal 60 and sends it to the server. Transfer the transfer file. The server creates a Web page based on the received transfer file. The portable terminal 60 can access the Web page of the server 20 based on the URL described in the email received from the management PC, and can confirm the detailed operating status of the machine (53, 54, etc.) in the factory 50. It becomes. In addition, the server 20 continues to send an e-mail to the mobile terminal at a predetermined time interval for a set number of times until the URL is accessed from the mobile terminal 60, and continues to alert the user holding the mobile terminal 60. . The re-transmission interval and set number of e-mails from the server 20 can be freely set (for example, 20 times at 10-minute intervals). In addition, when the management PC 52 cannot transmit the first e-mail, it is preferable to increase the number of e-mail retransmission settings in the server 20 accordingly.
[0032]
When a machine trouble occurs in the factory 50, an e-mail including machine trouble information is immediately transmitted from the management PC 52 to the portable terminal 60, and thereafter, an e-mail including machine trouble information is retransmitted from the server 20. . For example, when an e-mail is first transmitted from the management PC 52 to the portable terminal 60, the portable terminal 60 is located in an area where radio waves do not reach, and the transmitted e-mail is sent to a mail server in the access point 40. For example, the electronic mail may not be transmitted until the user accesses the mail server. However, it is possible to reliably notify the user of the occurrence of the machine trouble by the e-mail resent from the server 20 thereafter.
[0033]
The server 20 can be configured to have the same function for a plurality of factories.
[0034]
【The invention's effect】
According to the present invention, machine trouble information indicating that a machine trouble has occurred is transmitted to a mobile terminal held by a user, and the machine operation information is confirmed by accessing the server from the mobile terminal. As a result, accurate and detailed machine operation information can be confirmed. For example, when trying to transmit machine operation information only by e-mail, there was a fear that detailed contents could not be notified due to limitations on the number of characters imposed at the time of e-mail transmission. According to this, the user can check the machine operation information without considering the limitation of the e-mail transmission conditions.
[0035]
According to the present invention, since there are two systems of transmission paths, that is, a transmission path for machine trouble information from the management PC to the portable terminal and a transmission path for machine trouble information from the server to the portable terminal, the trouble of the machine is more reliably detected. Can be notified to the portable terminal held by the user.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram for explaining the outline of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a procedure on the management PC side according to the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a procedure on the management PC side according to the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a procedure on the management PC side according to the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a procedure on the server side according to the present invention.
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen used in the system and method according to the present invention.
FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an outline of a conventional system.
[Explanation of symbols]
10 ... Network 20 ... Server 50 ... Factory 52 ... Management PC
53, 54 ... Machine tool 60 ... Portable terminal

Claims (18)

A machine trouble information transmission system for transmitting machine trouble information,
The operation information indicating the operation status of the machine is detected, the trouble of the machine is determined based on the operation information, and when the trouble of the machine is determined, the operation information is transmitted to the relay device, and the trouble occurs in the machine. A management device that transmits to the mobile terminal machine trouble information indicating that it has occurred;
A relay device that receives the operation information from the management device and transmits the operation information to the mobile terminal in response to an access from the mobile terminal;
A portable terminal that receives the machine trouble information from the management device, and accesses the relay device to receive the operation information ;
The relay device continues to transmit the machine trouble information to the mobile terminal until there is an access from the mobile terminal.
The machine trouble information transmission system characterized by this. A machine trouble information transmission system for transmitting machine trouble information,
The operation information indicating the operation status of the machine is detected, the trouble of the machine is determined based on the operation information, and when the trouble of the machine is determined, the operation information is transmitted to the relay device, and the trouble occurs in the machine. A management device that transmits to the mobile terminal machine trouble information indicating that it has occurred;
A relay device that receives the operation information from the management device and transmits the operation information to the mobile terminal in response to an access from the mobile terminal;
A portable terminal that receives the machine trouble information from the management device, and accesses the relay device to receive the operation information;
The relay device transmits the machine trouble information to the portable terminal a predetermined number of times until there is an access from the portable terminal.
The machine trouble information transmission system characterized by this. The machine trouble information transmission system according to claim 1 or 2 , wherein the management device transmits the machine trouble information as an electronic mail to the portable terminal. The machine trouble information transmission system according to claim 3 , wherein the e-mail includes address data for accessing the relay device. The machine trouble information transmission system according to claim 4 , wherein the address data is a URL. 5. The machine trouble information transmission system according to claim 4 , wherein the relay device transmits the operation information to the portable terminal when there is an access based on the address data from the portable terminal. The machine trouble information transmission system according to claim 2 , wherein the relay apparatus increases the set number of times when the machine trouble information is not transmitted from the management apparatus to the mobile terminal. The machine trouble information transmission system according to any one of claims 1 to 7 , wherein the management device, the relay device, and the portable terminal are arranged to be mutually accessible via a network. The machine trouble information transmission system according to any one of claims 1 to 8 , wherein the mobile terminal is a mobile phone having an electronic mail function and an Internet connection function. A machine trouble information transmission method in a system composed of a management device, a relay device, and a portable terminal that are arranged to be mutually accessible via a network,
The management device detects operation information indicating an operation status of the machine, determines a trouble of the machine based on the operation information, and transmits the operation information to the relay device when the trouble of the machine is determined, Send machine trouble information indicating that a trouble has occurred in the machine to the mobile terminal,
The relay device receives the operation information from the management device,
The relay device continues to transmit the machine trouble information to the mobile terminal until there is an access from the mobile terminal,
The mobile terminal receives the machine trouble information from the management device and accesses the relay device,
The relay device transmits the operation information to the mobile terminal in response to access from the mobile terminal,
The portable terminal receives the operation information from the relay device ;
The machine trouble information transmission method characterized by the above-mentioned. A machine trouble information transmission method in a system composed of a management device, a relay device, and a portable terminal that are arranged to be mutually accessible via a network,
The management device detects operation information indicating an operation status of the machine, determines a trouble of the machine based on the operation information, and transmits the operation information to the relay device when the trouble of the machine is determined, Send machine trouble information indicating that a trouble has occurred in the machine to the mobile terminal,
The relay device receives the operation information from the management device,
The relay device transmits the machine trouble information to the mobile terminal a predetermined number of times until there is an access from the mobile terminal,
The mobile terminal receives the machine trouble information from the management device and accesses the relay device,
The relay device transmits the operation information to the mobile terminal in response to access from the mobile terminal,
The portable terminal receives the operation information from the relay device;
The machine trouble information transmission method characterized by the above-mentioned. The machine trouble information transmission method according to claim 10 or 11 , wherein the management device transmits the machine trouble information as an electronic mail to the portable terminal.   13. The machine trouble information transmission method according to claim 12, wherein the e-mail includes address data for accessing the relay device.   The machine trouble information transmission method according to claim 13, wherein the address data is a URL.   The machine trouble information transmission method according to claim 13, wherein the relay device transmits the operation information to the portable terminal when there is an access based on the address data from the portable terminal. 12. The machine trouble information transmission method according to claim 11 , wherein the relay device increases the set number of times when the machine trouble information is not transmitted from the management device to the mobile terminal. The machine trouble information transmission method according to any one of claims 10 to 16 , wherein the mobile terminal is a mobile phone having an electronic mail function and an Internet connection function. A management device for managing machines via a network and a machine trouble information transmission method in a relay device arranged to be accessible to a mobile terminal,
When trouble occurs in the machine from the management device, operation information indicating the operation information of the machine is received,
Until there is access from the mobile terminal, the machine trouble information indicating that a trouble has occurred in the machine is transmitted to the mobile terminal,
When there is an access from the mobile terminal, the transmission of the machine trouble information is stopped and the operation information is transmitted .
The machine trouble information transmission method characterized by the above-mentioned.

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