Health assessment device, health assessment procedure and health assessment program

Abstract

A health assessment device evaluates the health of a vehicle assembly formed from a plurality of nodes. An instrument assessment unit calculates a health score, representing the health of an end node among the plurality of nodes, where the end node is a node for which there is no dependent child node. An assembly assessment unit (303) retrieves dependency information, which specifies dependencies between the plurality of nodes, from a dependency database (332).For a rating target node, the composition rating unit (331) dynamically determines an integration process to integrate a health rating value of the child node in accordance with a magnitude relationship between the health rating value of the child node and each of a plurality of thresholds, and computes a health rating value (31) of the rating target node by the dynamically determined integration process.

Description

Technical area

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a health assessment device, a health assessment method, and a health assessment program. More particularly, it relates to a health assessment system, a health assessment device, a health assessment method, and a health assessment program for assessing health associated with vehicle compositions. State of the art

[0002] In recent years, the rationalization and optimization of railway maintenance has been achieved through condition-based maintenance. Condition-based maintenance is also known as CBM. CBM is an abbreviation for Condition Based Maintenance. For planning a maintenance schedule, an individual health assessment of each component instrument in a rolling stock assembly is not sufficient; the health must be assessed for each vehicle assembly as a maintenance unit. However, a comprehensive assessment considering the importance of each component instrument has not been achieved, making it difficult to determine an exact time for maintenance.

[0003] Patent Literature 1 discloses a technique for calculating a normal operation rate of the head node using the normal operation rate of each node and its impact value on a parent node in a service system in which a connection relationship between multiple nodes consists of a hierarchical structure. Reference listPatent literature

[0004] Patent Literature 1: JP 2011-180805 A Summary of the inventionTechnical problem

[0005] It is conceivable to apply a hierarchical structure representing a relationship between a vehicle assembly and a plurality of component instruments included in the vehicle assembly to Patent Literature 1 and calculate the normal operating rate of the vehicle assembly, which is the head node. The technique of Patent Literature 1 calculates the normal operating rate of the head node using the normal operating rate of each node and its impact value on a parent node.

[0006] However, in the technique of Patent Literature 1, if the health of some nodes deteriorates, the health deterioration information would be rounded off during the process of integrating health information into the parent nodes. The problem is that the poor states of some nodes remain hidden when calculating the health of the entire vehicle assembly.

[0007] The present disclosure dynamically determines an integration process for integrating health evaluation values ​​of child nodes in accordance with the magnitude relationship between the health evaluation value of each child node of an evaluation target node for which health is evaluated and each of a plurality of thresholds. Thus, by adequately reflecting any abnormalities or deteriorated conditions of some child nodes in the health evaluation value of the evaluation target node, the present disclosure aims to adequately reflect this in turn in the health evaluation value of the vehicle assembly as the head node. Solution to the problem

[0008] A health evaluation device according to the present disclosure evaluates a health of a vehicle composition formed of a plurality of nodes, and comprises: an instrument evaluation unit for calculating a health evaluation value representing a health for a terminal node among the plurality of nodes, wherein the terminal node is a node for which there is no child node on which it depends; and a composition evaluation unit for acquiring dependency information in which dependencies between the plurality of nodes having the vehicle composition at the head are set, from a dependency database that stores the dependency information, and for an evaluation target node among the plurality of nodes being evaluated and for which there is a child node on which it depends, dynamically determining an integration process for integrating a health evaluation value of the child node in accordance with a magnitude relationship between the health evaluation value of the child node and each of a plurality of threshold values, and calculating a health evaluation value of the evaluation target node through the dynamically determined integration process. Advantageous effects of the invention

[0009] In the health evaluation device according to the present disclosure, the composition evaluation unit dynamically determines the integration process to integrate the health evaluation value for a child node of the evaluation target node in accordance with the magnitude relationship between the health evaluation value of the child node and each of the plurality of threshold values. Thus, the health evaluation device according to the present disclosure provides the effect that any abnormality or deteriorated conditions of some nodes are adequately reflected in the health evaluation value of the evaluation target node, which in turn is adequately reflected in the health evaluation value of the vehicle composition as the head node. Brief description of the drawings Fig. 1 shows a configuration example of a health evaluation system according to Embodiment 1. Fig. 2 shows a detailed configuration example of a composition health determination unit in a composition evaluation unit according to Embodiment 1. Fig. 3 shows an example of a hardware configuration of the health evaluation system according to Embodiment 1. Fig. 4 is an overall flowchart of a health evaluation process by a health evaluation device according to Embodiment 1. Fig. 5 shows a construction example of dependency information stored in a dependency database according to Embodiment 1. Fig. 6 shows a comparative example to Embodiment 1, showing an exemplary setting in dependencies, with a vehicle composition 10 at the head. Fig. 7 is a flowchart of an instrument health evaluation process by an instrument evaluation unit according to Embodiment 1. Fig. 8 is a flowchart of a composition health evaluation process by a composition evaluation unit according to Embodiment 1. Fig. 9 is a flowchart of processing to calculate a health evaluation value for an evaluation target node according to Embodiment 1. Fig. 10 is a flowchart of a visualization information generation process by a visualization information generation unit according to Embodiment 1. Fig. 11 illustrates an example of visualization information visualizing health assessment information according to Embodiment 1. Fig. 12 is a flowchart of processing to define a dependency database and a physical configuration database according to Embodiment 1. Fig. 13 is a flowchart of processing to calculate a health evaluation value for the evaluation target node according to Embodiment 2. Description of embodiments

[0010] The present embodiments will be explained below with reference to the drawings. In the drawings, like or corresponding parts are designated by like reference numerals. In the description of the embodiments, the description for like or corresponding parts is omitted or simplified as necessary. In the following drawings, the dimensional relationship between components may differ from the actual relationship. In the description of the embodiment, directions or orientations or positions such as "top", "bottom", "left", "right", "front / front side", and "back / rear side" may be indicated. These terms are for convenience of description only and are not intended to limit the arrangement, direction, and orientation of any device, instrument, or component. Embodiment 1.*** Configuration Description ***

[0011] Fig. 1 shows a configuration example of a health evaluation system 700 according to the present embodiment.

[0012] The health assessment system 700 is a system for assessing the health of a vehicle assembly 10 formed from a plurality of nodes 11. The nodes 11 are also referred to as component instruments that form the vehicle assembly 10, or simply as instruments.

[0013] The health assessment system 700 includes a vehicle composition device 100, a vehicle visual inspection device 200, a health assessment device 300, a schedule generation device 400, and a health monitoring device 500.

[0014] The functions of the functional elements included in the devices of the health assessment system 700 are outlined below.

[0015] The vehicle composition device 100 is an in-vehicle device attached to the vehicle composition 10 being evaluated. The vehicle composition 10 is, for example, a rail vehicle composition. The vehicle composition device 100 may also be referred to as a rail vehicle composition.

[0016] The visual vehicle inspection device 200 inspects external conditions of various parts of the vehicle assembly 10 being evaluated.

[0017] The health assessment device 300 performs a health assessment of the vehicle assembly 10. The health assessment device 300 is a device for assessing the health of a vehicle assembly 10 formed from a plurality of nodes 11.

[0018] The schedule generation device 400 calculates schedules, such as a maintenance schedule and an operation schedule, using health evaluation information 34 for the vehicle composition 10 calculated by the health evaluation device 300.

[0019] The health monitoring device 500 performs the setting or modification of various types of definition information, such as dependency information 33 for the nodes or physical configuration information 36 for the nodes, which are used in the health assessment. The health monitoring device 500 also checks and monitors the health assessment information 34 calculated by the health monitoring device 300.

[0020] In the vehicle assembly device 100, the vehicle assembly 10 is configured as a collection of N nodes 11. The vehicle assembly device 100 includes an operation data collection unit 101 and an operation data transmission unit 102. The operation data collection unit 101 acquires status data during operation from each node as instrument operation data. The operation data transmission unit 102 transmits the instrument operation data to the health assessment device 300.

[0021] The visual vehicle inspection device 200 includes a visual inspection unit 201 that inspects conditions of various parts of the external appearance of the vehicle assembly 10 to be evaluated, and an inspection data transmission unit 202 that transmits visual inspection data, which is result data of the inspection by the visual inspection unit 201, to the health evaluation device 300.

[0022] The health evaluation device 300 includes a vehicle data receiving unit 301, an instrument evaluation unit 302, a composition evaluation unit 303, an information setting unit 304, an evaluation information transmission unit 305, and a setting information receiving unit 306.

[0023] The vehicle data receiving unit 301 receives the instrument operating data, node dependencies, and physical configuration information transmitted from the vehicle assembly device 100. The vehicle data receiving unit 301 also receives visual inspection data transmitted from the visual vehicle inspection device 200.

[0024] The instrument evaluation unit 302 evaluates the health of each node of the vehicle composition 10. In particular, the instrument evaluation unit 302 evaluates the health of an end node for which there is no child node among the plurality of nodes 11 on which that node depends.

[0025] The composition evaluation unit 303 calculates a health evaluation value 31 for each node 11 by information integration of the health evaluation values ​​for its child nodes. The composition evaluation unit 303 then evaluates the health of the vehicle composition 10 as a whole based on the health evaluation information 34 including the health evaluation values ​​31 for the respective nodes 11.

[0026] The information determination unit 304 generates various types of definition information, such as dependency information 33 for the nodes 11 and physical configuration information 36 for the nodes 11, which are necessary for the health assessment of the vehicle assembly 10. The information determination unit 304 stores the dependency information 33 in a dependency database 332 and the physical configuration information 36 in a physical configuration database 336.

[0027] The evaluation information transmission unit 305 transmits the health evaluation information 34 calculated by the composition evaluation unit 303 to the schedule generation device 400 and the health monitoring device 500.

[0028] The setting information receiving unit 306 receives various types of definition information set in the health monitoring device 500.

[0029] In addition, the instrument evaluation unit 302 includes an instrument health determination unit 321, an instrument operating time limit determination unit 322, and an instrument health database 323.

[0030] The instrument health determination unit 321 determines a health for an end node 11 in the vehicle composition 10 as the health evaluation value 31.

[0031] The instrument operating time limit determining unit 322 determines an operating time limit 32 of this node based on the health evaluation value 31.

[0032] The instrument health database 323 stores the determined health assessment value 31 and the operating time limit 32.

[0033] The composition evaluation unit 303 includes a composition health determination unit 331, the dependency database 332, a time limit determination unit 333, a composition health database 334, a visualization information generation unit 335, and the physical configuration database 336.

[0034] The composition health determination unit 331 performs, for each of the nodes 11 in the vehicle composition 10, information integration of the health evaluation value of each child node on which that node depends. The composition health determination unit 331 calculates the health evaluation value 31 at a node 11 in the vehicle composition 10 according to the magnitude relationship between the health evaluation value of the child node of that node 11 and each of a plurality of threshold values. In doing so, the composition health determination unit 331 dynamically determines an approach for an integration process for integrating the health evaluation value for the child node according to the magnitude relationship between the health evaluation value of the child node and each of a plurality of threshold values.

[0035] Fig. 2 shows a detailed configuration example of the composition health determination unit 331 in the composition evaluation unit 303 according to the present embodiment.

[0036] Furthermore, the composition health determination unit 331 includes a threshold database 311, a determination unit 312, and an evaluation value calculation unit 313.

[0037] The threshold database 311 stores a plurality of thresholds for determining the magnitude ratio of the health assessment values ​​for child nodes. For example, a first threshold th1 and a second threshold th2 are stored in the threshold database 311.

[0038] The functions of the determination unit 312 and the evaluation value calculation unit 313 will be explained later.

[0039] The dependency database 332 stores dependency information 33 for nodes 11 that is required to determine the health of the vehicle assembly 10.

[0040] The time limit determination unit 333 determines the operating time limit 32 of the vehicle composition 10 from the health determination value 31 for the vehicle composition 10.

[0041] The composition health database 334 stores the determined health assessment value 31 of the vehicle composition 10 and the operating time limit 32 of the vehicle composition 10.

[0042] The information including the health assessment value 31 and the operating time limit 32 constitutes the health assessment information 34.

[0043] The visualization information generation unit 335 generates visualization information 35 for visualizing the health evaluation value 31 of the vehicle composition 10 and the operating time limit 32 of the vehicle composition 10. The physical configuration database 336 stores the physical configuration information 36 for nodes, namely instruments, which are necessary for generating the visualization information 35.

[0044] The schedule generation device 400 includes a health evaluation information receiving unit 401 that receives the health evaluation information 34 for the vehicle composition 10 calculated by the health evaluation device 300, and a planning unit 402 that plans a maintenance schedule or an operation schedule for the vehicle composition 10 based on the received health evaluation information 34.

[0045] The health monitoring device 500 includes a visualization information receiving unit 501, an information visualization unit 502, an information setting unit 503, and a setting information transmitting unit 504.

[0046] The visualization information receiving unit 501 receives the visualization information 35 that visualizes the health evaluation information 34 for the vehicle composition 10 calculated by the health evaluation device 300.

[0047] The information visualization unit 502 visualizes the received health evaluation information 34.

[0048] The information setting unit 503 performs the setting of various types of definition information, such as the dependency information 33 for the nodes or the physical configuration information 36 for the nodes, which are used in the health evaluation.

[0049] The setting information transmission unit 504 transmits the various types of definition information that have been set, such as the dependency information 33 for the nodes or the physical configuration information 36 for the nodes, to the health evaluation device 300.

[0050] Fig. 3 illustrates a hardware configuration example of the health assessment system 700 according to the present embodiment. The hardware configuration of the health assessment system 700 includes the vehicle composition device 100, the vehicle visual inspection device 200, the health assessment device 300, the schedule generation device 400, and the health monitoring device 500. The devices in the health assessment system 700 communicate with each other via a network.

[0051] The health evaluation device 300 and the schedule generation device 400 may be a server on-site or a server set up in a cloud.

[0052] The vehicle composition device 100 includes the nodes constituting the vehicle composition to be evaluated, a control unit for controlling the operations of the nodes, and sensors for detecting the operating situations of the nodes. The vehicle composition device 100 also includes a computing device that generates instrument operating data to be transmitted to the health evaluation device, and a main storage device that stores information about intermediate data from the instrument operating data generation operation or information for generated instrument operating data. The vehicle composition device 100 further includes a communication device that transmits the generated instrument operating data to the health evaluation device.

[0053] The visual vehicle inspection device 200 includes sensors for measuring the conditions of various parts of the vehicle's exterior appearance. The visual vehicle inspection device 200 also includes a computing device that generates visual inspection data to be transmitted to the health assessment device, and a main storage device that temporarily stores intermediate data from the visual inspection data generation process or generated visual inspection data. The visual vehicle inspection device 200 further includes a communication device that transmits the generated visual inspection data to the health assessment device.

[0054] The health assessment device 300 includes a computing device that performs various types of processing for node health assessment, vehicle composition health assessment, generation of visualization information about vehicle composition health, and setting of various types of information. The health assessment device 300 also includes a main storage device that temporarily stores information, including various types of intermediate data or node health assessment information, vehicle composition health assessment information, and visualization information generated by the computing device.The health assessment device 300 also includes an external storage device that stores the generated health assessment information for the nodes, the health assessment information for the vehicle assembly, the dependency information for the nodes, and the physical configuration information for the nodes. The health assessment device 300 further includes a communication device that receives instrument operating data, visual inspection data, and various types of setting information about node dependencies or the physical configuration of the node, and transmits the health assessment information for the vehicle assembly.

[0055] The schedule generation device 400 includes a computing device that generates a maintenance schedule or an operation schedule for the vehicle assembly from the received health assessment information for the vehicle assembly, and a main storage device that temporarily stores intermediate data from the maintenance schedule or operation schedule generation operation. The schedule generation device 400 also includes an external storage device that stores the generated maintenance schedule information or operation schedule information, and a communication device that receives health assessment information for the vehicle assembly.

[0056] The health monitoring device 500 includes a computing device that performs visualization processing on the received health assessment information for the vehicle composition to visualize and generate various types of definition information, such as node dependencies or the physical configuration of nodes. The health monitoring device 500 also includes a main storage device that temporarily stores intermediate data from calculations. The health monitoring device 500 also includes a communication device that receives visualization information related to the health assessment of the vehicle composition and transmits various types of definition information, such as node dependencies or the physical configuration of nodes.The health monitoring device 500 further includes a display device for displaying visualization information for the health assessment of the vehicle composition, and an input device for inputting various types of definition information, such as node dependencies or the physical configuration of the node.

[0057] The devices including the vehicle composition device 100, the visual vehicle inspection device 200, the health evaluation device 300, the schedule generation device 400, and the health monitoring device 500 may be referred to as each device of the health evaluation system 700.

[0058] Each device of the health assessment system 700 is a computer.

[0059] The following explains the computing device, the main storage device, the external storage device, the communication device, the input interface, the output interface, and the communication device included in each device of the health assessment system 700. The input interface is connected to the input device. The output interface is connected to the display device.

[0060] Each device of the health assessment system 700, which is a computer, includes a computing device and other hardware components, such as the main memory, the external storage device, the input interface, the output interface, and the communication device. The computing device is also referred to as a processor. The main memory is also referred to as a working memory. The computing device is connected to other hardware components via signal lines and controls these other hardware components.

[0061] The vehicle composition device 100 includes the operation data collection unit 101 and the operation data transmission unit 102 as functional elements.

[0062] The visual vehicle inspection device 200 includes the visual inspection unit 201 and the inspection data transmission unit 202 as functional elements.

[0063] The health evaluation device 300 includes the vehicle data receiving unit 301, the instrument evaluation unit 302, the composition evaluation unit 303, an information setting unit 304, the evaluation information transmission unit 305, and the setting information receiving unit 306 as functional elements.

[0064] The schedule generating device 400 includes the health evaluation information receiving unit 401 and the scheduling unit 402 as functional elements.

[0065] The health monitoring device 500 includes the visualization information receiving unit 501, the information visualization unit 502, the information setting unit 503, and the setting information transmitting unit 504 as functional elements.

[0066] Although the hardware is described below primarily using the health assessment device 300 as an example, the following description also applies to the other devices.

[0067] The functional elements of the computer are realized, for example, through software.

[0068] The computing device is a device that executes a health assessment program. For the health assessment device 300, the health assessment program is a program that implements the functions of the vehicle data receiving unit 301, the instrumentation assessment unit 302, the composition assessment unit 303, the information setting unit 304, the assessment information transmission unit 305, and the setting information receiving unit 306.

[0069] The computing device is an integrated circuit (IC) that performs arithmetic processing. Specific examples of computing devices are a CPU, a DSP, and a GPU. IC stands for integrated circuit. CPU stands for central processing unit. DSP stands for digital signal processor. GPU stands for graphics processing unit.

[0070] Main memory is a storage device that temporarily stores data. Specific examples of main memory are SRAM or DRAM. SRAM is an abbreviation for Static Random Access Memory. DRAM is an abbreviation for Dynamic Random Access Memory.

[0071] An external storage device is a storage device that archives data. Specific examples of an external storage device include an HDD. The external storage device can be a portable storage medium, such as an SD memory card (registered trademark), a CF card, a NAND flash card, a flexible disk, an optical disk, a compact disk, a Blu-ray disk (registered trademark), or a DVD. HDD is an abbreviation for Hard Disk Drive. SD (registered trademark) is an abbreviation for Secure Digital. CF is an abbreviation for CompactFlash (registered trademark). DVD is an abbreviation for Digital Versatile Disk.

[0072] The input interface is a port connected to an input device, such as a mouse, keyboard, or touch panel. Specifically, the input interface is a USB port. The input interface can also be a port connected to a LAN. USB is an abbreviation for Universal Serial Bus. LAN is an abbreviation for Local Area Network.

[0073] The output interface is a port to which a cable of a display device, such as a monitor, is connected. Specifically, the output interface is a USB port or an HDMI port (registered trademark). Specifically, the monitor is an LCD. The output interface is also called an indicator interface. HDMI is an abbreviation for High-Definition Multimedia Interface. LCD is an abbreviation for Liquid Crystal Display.

[0074] The communication device has a receiver and a transmitter. The communication device is connected to a communication network, such as a LAN, the Internet, or a telephone line. The communication device is typically a communication chip or NIC. NIC is an abbreviation for Network Interface Card.

[0075] The health assessment program is executed in each device of the health assessment system 700. The health assessment program is loaded into the computing device and executed by the computing device. In addition to the health assessment program, the main storage device also stores an OS. OS is an abbreviation for Operating System. The computing device executes the health assessment program while the OS is running. The health assessment program and the OS may also be stored in an external storage device. The health assessment program and the OS stored in the external storage device are loaded into the main storage device and executed by the computing device. Part or all of the health assessment program may be integrated into the OS.

[0076] The health assessment device 300 may include a plurality of processors to replace the computing device. These plurality of processors share the execution of the health assessment program. Each processor is a device that executes the health assessment program like the computing device.

[0077] The data, information, signal values, and variable values ​​used, processed, or output by the health assessment program are stored in the main memory device, the external memory device, or a register or cache memory in the computing device.

[0078] For example, the "unit" of the vehicle data receiving unit 301, the instrument evaluation unit 302, the composition evaluation unit 303, the information setting unit 304, the evaluation information transmission unit 305, and the setting information receiving unit 306 for the health evaluation device 300 can also be read as a "circuit," "process," "operation," "processing," or "circuit." The health evaluation program causes a computer to execute a vehicle data receiving process, an instrument evaluation process, a composition evaluation process, an information setting process, an evaluation information transmission process, and a setting information receiving process.The "process" of the vehicle data reception process, the instrument evaluation process, the composition evaluation process, the information setting process, the evaluation information transmission process, and the setting information reception process may be replaced with "program," "program product," "computer-readable storage medium storing a program," or "computer-readable recording medium recording a program." The health evaluation process is a process performed by executing the health evaluation program by each device of the health evaluation system 700.

[0079] The health assessment program may be provided by storing it on a computer-readable recording medium. Furthermore, the health assessment program may also be provided as a program product. ***Description of how it works***

[0080] The following describes the operation of the health assessment system 700 according to the present embodiment. An operational flow of the health assessment system 700 corresponds to the health assessment method. A program for performing the operation of the health assessment system 700 corresponds to the health assessment program, which causes a computer to execute the health assessment process. The operation of the health assessment system 700 refers to the operation of each device of the health assessment system 700.

[0081] In the description, a node 11 to be evaluated for which the health assessment value 31 is calculated, namely the assessment target instrument, is referred to as an assessment target node 20.

[0082] The health evaluation device 300 is a device for evaluating the health of a vehicle composition 10 formed from a plurality of nodes 11. <gesundheitsbewertungsprozess>

[0083] Fig. 4 is an overall flowchart of the health evaluation process by the health evaluation device 300 according to the present embodiment.

[0084] The health assessment process is performed on the health assessment device 300. The health assessment process may be performed at a regular time, for example, daily or weekly, or at a desired time.

[0085] In step S101, the vehicle data receiving unit 301 acquires instrument operation data or visual inspection data corresponding to each of the nodes constituting the vehicle composition as information for evaluating instrument health.

[0086] In step S102, the instrument evaluation unit 302 and the composition evaluation unit 303 evaluate the health of each node.

[0087] The instrument evaluation unit 302 calculates the health evaluation values ​​and operating time limits for terminal nodes for which there is no node on which these nodes depend among the plurality of nodes. A node on which a respective node depends is referred to as a child node.

[0088] The composition evaluation unit 303 calculates the health evaluation values ​​and operating time limits for all nodes except the end nodes.

[0089] The composition evaluation unit 303 obtains the dependency information 33 from the dependency database 332. For the evaluation target node 20 among the multiple nodes, the composition evaluation unit 303 uses the dependency information 33 to dynamically determine the integration process for integrating the health evaluation value for a child node of the evaluation target node 20 in accordance with the magnitude relationship between the health evaluation value of the child node and each of the multiple threshold values. The composition evaluation unit 303 then uses the dynamically determined integration process to perform information integration of the health evaluation values ​​of the child nodes, thereby calculating the health evaluation value of the evaluation target node 20.

[0090] The evaluation target node 20 is a node among the multiple nodes that is evaluated and on which a child node depends.

[0091] In step S103, the composition evaluation unit 303 checks whether the evaluation is complete for all nodes in the vehicle composition. If not, processing returns to step S101 to repeat the health evaluation for the remaining nodes. If the evaluation is complete, processing proceeds to step S104.

[0092] In step S104, the composition evaluation unit 303 evaluates the health of the vehicle composition and generates health evaluation information including the health evaluation value and the operation time limit with respect to the vehicle composition.

[0093] In step S105, the composition evaluation unit 303 transmits the health evaluation information of the vehicle composition to the schedule generation device 400 via the evaluation information transmission unit 305.

[0094] Furthermore, in step S106, the composition evaluation unit 303 generates visualization information for visualizing the health evaluation information for the vehicle composition.

[0095] Finally, in step S107, the composition evaluation unit 303 transmits the visualization information to the health monitoring device 500.

[0096] Fig. 5 illustrates a construction example of the dependency information 33 stored in the dependency database 332 according to the present embodiment.

[0097] The dependency database 332 stores dependency information 33, in which dependencies between the multiple nodes are specified, with the vehicle composition 10 at the head. In the dependency database 332, a significance is set for the dependency information 33, which represents the strength of the dependency.

[0098] In the dependency database 332, dependencies are defined by directed graphs (arrows), and the significances of dependencies are assigned to the directed graphs.

[0099] With the dependency information 33 from Fig. 5, functional dependencies between the vehicle composition 10 as root node, the middle nodes 1, 2, 3, 4 on which the root node depends, and the nodes 1, 2, 3, 4 on which the middle node 1 depends are defined by a directed graph network.

[0100] For example, the root node is vehicle assembly 10. Each of the middle nodes 1, 2, 3, 4 is a vehicle on which vehicle assembly 10 is functionally dependent. Each of the nodes 1, 2, 3, 4 is an instrument attached to a vehicle and on which the vehicle is functionally dependent, such as an SIV or an accumulator.

[0101] In the following description, the vehicle composition 10 and the nodes associated with the vehicle composition may be referred to as all nodes in the vehicle composition. All nodes in the vehicle composition, including the vehicle composition 10 itself, include the vehicle composition 10, middle nodes such as vehicles, and end nodes such as SIVs and accumulators.

[0102] A terminal node is a node for which there is no node on which it depends, that is, a node for which there is no directed graph to that node.

[0103] In Fig. 5, the health of the root node depends on the health of each of the middle nodes 1, 2, 3, and 4. The health of middle node 1 depends on the health of each of the nodes 1, 2, 3, and 4.

[0104] In Fig. 5, w denotes the significance. For example, significance w = 0.5 for node 4. The significance w was set such that for all dependencies on a given node, the sum of the respective significances is 1.

[0105] Fig. 6 shows a comparative example of the present embodiment, showing an exemplary setting in dependencies, with a vehicle composition 10 at the head.

[0106] In the comparison example in Fig. 6, the dependencies between the multiple nodes, the significance w of each node, and a calculated health assessment value H were determined.

[0107] For example, a health score H of 100 represents the healthiest condition and 0 represents the most abnormal, i.e., the riskiest.

[0108] In the comparison example, only node 4 has a low health score of 20. However, if the significances and health scores are simply weighted and added, as in the comparison example, the health score for the middle node 1 is 60. In this way, the information is rounded off by information integration, resulting in a higher health score for the intermediate node. Finally, despite the presence of a node (an instrument, an inspection item) that already requires maintenance, the health score of the composite becomes high, and the composite appears to be a problem-free vehicle. < <instrumentengesundheit-bewertungsprozess>>

[0109] Fig. 7 is a flowchart of an instrument health evaluation process by the instrument evaluation unit 302 according to the present embodiment.

[0110] The instrument health evaluation process is executed at the instrument evaluation unit 302 of the health evaluation device 300. Furthermore, the instrument health evaluation process represents a detailed flow of a part of step S102 in the overall flowchart of Fig. 3.

[0111] The instrument health assessment process is a processing for performing a health assessment of the terminal nodes in the vehicle composition to be assessed. In the example of Fig. 5, node 1, node 2, node 3 and node 4 are the end nodes.

[0112] In step S201, the instrument health determination unit 321 determines the health of an end node constituting the vehicle composition as a health evaluation value based on the instrument operation data or visual inspection data corresponding to this end node.

[0113] Next, in step S202, the instrument operating time limit determination unit 322 calculates the operating time limits of the terminal node based on the health evaluation value of the terminal node.

[0114] In step S203, information about the health evaluation value and information about the operating time limit are stored in the instrument health database.

[0115] Here, a health score representing the health of a node is remaining lifetime information, which indicates the number of days remaining for the node to operate without problems such as abnormalities or failures. Alternatively, a health score is deterioration level information, which numerically indicates how much the node's health has changed from the present to the future—that is, how much it will have deteriorated compared to a state that guarantees health, such as a new condition or immediately after maintenance. A health score is one or both of a remaining lifetime information indicator and a deterioration level information indicator.

[0116] The health determination by the instrument health determination unit 321 in step S201 and the node uptime limit determination by the instrument uptime limit determination unit 322 in step S202 can be determined in any manner. For example, it can be a determination method using machine learning or a determination method based on statistical analysis. <zusammensetzungsgesundheit-bewertungsprozess>

[0117] Fig. 8 is a flowchart of a composition health evaluation process by the composition evaluation unit 303 according to the present embodiment.

[0118] The composition health evaluation process is processing for evaluating the health of the vehicle composition, which is executed at the composition evaluation unit 303. The composition health evaluation process represents a detailed flow of a part of step S102 and step S104 in the overall flowchart of Fig. 3.

[0119] In the example of Fig. 5, the health assessments for the end nodes that do not have a dependent child node, such as Node 1, Node 2, Node 3, and Node 4, have already been completed. However, the health assessment of the middle node 1, which contains dependent child nodes, is not yet complete. The composition health assessment process is processing for performing health assessments on the middle nodes and the vehicle composition health assessment.

[0120] In step S301, the composition health determination unit 331 obtains the dependency information 33 stored in the dependency database 332 for the nodes constituting the vehicle composition 10 to be evaluated.

[0121] In step S302, the composition health determination unit 331 extracts a node for which the health evaluation of all child nodes on which this node depends is completed from all nodes in the vehicle composition, including the vehicle composition itself, and sets the node as the evaluation target node 20 for which health is to be evaluated.

[0122] For the evaluation target node 20, there are nodes on which this evaluation target node depends. This means that for the evaluation target node 20, a directed graph to this evaluation target node exists.

[0123] A node on which the evaluation target node 20 depends is called a child node 21 of the evaluation target node.

[0124] The composition evaluation unit 303 takes a node for which there are dependent nodes among the plurality of nodes as the evaluation target node 20 in sequence, and calculates the health evaluation value for the evaluation target node 20. Finally, when the calculation of the health evaluation values ​​for all nodes on which the vehicle composition 10 depends is completed, the composition evaluation unit 303 then calculates the health evaluation value for the vehicle composition 10.

[0125] Specifically, the composition evaluation unit 303 repeats the processing from step S302 to step S307.

[0126] In Fig. For example, in Figure 5, the middle node 1 is the assessment target node 20. The child nodes 21 on which the middle node 1 depends are node 1, node 2, node 3, and node 4. When the health assessment for node 1, node 2, node 3, and node 4 is completed, the health assessment for the middle node 1 is possible. <Einholung von Gesundheitsbewertungswert und Signifikanz für die untergeordneten Knoten 21: Schritt S303>

[0127] In step S303, the composition health determination unit 331 obtains the health evaluation values ​​and operating time limits of the child nodes 21 on which the evaluation target node 20 depends. The composition health determination unit 331 also obtains the significance of the dependency between the evaluation target node 20 and each child node 21.

[0128] The composition health determination unit 331 acquires health evaluation information, including the health evaluation value and the operation time limit of the child node 21, from the instrument health database 323 or the composition health database 334.

[0129] If the child node 21 is a terminal node, the health assessment information is obtained from the instrument health database 323. If the child node 21 is an intermediate element node, such as a vehicle or an energy source, the health assessment information is obtained from the composition health database 334.

[0130] The composition health database 334 stores health rating information, including health rating values ​​and the operating time limits for the intermediate element nodes for which they have already been calculated in the processing from step S302 to step S307.

[0131] The composition health determination unit 331 obtains the significance of dependence between the evaluation target node 20 and the child node 21 from the dependence information 33. The significance represents a weight in dependence.

[0132] In the concrete example of Fig. 5, the health assessment values, the operating time limits and the significances of dependency are obtained for the nodes 1, 2, 3, 4 as the child nodes 21 of the middle node 1. <Berechnung von Gesundheitsbewertungswert für Bewertungszielknoten 20: Schritt S304>

[0133] Fig. 9 is a flowchart of the integration process for calculating the health evaluation value for the evaluation target node 20 according to the present embodiment. The flowchart in Fig. 9 shows a detailed flow of step S304.

[0134] First, an overview of the integration process for calculating the health evaluation value for the evaluation target node 20 in step S304 will be described.

[0135] For the evaluation target node 20, the composite health determination unit 331 dynamically determines the integration process to integrate the health evaluation value for a child node according to the magnitude relationship between the health evaluation value of the child node 21 and each of a plurality of threshold values. The composite health determination unit 331 calculates the health evaluation value for the evaluation target node 20 through the dynamically determined integration process.

[0136] Specifically, the integration process is dynamically determined by the composition health determination unit 331 in accordance with the magnitude relationship between the health evaluation value of the child node 21 and each of the first threshold th1 and the second threshold th2 stored in the threshold database 311.

[0137] Specifically, this happens in the following way.

[0138] As a prerequisite for describing the processing, it is assumed that a health assessment value Hp is to be calculated for the assessment target node 20. The assessment target node 20 has N child nodes (x = {1, ..., N}). It is assumed that N is an integer equal to or greater than 2. The health assessment value H corresponds to a child node x. node_x and the significance w node_x .

[0139] In step S341, the determination unit 312 of the composition health determination unit 331 obtains the health evaluation value H node_x and the significance w node_x for all child nodes (x = {1, ..., N}). The significance of a child node obtained from the dependency information 33 is referred to here as the corresponding significance.

[0140] In the example of Fig. 5, if the middle node 1 is the target evaluation node 20, the health evaluation value H and the corresponding significance w are obtained for each of the nodes 1, 2, 3, 4.

[0141] In steps S342 and S343, the determination unit 312 determines whether there is a child node among the plurality of child nodes that has a health evaluation value equal to or smaller than the second threshold th2, which is the smallest of the plurality of thresholds.

[0142] Specifically, the determination unit 312 for the health assessment value H node_x (x = {1, ..., N}) for all child nodes, whether H node_x > th2 is fulfilled or not.

[0143] If all health evaluation values ​​for the child nodes are greater than the second threshold th2, the processing proceeds to step S344.

[0144] On the other hand, if any of the health evaluation values ​​for the child nodes is equal to or less than the second threshold th2, the processing proceeds to step S349.

[0145] This determines whether all health scores of the child nodes are greater than the second threshold th2, that is, whether there is a child node whose health score is equal to or less than the second threshold th2. However, it can also determine whether all health scores for the child nodes are equal to or greater than the second threshold th2, that is, whether there is a child node whose health score is less than the second threshold th2. In the following description, "equal to or greater than" or "equal to or less than" can be replaced by "greater than" or "less than" where consistent.

[0146] The processing in step S349 is processing for a case where there is a child node with a health evaluation value equal to or less than the second threshold th2. If there is a child node among the plurality of child nodes whose health evaluation value is equal to or less than the second threshold th2, the evaluation value calculation unit 313 performs the integration process to integrate the health evaluation values ​​for the child nodes as follows.

[0147] In step S349, the evaluation value calculation unit 313 performs an integration process to set the smallest health evaluation value among the respective health evaluation values ​​of the plurality of child nodes as the health evaluation value for the evaluation target node 20. Then, the processing proceeds to step S348.

[0148] The processing in step S344 to step S346 is processing for a case where all the health evaluation values ​​for the child nodes are greater than the second threshold th2, that is, a case where there is no child node having a health evaluation value equal to or less than the second threshold th2.

[0149] The processing in step S344 to step S346 calculates an integrated significance w' depending on the magnitude ratio between the health evaluation value and the first threshold value th1 for each of the child nodes.

[0150] Then, in step S347, for each of the child nodes, its health evaluation value is multiplied by the integrated significance w' and the resulting values ​​are added, thereby calculating the health evaluation value for the evaluation target node 20.

[0151] An overview of the processing in step S344 to step S374 is as follows.

[0152] If there is no child node among the plurality of child nodes that has a health evaluation value equal to or less than the second threshold th2, the evaluation value calculation unit 313 obtains the significance corresponding to each child node from the dependency information as the corresponding significance w for each of the plurality of child nodes. The evaluation value calculation unit 313 calculates the integrated significance w' by multiplying the corresponding significance w by a weighting factor α defined according to the magnitude relationship between the health evaluation value of each child node and each of the plurality of thresholds. The evaluation value calculation unit 313 multiplies the health evaluation value of each child node by the integrated significance w' and adds the resulting values.The evaluation value calculation unit 313 performs processing to set the value resulting from the addition as the health evaluation value for the evaluation target node 20. The evaluation value calculation unit 313 dynamically determines the above processing as the integration process to integrate the health evaluation values ​​for the child nodes, and calculates the health evaluation value for the evaluation target node 20 through the dynamically determined integration process.

[0153] Specifically, this happens in the following way.

[0154] The evaluation value calculation unit 313 performs the processing for one child node from all the child nodes as the plurality of nodes.

[0155] In step S344, the evaluation value calculation unit 313 determines whether the child node being processed has a health evaluation value equal to or greater than the first threshold value th1, which is the largest of the plurality of threshold values. That is, the evaluation value calculation unit 313 determines the health evaluation value H node_x of the child node x, whether H node_x ≥ th1 is fulfilled or not.

[0156] If the child node has a health evaluation value equal to or greater than the first threshold th1, the processing proceeds to step S345.

[0157] If the child node does not have a health evaluation value equal to or greater than the first threshold th1, the processing proceeds to step S350.

[0158] In step S345, for a child node whose health evaluation value is equal to or greater than the first threshold th1, the evaluation value calculation unit 313 obtains its corresponding significance w as an integrated significance w' without modification. That is, the evaluation value calculation unit 313 leaves the corresponding significance W node_x of the child node x unchanged, w' node_x = w node_x .

[0159] In step S350, the evaluation value calculation unit 313 calculates, for a child node whose health evaluation value is smaller than the first threshold value th1, the product of the corresponding significance w and the weighting factor α as the integrated significance w'. That is, the evaluation value calculation unit 313 multiplies the corresponding significance W node_x of the child node x with α, that is, w' node_x = α×w node_x The multiplication by the weighting factor α is a constant multiple, e.g., 2, 3, or 5. α can be set arbitrarily according to conditions such as the significance, risk level, or cost of each node in the vehicle composition.

[0160] This processing increases the significance for child nodes that have relatively small health scores, so that the deterioration of some child nodes is more strongly reflected in the health score of the evaluation target node 20.

[0161] In step S346, the evaluation value calculation unit 313 determines whether the integrated significance w' has been obtained for all child nodes. If the integrated significance w' has been obtained for all child nodes, processing proceeds to step S347.

[0162] In step S347, the evaluation value calculation unit 313 performs processing to calculate the health evaluation value H node_x for each child node with integrated significance w' node_x to multiply, add the values ​​resulting from the multiplications, and set the value resulting from the addition as the health evaluation value for the evaluation target node 20. That is, the evaluation value calculation unit 313 uses the integrated significance w', which is the modified significance, to weight and add the health evaluation value for the evaluation target node 20.

[0163] The case is described where the health evaluation value Hp for the evaluation target node 20 is calculated using the integrated significance w', which is the modified significance. Assume that the evaluation target node depends on the health of N child nodes.

[0164] The health evaluation value of each node on which the evaluation target node 20 depends is represented as Hi (i = 1, ..., N), the integrated significance of each node on which it depends is represented as w'i (i = 1, ..., N), and the total sum of the integrated significances w' of all child nodes is represented as W. Then, the evaluation value calculation unit 313 performs weighted addition as in Formula 1 below. Health assessment value Hp=(w'1⋅H1+...+w'N⋅HN) / W

[0165] Formula 1 allows any anomaly or deteriorated conditions of some nodes to be adequately reflected in the health scores of parent nodes.

[0166] Variants of the concrete examples are explained. <Variante 1>

[0167] Assume that the middle node 1 depends on nodes 1, 2, 3 and 4, as in Fig. 5. The health assessment value Hp for the middle node 1 is to be calculated. th1=50 and th2=25.α=5.

[0168] For node 1, H1 = 100 and w1 = 0.2.

[0169] For node 2, H2 = 70 and w2 = 0.3.

[0170] For node 3, H3 = 40 and w3 = 0.3.

[0171] For node 4, H4 = 20 and w4 = 0.2.

[0172] In the health evaluation device 300 according to the present embodiment, since H4 = 20 is smaller than th2 = 25, the health evaluation value Hp for the middle node is 120, which is the smallest among the child nodes (step S349). <Variante 2>

[0173] Assume that the middle node 1 depends on nodes 1, 2, 3 and 4, as in Fig. 5. The health assessment value Hp for the middle node 1 is to be calculated. th1=50 and th2=25.α=5.

[0174] For node 1, H1 = 100 and w1 = 0.2.

[0175] For node 2, H2 = 70 and w2 = 0.3.

[0176] For node 3, H3 = 40 and w3 = 0.3.

[0177] For node 4, H4 = 30 and w4 = 0.2.

[0178] With the health evaluation device 300 according to the present embodiment, there is no health evaluation value equal to or less than th2.

[0179] H1 = 100 is greater than th1 = 50. Thus, w'1 remains unchanged at w1 = 0.2.

[0180] H2 = 70 is greater than th1 = 50. Thus, w'2 remains unchanged at w2 = 0.3.

[0181] H3 = 40 is greater than th2 = 20 and less than th1 = 50. Thus, w'3 = α×w3 = 5×0.3 = 1.5.

[0182] H4 = 30 is greater than th2 = 20 and less than th1 = 50. Thus, w'4 = α×w4 = 5×0.2 = 1.0.

[0183] The health rating value Hp for the middle node 1 = (0.2×100+0.3×70+1.5×40+1.0×30) / (0.2+0.3+1.5+1.0) = 37. <Variante 3>

[0184] The health assessment values ​​and significances of nodes 1, 2, 3 and 4 are assumed to be similar to those for nodes 1, 2, 3 and 4 in Fig. to be 6.

[0185] In the health evaluation device 300 according to the present embodiment, since H4 = 20 is smaller than th2 = 25, the health evaluation value Hp for the middle node is 120, which is the smallest among the child nodes.

[0186] In the comparison example of Fig. 6 is the health assessment value for the middle node 160; information about node 4, which is in a dangerous state, was rounded by information integration.

[0187] In contrast, in the health evaluation device 300 according to the present embodiment, the health evaluation value Hp calculated for the middle node 1 is 20; information about the node 4 is adequately reflected in the health evaluation value for the middle node 1.

[0188] With further reference to Fig. The description continues in 8.

[0189] In step S305, the time limit determination unit 333 calculates the operating time limit 32 of the evaluation target node 20 based on the dependency information 33 and the operating time limits of the child nodes. The composition evaluation unit 303 stores the health evaluation value 31 and the operating time limit 32 of the evaluation target node 20 in the composition health database 334.

[0190] The operating time limits of the child nodes include the operating time limits of the end nodes.

[0191] Specifically, the time limit determination unit 333 extracts a worst value from the operating time limits of all nodes on which the evaluation target node 20 depends, and calculates the operating time limit 32 of the evaluation target node 20 based on the worst value. The time limit determination unit 333 extracts the operating time limit with a date closest to the evaluation time as the worst value.

[0192] In other words, the time limit determination unit 333 takes the operation time limit that arrives earliest among the operation time limits of the child nodes of the evaluation target node 20 as the operation time limit 32 of the evaluation target node 20.

[0193] In step S306, the composition health determination unit 331 stores the health evaluation value 31 and the operation time limit 32 of the evaluation target node 20 in the composition health database 334 as health evaluation information 34 for the evaluation target node 20.

[0194] In step S307, the composition health determination unit 331 checks whether the health assessment of all nodes in the vehicle composition, including the vehicle composition itself (vehicle composition, intermediate elements such as vehicles, and the nodes), has been completed. If it is not completed, the processing returns to step S302 to repeat the processing; if it is completed, the processing ends.

[0195] In the concrete example of Fig. 5, the middle node 1 represents the evaluation target node 20. In the processing described above, each time step S302 is executed, reference is made to the nodes for which the health evaluation has been completed at that time, and a node dependent on only one of these nodes is taken as the next evaluation target node until finally the health evaluation for the "vehicle composition" is performed, thus completing the processing. < <visualisierungsinformationen-generierungsprozess>>

[0196] Fig. 10 is a flowchart of a visualization information generation process by the visualization information generation unit 335 according to the present embodiment.

[0197] The visualization information generation process is executed by the visualization information generation unit 335. This processing represents a detailed flow of step S106 in the overall flowchart of Fig. 4.

[0198] After completing the calculation of the health assessment value and the operating time limit for the vehicle assembly, the visualization information generation unit 335 calculates the inspection time limits representing the time limits of the respective inspections of the vehicle assembly and the nodes based on the operating time limit of each node. The visualization information generation unit 335 then generates visualization information 35 for visualizing the respective health and inspection time limits of the vehicle assembly and each node.

[0199] The visualization information generation unit 335 also calculates recommended inspection time limits, according to which the start of the respective inspections at the vehicle assembly and the nodes is recommended based on the respective inspection time limits of the vehicle assembly and the nodes. The visualization information generation unit 335 then also includes information for visualizing the respective recommended inspection time limits for the vehicle assembly and the nodes in the visualization information 35.

[0200] The visualization information generation unit 335 generates visualization information 35 for visualizing the respective health, inspection time limits, and recommended inspection time limits for the vehicle composition and the nodes as a temporal transition from the past to the present and further into the future.

[0201] In step S401, the visualization information generation unit 335 acquires the physical configuration information of the vehicle composition stored in the physical configuration database 336.

[0202] In step S402, the visualization information generation unit 335 acquires the health evaluation information for the vehicle composition stored in the composition health database 334.

[0203] In step S403, the visualization information generation unit 335 calculates information about the inspection time limit and information about the recommended inspection time limit of each node based on the operation time limits from the health evaluation information.

[0204] Finally, in step S403, the visualization information generation unit 335 sorts the acquired health evaluation information for all nodes in accordance with the acquired physical configuration information.

[0205] In the processing in step S403, the inspection time limit is a date subtracted from the operating time limit of the relevant node, taking into account the number of days required for its inspection. The recommended inspection time limit is a date subtracted from the inspection time limit, taking into account the number of days required to obtain spare parts related to the maintenance of the relevant node and the minimum number of days required to allocate maintenance personnel (lead time). Here, the required number of days for inspection and the lead time can be individually configured for the vehicle assembly and each node comprising the vehicle assembly, and can be set and changed by the maintenance personnel on the health monitoring device 500.

[0206] After the flow of the visualization information generation process in Fig. 10 is completed, the visualization information generation unit 335 transmits the vehicle composition health visualization information 35 to the health monitoring device 500 in the processing at step S107.

[0207] Fig. 11 shows an example of the visualization information 35 for visualizing the health evaluation information according to the present embodiment.

[0208] Fig. 11 shows an exemplary diagram visualizing the respective health evaluation information of the evaluated vehicle composition and the plurality of nodes constituting the vehicle composition in the health monitoring device 500.

[0209] In Fig. 11, the processing in step S404 arranges the vehicle assembly and nodes in the sorting order based on the physical configuration of the nodes in the vehicle assembly. The next column to the right specifies the health assessment values ​​at the time of assessment (the present). Further to the right, individual information regarding instrument inspection time limits (recommended inspection time limit / inspection time limit / operation time limit) is specified. Next to this, at the far right of the figure, the temporal transition of the health assessment values ​​from the past to the present and further into the future is indicated.

[0210] The health assessment values ​​can be expressed as numerical values ​​or can be converted into different types of labeling information, such as "healthy", "caution" and "dangerous" in Fig. 11, and are indicated. In the section on the temporal transition of the health rating values, lines may also be displayed indicating the current date and the date of the recommended inspection time limit / inspection time limit / operation time limit for the vehicle composition.

[0211] As in Fig. As shown in Fig. 11, with the health evaluation system 700 according to the present embodiment, the information about an instrument B of a vehicle 2 is not rounded even if only the instrument B of the vehicle 2 is "dangerous" and requires maintenance, and the other vehicles and instruments are in "healthy" condition. The "dangerous" information of the instrument B of the vehicle 2 is adequately reflected in the "Vehicle 2" and "Composition 1" information.

[0212] Fig. 12 is a flowchart of processing for defining the dependency database 332 and the physical configuration database 336 according to the present embodiment.

[0213] Fig. Figure 12 shows a processing flow related to the definition of instrument dependency information and instrument physical configuration information required for vehicle composition health assessment.

[0214] The information setting unit 304 of the health evaluation device 300 acquires information about the dependencies and physical configuration of a plurality of nodes from the control unit of the evaluated vehicle composition and stores it in a database.

[0215] The information setting unit 304 acquires information for modifying or changing the information about the dependencies and physical configuration of the multiple nodes, and modifies or changes the database. Information for modifying or changing the information about the dependencies and physical configuration of the multiple nodes can also be acquired, for example, from a maintenance person via an input device of the health monitoring device 500.

[0216] In step S501, the vehicle data receiving unit 301 obtains information about the dependencies and physical configuration of the nodes constituting the vehicle composition from a control device included in the vehicle composition.

[0217] In step S502, the information setting unit 304 creates the dependencies between the nodes constituting the vehicle composition as dependency information 33.

[0218] In step S503, the information setting unit 304 modifies or changes the dependency information 33 created based on the information acquired by the setting information receiving unit 306.

[0219] In step S504, the information setting unit 304 stores the modified or changed dependency information 33 in the dependency database 332.

[0220] In step S505, the information setting unit 304 creates the physical configuration for the nodes constituting the vehicle composition as the physical configuration information 36.

[0221] In step S506, the information setting unit 304 modifies or changes the dependency information 36 created based on the information acquired by the setting information receiving unit 306.

[0222] In step S507, the information setting unit 304 stores the modified or changed physical configuration information 36 in the physical configuration database 336.

[0223] Regarding the processing in step S501, the information about the dependencies and physical configuration of the nodes in the vehicle assembly may be obtained from a control device such as a train control and management system (TCMS) for controlling the entire vehicle assembly. TCMS is an abbreviation for Train Control and Management System.

[0224] Next, as in the processing in step S503 and step S505, the dependency information 33 or the physical configuration information 36 may be modified or changed at the information setting unit 503 of the health monitoring device 500. The information that can be modified or changed includes connections (directed graphs) in dependencies or physical configurations and the significance of dependencies between nodes. Modified or changed information may also be reviewed as needed during monitoring the temporal transition of the health assessment, rather than being done once at the beginning in preparation for the health assessment. ***Other configurations***

[0225] In the present embodiment, the functions of each device of the health assessment system 700 are implemented in software. As a modification, the functions of each device of the health assessment system 700 may be implemented in hardware.

[0226] Specifically, each device of the health assessment system 700 includes an electronic circuit instead of the computing device.

[0227] The electronic circuit is a dedicated electronic circuit for implementing the functions of each device of the health assessment system 700. Specifically, the electronic circuit is a single circuit, a composite circuit, a programmed processor, a parallel programmed processor, a logic integrated circuit, a GA, an ASIC, or an FPGA. GA is an abbreviation for gate array. ASIC is an abbreviation for application-specific integrated circuit. FPGA is an abbreviation for field-programmable gate array.

[0228] The functions of each device of the health assessment system 700 may be realized by a single electronic circuit or may be implemented across multiple electronic circuits.

[0229] As a further modification, some of the functions of each device of the health assessment system 700 may be implemented by electronic circuitry, and the remaining functions may be implemented in software. Some or all of the functions of each device of the health assessment system 700 may also be implemented in firmware.

[0230] Both the processor and an electronic circuit are also referred to as a processing circuit. That is, the functions of each device of the health assessment system 700 are realized by a processing circuit. ***Description of the Effects of the Present Embodiment***

[0231] As described above, with the health assessment system 700 according to the present embodiment, the composite health determination unit in the composite assessment unit, which performs information integration on the child nodes on which the evaluation target node depends, performs conditional case classification according to the health assessment value of each child node and a plurality of thresholds. The composite health determination unit in the composite assessment unit then dynamically applies information integration logic appropriate for each case to perform the information integration process. The plurality of thresholds may be, for example, the first threshold th1 and the second threshold th2 (th1>th2).

[0232] In this way, the health evaluation system 700 according to the present embodiment reduces the influence of information rounding, so that abnormalities or a deteriorated condition of some parts can be propagated to the overall health evaluation value.

[0233] The health assessment system 700 according to the present embodiment also facilitates the detection of abnormalities and deteriorated condition of the installed instruments based on a health assessment value for the vehicle assembly. Since a health assessment value for a particularly important subordinate element is more reliably propagated to the higher-level elements, it refines the health assessment for the entire vehicle assembly. Embodiment 2.

[0234] In this embodiment, the differences from Embodiment 1 and additions to Embodiment 1 are mainly described.

[0235] In the present embodiment, components having similar functions to those in Embodiment 1 are given the same reference numerals, and their description is omitted.

[0236] In Embodiment 1, an aspect was described in which the first threshold th1 and the second threshold th2 are used as multiple thresholds in the integration process to integrate the health evaluation values ​​of the child nodes.

[0237] In the present embodiment, an aspect is described in which, in addition to the first threshold th1 and the second threshold th2, a third threshold th3 which is smaller than the first threshold th1 and larger than the second threshold th2 is used as the plurality of thresholds in the integration process to integrate the health evaluation values ​​of the child nodes. *** Configuration description ***

[0238] The configuration of the health evaluation system 700 according to the present embodiment is similar to that of Embodiment 1.

[0239] Here the threshold database 311 stores in Fig. 2 the third threshold th3 which is smaller than the first threshold th1 and larger than the second threshold th2, in addition to the first threshold th1 and the second threshold th2.

[0240] Furthermore, in the present embodiment, a first weighting factor α1 and a second weighting factor α2 are provided as the weighting factor α. The second weighting factor α2 is assumed to be greater than the first weighting factor α1, that is, α2 > α1.

[0241] In the present embodiment, the evaluation value calculation unit 313 calculates the product of the corresponding significance w and the first weighting factor α1 as the integrated significance w' for a child node having a health evaluation value less than the first threshold th1 and equal to or greater than the third threshold th3. The evaluation value calculation unit 313 calculates the product of the corresponding significance w and the second weighting factor α2 as the integrated significance w' for a child node having a health evaluation value less than the third threshold th3 and greater than the second threshold th2.

[0242] Since the second weighting factor α2 takes a larger value than the first weighting factor α1, for a child node with a smaller health evaluation value, its health evaluation value can be more strongly reflected in the health evaluation value for the evaluation target node 20. ***Description of how it works***

[0243] In the present embodiment, the flowchart of processing for calculating the health evaluation value for the evaluation target node 20 differs in Fig. 9, explained in Embodiment 1, of Embodiment 1.

[0244] Fig. 13 is a flowchart of processing for calculating a health evaluation value for the evaluation target node 20 according to the present embodiment. Furthermore, the flowchart of Fig. 13 shows a detailed flow of step S304 in Fig. 8, explained in embodiment 1.

[0245] The processing in step S341 to step S343, step S346 to step S348 and step S349 is similar to that in Fig. 9, described in Embodiment 1.

[0246] As in Embodiment 1, the processing in step S344 to step S346 is processing for a case where all the health evaluation values ​​for the child nodes are greater than the second threshold th2, that is, a case where there is no child node having a health evaluation value equal to or less than the second threshold th2.

[0247] In the processing in steps S344a to S346, for each of the child nodes, the integrated significance w' is calculated depending on the magnitude relationship between its health evaluation value and the first threshold th1 and the third threshold th3.

[0248] Then, in step S347, for each of the child nodes, its health evaluation value is multiplied by the integrated significance w' and the resulting values ​​are added, thereby calculating the health evaluation value for the evaluation target node 20.

[0249] Specifically, this happens in the following way.

[0250] The evaluation value calculation unit 313 performs processing for one child node from all the child nodes as the plurality of nodes of the evaluation target node 20.

[0251] In step S344, the evaluation value calculation unit 313 determines whether the child node being processed has a health evaluation value equal to or greater than the third threshold value th3. That is, the evaluation value calculation unit 313 determines for the health evaluation value H node_x of the child node x, whether H node_x ≥ th3 is fulfilled or not.

[0252] If the child node has a health evaluation value equal to or greater than the third threshold th3, the processing proceeds to step S344b.

[0253] If the child node does not have a health evaluation value equal to or greater than the third threshold th3, the processing proceeds to step S350.

[0254] In step S350b, this means that the health evaluation value of the child node being processed is less than the third threshold th3 and greater than the second threshold th2.

[0255] For a child node whose health evaluation value is less than the third threshold th3 and greater than the second threshold th2, the evaluation value calculation unit 313 calculates the product of the corresponding significance w and the second weighting factor α2 as the integrated significance w'. That is, the evaluation value calculation unit 313 multiplies the corresponding significance W node_x of the child node x with α2, that is, w' node_x = α2×w node_x .

[0256] In step S344, the evaluation value calculation unit 313 determines whether the child node being processed has a health evaluation value equal to or greater than the first threshold value th1. That is, the evaluation value calculation unit 313 determines for the health evaluation value H node_x of the child node x, whether H node_x ≥ th1 is fulfilled or not.

[0257] If the child node has a health evaluation value equal to or greater than the first threshold th1, the processing proceeds to step S345.

[0258] If the child node does not have a health evaluation value equal to or greater than the first threshold th1, the processing proceeds to step S350a.

[0259] In step S345, for a child node whose health evaluation value is equal to or greater than the first threshold th1, the evaluation value calculation unit 313 obtains its corresponding significance w as an integrated significance w' without modification. That is, the evaluation value calculation unit 313 leaves the corresponding significance w node_x of the child node x unchanged, w' node_x = w node_x .

[0260] In step S350a, this means that the health evaluation value of the child node being processed is less than the first threshold th1 and equal to or greater than the third threshold th3.

[0261] In step S350a, the evaluation value calculation unit 313 calculates, for a child node whose health evaluation value is less than the first threshold th1 and equal to or greater than the third threshold th3, the product of the corresponding significance w and the first weighting factor α1 as the integrated significance w'. That is, the evaluation value calculation unit 313 multiplies the corresponding significance w node_x of the child node x with α1, that is w' node_x = α1×w node_x .

[0262] Since the second weighting factor α2 takes a larger value than the first weighting factor α1, for a child node with a smaller health evaluation value, such as with a high degree of deterioration, its health evaluation value can be more strongly reflected in the health evaluation value for the evaluation target node 20.

[0263] This processing can increase the significance of a child node that has a relatively small health evaluation value and reflect it in the health evaluation value of the evaluation target node 20. A special variant is described.<Variante 4>

[0264] Assume that the middle node 1 depends on nodes 1, 2, 3, and 4. The health assessment value Hp for the middle node 1 is to be calculated. th1=75, th3=50, and th2=25.α1=3 and α2=6.

[0265] For node 1, H1 = 100 and w1 = 0.2.

[0266] For node 2, H2 = 70 and w2 = 0.3.

[0267] For node 3, H3 = 40 and w3 = 0.3.

[0268] For node 4, H4 = 30 and w4 = 0.2.

[0269] With the health evaluation device 300 according to the present embodiment, there is no health evaluation value equal to or less than th2.

[0270] H1 = 100 is greater than th1 = 75. Thus, w'1 remains unchanged at w1 = 0.2.

[0271] H2 = 70 is greater than th3 = 50 and less than th1 = 75. Thus, w'2 is equal to w2 = α1×0.3 = 0.9.

[0272] H3 = 40 is greater than th2 = 25 and less than th3 = 50. Thus, w'3 = αw3 = 2×0.3 = 1.8.

[0273] H4 = 30 is greater than th2 = 25 and less than th3 = 50. Thus, w'4 is equal to w4 = α2×0.2 = 1.2.

[0274] The health assessment value Hp for the middle node 1 = (0.2×100+0.9×70+1.8×40+1.2×30) / (0.2+0.9+1.8+1.2) ≈ 46.6. ***Other configurations***

[0275] In Embodiment 1, two threshold values ​​th1, th2 are used for the dynamic determination of the integration process. In the present embodiment, three threshold values ​​th1, th2, th3 are used for the dynamic determination of the integration process. By applying the approaches described above in the above-mentioned embodiments, four or more threshold values ​​can be used to perform a dynamic determination of the integration process. ***Description of the Effects of the Present Embodiment***

[0276] As described above, the health assessment system 700 according to the present embodiment can dynamically change the information integration logic according to the health assessment values ​​of a child node by utilizing three thresholds. Compared to determining the information integration logic with two thresholds, the gap between the health assessment values ​​across a threshold can be made more lenient for the health assessment value of a parent node when a child node exists around the threshold.

[0277] Therefore, the health evaluation system 700 according to the present embodiment can provide, in addition to the effect of refining the calculation of the overall health evaluation value due to the reduced effect of information rounding, also the effect of smoother connection between the changes in the evaluation values ​​around a threshold by increasing the number of thresholds (conditional case classifications).

[0278] In Embodiments 1 and 2 above, the different units of each device of the health assessment system were explained as independent functional blocks. However, each device of the health assessment system may not be implemented in the configuration of the above-explained embodiments. The functional blocks of each device of the health assessment system may have any configuration as long as it can realize the functions described in the above embodiments. Furthermore, each device of the health assessment system may be a system composed of multiple devices instead of a single device.

[0279] Several parts of embodiments 1 and 2 may also be implemented in combination. Alternatively, some of these embodiments may be implemented. These embodiments may also be implemented in any combination, in whole or in part.

[0280] That is, for Embodiments 1 and 2, any combination of these embodiments, modification of certain components of the embodiments, or omission of certain components in the embodiments is possible.

[0281] The embodiments described above are essentially preferred examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure, the scope of possible applications of the present disclosure, or the scope of uses of the present disclosure. The embodiments described above can be modified in various ways as needed. List of reference symbols

[0282] 10: Vehicle composition; 11: Node; 20: Evaluation target node; 21: Child node; 31: Health evaluation value; 32: Operation time limit; 33: Dependency information; 34: Health evaluation information; 35: Visualization information; 36: Physical configuration information; 100: Vehicle composition device; 101: Operation data collection unit; 102: Operation data transmission unit; 200: Visual vehicle inspection device; 201: Visual inspection unit; 202: Inspection data transmission unit; 300: Health evaluation device; 301: Vehicle data reception unit; 302: Instrument evaluation unit; 303: Composition evaluation unit; 304: Information setting unit; 305: Evaluation information transmission unit; 306: Determination information receiving unit; 311: Threshold database; 312: Determination unit; 313: Evaluation value calculation unit; 321: Instrument health determination unit;322: Instrument operating time limit determination unit; 323: Instrument health database; 331: Composition health database; 332: Dependency database; 333: Time limit determination unit; 334: Composition health database; 335: Visualization information generation unit; 336: Physical configuration database; 400: Schedule generation device; 401: Health assessment information reception unit; 402: Scheduling unit; 500: Health monitoring device; 501: Visualization information reception unit; 502: Information visualization unit; 503: Information determination unit; 504: Determination information transmission unit; 700: Health assessment system; QUOTES CONTAINED IN THE DESCRIPTION

[0000] This list of documents submitted by the applicant was generated automatically and is included solely for the convenience of the reader. This list is not part of the German patent or utility model application. The DPMA assumes no liability for any errors or omissions. Cited patent literature

[0000] JP 2011-180805 A

[0004] < / gesundheitsbewertungsprozess>

Claims

[1] A health evaluation device for evaluating a health of a vehicle assembly formed of a plurality of nodes, the health evaluation device comprising: an instrument evaluation unit for calculating a health evaluation value representing a health for a terminal node among the plurality of nodes, wherein the terminal node is a node for which there is no child node on which it depends; and a composition evaluation unit for acquiring dependency information in which dependencies between the plurality of nodes having the vehicle composition at the head are set, from a dependency database that stores the dependency information, and for an evaluation target node among the plurality of nodes being evaluated and for which there is a child node on which it depends, dynamically determining an integration process for integrating a health evaluation value of the child node in accordance with a magnitude relationship between the health evaluation value of the child node and each of a plurality of threshold values, and calculating a health evaluation value of the evaluation target node through the dynamically determined integration process. [2] A health assessment device according to claim 1, wherein the evaluation target node depends on a large number of child nodes, and the composition assessment unit has: a determination unit for determining whether or not there is a child node among the plurality of child nodes that has a health evaluation value equal to or less than a second threshold, the second threshold being the smallest of the plurality of thresholds, and an evaluation value calculation unit for, if there is a child node having a health evaluation value equal to or less than the second threshold among the plurality of child nodes, performing processing to set a smallest health evaluation value of the respective health evaluation values of the plurality of child nodes as the health evaluation value for the evaluation target node as the integration process. [3] A health assessment device according to claim 2, wherein in the dependency database, significances are defined for the dependency information that represent the strengths of the dependencies, and If there is no child node among the plurality of child nodes that has a health evaluation value equal to or less than the second threshold value, the evaluation value calculation unit performs, as the integration process, processing to obtain the significance corresponding to each child node from the dependency information as a corresponding significance for each of the plurality of child nodes, calculate an integrated significance by multiplying the corresponding significance by a weighting factor defined in accordance with the magnitude relationship between the health evaluation value of each child node and each of the plurality of threshold values, multiply the health evaluation value of each child node by the integrated significance, and add the multiplication-resulting values.and set a value resulting from the addition as the health assessment value for the assessment target node. [4] The health evaluation device according to claim 3, wherein, if there is no child node having a health evaluation value equal to or less than the second threshold value among the plurality of child nodes, the evaluation value calculation unit determines whether or not each of the plurality of child nodes has a health evaluation value equal to or greater than a first threshold value, the first threshold value being the largest of the plurality of threshold values, and, for a child node having a health evaluation value equal to or greater than the first threshold value, obtains the corresponding significance as the integrated significance, and, for a child node having a health evaluation value less than the first threshold value, calculates a product of the corresponding significance and the weighting factor as the integrated significance. [5] A health assessment device according to claim 4, wherein the plurality of thresholds include a third threshold that is smaller than the first threshold and larger than the second threshold, the weighting factor includes a first weighting factor and a second weighting factor, and for a child node having a health evaluation value that is less than the first threshold and equal to or greater than the third threshold, the evaluation value calculation unit calculates a product of the corresponding significance and the first weighting factor as the integrated significance, and for a child node having a health evaluation value that is less than the third threshold and greater than the second threshold, the evaluation value calculation unit calculates a product of the corresponding significance and the second weighting factor as the integrated significance. [6] The health evaluation device according to claim 5, wherein the second weighting factor is greater than the first weighting factor. [7] The health evaluation device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the dependency database stores the dependency information, the dependencies being defined by directed graphs, and significances of the dependencies being associated with the directed graphs. [8] The health evaluation device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the composition evaluation unit takes a node for which there are nodes on which this node depends, from among the plurality of nodes, as the evaluation target node in sequence, and calculates the health evaluation value for the evaluation target node, and when the calculation of the health evaluation values for all the nodes on which the vehicle composition depends is completed, calculates a health evaluation value for the vehicle composition. [9] The health evaluation device according to claim 5, wherein, in calculating a health evaluation value and an operation time limit for the vehicle composition, the composition evaluation unit calculates inspection time limits representing time limits of respective inspections on the vehicle composition and each of the plurality of nodes based on an operation time limit of each of the plurality of nodes, and generates visualization information for visualizing the respective health and inspection time limits of the vehicle composition and each of the plurality of nodes. [10] A health assessment method for use with a health assessment device to assess a health of a vehicle assembly formed from a plurality of nodes, the health assessment method comprising: Calculating, by a computer, a health rating value representing a health for a terminal node among the plurality of nodes, the terminal node being a node for which there is no child node upon which it is dependent; and Obtaining, by the computer, dependency information in which dependencies between the plurality of nodes with the vehicle composition at the head are specified from a dependency database that stores the dependency information, and for an evaluation target node among the plurality of nodes being evaluated and for which there is a child node on which it depends, dynamically determining an integration process to integrate a health evaluation value of the child node in accordance with a magnitude relationship between the health evaluation value of the child node and each of a plurality of threshold values, and calculating a health evaluation value of the evaluation target node through the dynamically determined integration process. [11] A health assessment program for use with a health assessment device to assess a health of a vehicle assembly formed from a plurality of nodes, the health assessment program causing a computer to execute: an instrument evaluation process for calculating a health evaluation value representing a health for a terminal node among the plurality of nodes, wherein the terminal node is a node for which there is no child node on which it depends; and a composition evaluation process for acquiring dependency information in which dependencies are set between the plurality of nodes having the vehicle composition at the head, from a dependency database that stores the dependency information, and for an evaluation target node among the plurality of nodes being evaluated and for which there is a child node on which it depends, dynamically determining an integration process for integrating a health evaluation value of the child node in accordance with a magnitude relationship between the health evaluation value of the child node and each of a plurality of threshold values, and calculating a health evaluation value of the evaluation target node through the dynamically determined integration process.

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