KR20060004702A - System for managing products and the parts thereof and associated data processing device - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a system for managing products and the part thereof, to allocated serial numbers for inspecting and controlling processes involved in the repair of devices or systems comprising said products or the elements thereof. The serial numbers and permanent associated product data are recorded in a databank. Said invention is characterised in that a first corresponding databank extract containing the serial numbers, the corresponding material master data and the warranty data for the device or system is generated for the device or system to be repaired from the databank, data of the first databank extract is used for producing a symbol or a range of symbols (images) which are displayable in an input and output device and recordable in an image data storage, one or more serial numbers of the device or system is introduced into said input and output device for data comparison, a product or the element thereof to be repaired is retrieved as repair part and a spare part and the serial number thereof are introduced and recorded by the input and output device, a modified image is formed, thereby making it possible to obtain a modified databank extract corresponding to the repaired device of system and the modified databank extract is recorded in the memory of said databank.

Description

SYSTEM FOR MANAGING PRODUCTS AND THE PARTS THEREOF AND ASSOCIATED DATA PROCESSING DEVICE}

The present invention manages products and product parts and / or serial numbers assigned to those products and product parts, and controls and controls the processes in the repair of equipment or equipment comprising the products and product parts. It relates to a system and a data processing device. In such systems and data processing devices, serial numbers and associated material master data are stored in databanks, some of which are warranty data or guaranteed data. If there is reference later to the warranty data, it is also about the guarantee data.

For example, for an internationally active company, such as a telecommunications company, it is essential to have a thorough understanding of the products or product parts and their serial numbers that have been delivered, delivered or installed. Such grading makes a significant contribution to business processes such as quality, billing (billing), collection, inventory logistics, or maintenance logistics. Serial numbers are a number of different serial numbers, such as those according to the IMEI standard, SIM cards, or company-specific serial numbers of Vouchers.

Spare parts and accessories of products or installed equipment have serial numbers that differ in structure, inspection rules, and supplier specific features. In other words, the requirements for serial number management are the high adaptability and suitability of existing business processes and the clarification of logistics points, which are places where serial numbers must be identified.

It is also a requirement to provide serial numbers with short cycle times, for example in external systems such as for billing or at a sales representative checkout.

The requirements of different enterprise software modules must also be taken into account. In other words, for example, inventory logistics involving warehouse management requires different requirements than maintenance logistics involving technical locations and equipment objects.

It is also important to record the serial numbers history, ie the history of each serial number, because it provides important data for other business processes such as refunds, fee payments, and collection investigations. It also means that a relatively large data capacity must be provided in a very short time via a web application (Internet or intranet).

Such a system is disclosed in Austrian patent application A 189/2003.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Among the accompanying drawings,

1 to 7 are schematic progress diagrams,

8 is a diagram illustrating a list for specifically describing a serial number history.

9 and 10 are schematic progress diagrams, in particular Fig. 10 is a flow chart of the contents of the memory.

The present invention relates in particular to problems arising when performing maintenance and warranty processing on products and product parts in installed installations.

The present invention is not limited thereto, but particularly relates to equipment installed by a telecommunications company. Such equipment is, for example, radio stations that are distributed throughout all regions. Failure or failure of a station is typically notified to the central station from the station itself.

The system mentioned at the outset is in accordance with the present invention.

For the equipment or facility to be repaired, an associated first databank extract is created from the databank containing the relevant material master data, including the serial number and warranty data of the equipment or facility;

A symbol or series of symbols (images) that can be displayed on the input / output device and stored in the image data memory is generated from the data of the first databank extract;

One or more serial numbers of the equipment or installation are input into the input / output device for data comparison;

The product or product part to be repaired is retrieved as a repaired part and a spare part having its serial numbers is entered into the input / output device and stored;

A modified image is created, from which a modified databank extract corresponding to the repaired equipment or installation is created;

-The modified databank extract is characterized in that it is stored in the databank memory.

According to the invention, an extract is generated from the databank representing the equipment side situation of a facility to be repaired, such as an antenna facility. That means that the technician will receive or transmit the data required for each transmitting station to a suitable device such as his laptop, for example. With such databank extracts (image snapshots), the technician already has knowledge of the device side structure of the plant to be repaired.

The technician extracts the apparently defective part in the field and transfers the data locally to his laptop, for example, via the part's serial number. Just checking the serial number can already indicate whether it is indeed the correct transmitting station.

When entering the serial number of a newly replaced part, check in advance whether the part may or may not be assembled in place. All of this is done based on assignment data of serial numbers to material master data contained in the databank.

By the synchronization algorithm, the original data in the databank is compared with the descriptor's correction data. Behind the scenes, managerial accounts can be handled at the same time, and warranty issues can also be checked and handled if the replaced part is still under warranty.

A large data bank having data of all radio stations will be referred to as a DB device. From there, the data of each radio station is read out, and the original databank extract represents a so-called image. Such an image may be represented by a symbol for easier readability. If a technician scans the serial number of a new part, for example after scanning the serial number of an installation point (RACK), and a new image with a partially related new serial number is produced from it, the image is modified by the technician at the input device. do. Next, synchronization is performed by processing the difference between the original image and the modified image. Such a new image is stored in the databank as the original, newly applied under consideration of actual modifications.

In the following order, for example, by comparing material master data such as the time of purchase, the length of the warranty period, and the like, whether there is a warranty issue there is also examined from the difference between the images. Subsequent processing then follows the usual way of work.

Although there is a manager's need for management in the field, it is prone to errors, and there are particular managerial advantages in reducing activities that the technician does not do much, such as filling out forms. Data investigation will take place without time delay. Of course, there is another advantage to the automatic subsequent processing of the data that follows. Another advantage is that the data entered can be checked online immediately and corrected if necessary.

1 schematically shows the structure of a system with technical facilities, ie a satellite antenna 1 and a transmission tower 2 as a functional location. Data is exchanged, for example, wirelessly between the telephone facility 3 and the functional locations. That is, for example, the transmission tower 2 notifies the telephone communication system 3 of the malfunction of the component. From the equipment master data stored in the databank, a databank extract (4) corresponding to the transmission tower (2) is generated and delivered to the workstation (5) as an equipment warranty database, where the workstation (5) guarantees the defective parts. The data is subsequently processed.

Figure 2 shows a flow chart of the overall aspects of the management system used here for material master data, including serial numbers and warranty data assigned to products or product parts.

The flow chart shows that the products and the serial numbers associated with them flow through the enterprise over time. The goods start from the supplier and go to the SNERGR module (serial number received goods receiving module) which is a goods registration module. Article registration may involve the registration of a serial number file (SN data file) delivered by the supplier.

The present invention substantially begins at the time of article registration. Initial identification of the serial number is made in the SNEGR module. Such a module makes it possible to assign a registered article to a corresponding serial number and store it in a databank. At such registration and assignment, analysis of the data already registered is performed. The serial number is usually given in advance by the supplier. Only in certain cases, a new serial number should be provided.

For example, the following are checked:

Whether the serial number already exists,

-Reliability analysis of the data,

The accuracy of numbers or combinations of numbers / letters,

A check as to whether the type and number of the serial number correspond, for example, to the order, and

-Any further analysis possible for that aspect.

In most cases, the product is handed over to the warehouse (MM stock).

In the telecommunications industry, but in other sectors as well, sometimes equipment is given specialty by being made up of various subcontracting parts and then disassembled again. In preparation for such a step, two modules are provided, an SNE assembly module and an SNE disassembly module.

In the SNE assembly module, the serial numbers identified (in the SNEGR module) of the product parts are stored in the data bank in association with the serial number of the product as the main serial number. In principle, all the serial numbers used can be provided as the main serial number. Typically, a serial number that is self-explanatory and can be controlled accordingly, such as the telephone number of a mobile phone, is used for that purpose.

SNE disassembly modules focus, among other things, on maintenance and installation characteristics. From the assembled equipment, the individual parts are identified and stored by their serial numbers, which in some cases may require disassembly of the products.

In the goods issue module, the major serial number at the time of delivery of the products is marked as deleted or delivered from the data bank. At the same time, the serial numbers of the other component parts associated with it are deleted together.

There are parts identified in the warehouse, or more detailed hierarchical allocation values for serial numbers are stored in the data bank.

When creating part branching equipment, the individual parts in a given hierarchy are set together. Here, it can be checked, for example, not assigning the equipment of one company having five slots to be able to fit six equipments of another company.

In the goods issue, whether the equipment to be assembled is assembled, that is, arranged as specified (from inventory to GI of the left branch), it is disassembled from the inventory along the right branch and assembled at the installation point (e.g., in a wireless network In the transmission tower).

3 shows an example of checking a serial number type (SN type). Such checks usually go in two directions. On the one hand, the number itself is checked as to whether the number matches the number type and whether the number can be correct. For that, a test sample is given. On the other hand, a check is made regarding the handling of such a number, for example, giving a duplicate of the same number.

Line 1 shows a check as to whether the serial number consists of four numbers. The symbols in the second row represent arbitrary symbols. The logic according to the third line checks whether the serial number is a six digit number starting with the number "867". The abbreviation "SIMPRUEFZ" is an instruction to check the number according to the check logic for the SIM card number. The last line checks for five alphabetic symbols that begin with "NO".

4 shows the handling of the second part of the serial number check, namely the serial number. Here, a check is made as to whether the serial number is suitable for the environment and how suitable it is.

A check on the double length indicates, for example, whether the number was scanned twice in error. The SN status indicates, for example, whether a part with that number has already been delivered to the dealer and a new registration of that part may be inappropriate. In addition, it is checked whether the part is already assembled at the transmitting station, which is comparable to the state check (at the module installed at the functional position FL). As another example, a check is shown to see if a part has already been given a databank (EQ present).

5 shows an overview of an electronic delivery scheme of serial numbers. "EDI XML" refers to Electronic Data Interchange. It may be for example a file transfer via the Internet, or other electronic data exchange according to the XML standard. Input via barcode scanning is made according to the prior art via a hand instrument or scanner device. The SN Range refers to the fact that the serial number range is specified at the time of delivery, rather than each serial number itself being entered, in which case a specific serial number is assigned to each part within the system. . In the right part of FIG. 5, the transferred data is shown checked in the SN check module based on SN master data check patterns, for example as listed in FIG. 3.

Figure 6 schematically illustrates a warranty handling in accordance with the present invention.

In the initial article receiving module, even the warranty data at the time of article registration is also registered in the databank, and the article is stored in a warehouse (stock). For the assembly (consumption) of the parts from the inventory, the parts are assembled at the facility (site). In the case of a repair, checking the warranty data consists of checking whether the repair is a warranty issue. In any case, the parts are returned to the vendor (seller). The supplier re-delivers the repaired part (returned from the repair), in which case new warranty data is registered in the databank in the second item receiving module as the item registration module, and the part is stored back in the warehouse (stock). During all such procedures, a serial number check can be made each time to ensure that each correct part is handled.

The SN check may always involve conventional reliability checks, for example as listed in FIG.

7 shows the life cycle management of the spare part.

The technician takes a spare part from the warehouse (FL warehouse) and brings it to the facility to be repaired as a new part. There, the defective parts are disassembled and replaced with new parts. Defective parts are sent to the supplier via repair request for repair (repair at delivery). The repaired part arrives at the warehouse (FL warehouse) as such repaired part or as a new part from the supplier. All such steps are checked in the serial number data bank and stored therein. Such checks are made via serial numbers as in all other movements of the part, and further modifications of the history of each part are made.

8 shows a list of history records, for example. 9 shows an essential part of the system according to the invention, where an extract is created from a databank table stored in a registration device for a part to be repaired, from which an image snapshot is formed. Such image snapshots are relayed to a technician's laptop or via a palm top, for example via a satellite antenna. Of course, any other data transfer may take place here. For example, if one of the transmission towers is to be repaired from a telecommunications system with 5,000 transmission towers, the technician on the way to the transmission tower will get specific assignment data regarding the components assembled to the transmission tower. In the maintenance case, the modifications are registered via a laptop or palmtop, and the databank table is notified again about the modified image snapshot, so that the image snapshot is updated again to its latest state.

10 schematically illustrates a working method of an image module. The central component is the image engine. As described above, the data set allocated to the equipment to be repaired is extracted from the databank equipment DB. In the image engine, an associated symbol picture is generated from the data set, which symbol picture is extracted from the image data memory. Such image data memory includes a variety of picture symbols or character symbols that can be understood by a technician more easily than anonymous serial numbers can. Before the parts are repaired, the original image is relayed to the technician, allowing the technician to extract the main basic state of the installation from the laptop.

Upon disassembly of the defective part, the technician can scan the serial number of the defective part or register it on the laptop, at which time the technician is immediately checked whether the technician is actually at the correct facility. In assembling the spare part, the image is modified on the laptop and the difference between the original image and the processed image is evaluated in the image engine. The new image is transferred to the device DB, whereby the new state is stored in the device DB. Of course, the corresponding registration in the history file also takes place simultaneously.

Claims (4)

Keeping serial numbers and related material master data stored in the databank, managing products and product parts and the serial numbers assigned to them and product parts, and equipment or equipment containing those products and product parts In the system of controlling and controlling the processes at For the equipment or facility to be repaired, an associated first databank extract is created from the databank containing the relevant material master data, including the serial number and warranty data of the equipment or facility; A symbol or series of symbols (images) that can be displayed on the input / output device and stored in the image data memory is generated from the data of the first databank extract; One or more serial numbers of the equipment or installation are input into the input / output device for data comparison; The product or product part to be repaired is retrieved as a repaired part and a spare part having its serial numbers is entered into the input / output device and stored; A modified image is created, from which a modified databank extract corresponding to the repaired equipment or installation is created; Management and control system, characterized in that the modified databank extract is stored in the databank memory. The method of claim 1, For maintenance products, whether or not there is a warranty issue is examined in the databank, Repair parts are returned to the supplier as warranty or non-warranty repairs, returned from the supplier as new or repaired parts; The repair parts are returned to the warehouse via the item registration module and stored in the data memory, A management and control system characterized in that new warranty data of the repair parts is stored in the data memory. Manage products and product parts and the serial numbers assigned to them and their parts, with serial numbers and associated material master data stored in a databank, part of which is warranty data. In a system for controlling and controlling the processes in the repair of equipment or equipment comprising the For the equipment or facility to be repaired, an associated first databank extract containing the serial number of the equipment or facility and associated material master data is provided from the databank; A symbol or series of symbols (images) that can be displayed on the input / output device and stored in the image data memory is provided from the data of the first databank extract; One or more input / output devices are provided in which one or more serial numbers of the equipment or installation are input for data comparison; The product or product part to be repaired is retrieved as a repaired part and a spare part having its serial numbers is entered into the input / output device and stored; A modified image is provided, from which a modified databank extract corresponding to the repaired equipment or installation is created; Management and control system, characterized in that the modified databank extract is stored in the databank memory. The method of claim 3, For maintenance products, whether or not there is a warranty issue is examined in the databank, Repair parts are returned to the supplier as warranty or non-warranty repairs, returned from the supplier as new or repaired parts; The repair parts are returned to the warehouse via the item registration module and stored in the data memory, A management and control system characterized in that new warranty data of the repair parts is stored in the data memory.