Alarm aggregation system

Abstract

To provide an alarm aggregation system that appropriately controls the frequency (number of times) of alarms to be notified to a mobile terminal.SOLUTION: An alarm aggregation system 1 of the present invention includes a work machine 100, a server 500 that acquires alarm data from the work machine, and a terminal 600 that receives alarm notifications from the server. The work machine creates daily report data that records daily operation details and sends it to the server. If the server has not previously retrieved alarm data with the same content, or has previously acquired alarm data with the same content and there is daily report data created after the time of acquisition, the server notifies the terminal of an alarm (S250). If alarm data with the same content was previously acquired, it does not notify the terminal of the alarm if there is no daily report data created after the time (S240).SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an alarm aggregation system. [Background technology]

[0002] As shown in Patent Document 1 below and elsewhere, a system has been proposed in which, when a fault occurs in the body of a work machine, the fault is detected by a sensor on the body, alarm information is generated, and the alarm information is transmitted to a remote server using a communication terminal.Then, the server that receives the alarm information transmits the alarm information to a mobile terminal carried by a serviceman who is an inspector in charge of inspecting the work machine, enabling the serviceman to take appropriate measures, perform maintenance, and so on. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2018-119257 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In the above system, every time the server obtains detection data that exceeds a threshold value from the vehicle's sensor, it derives corresponding alarm information from the detection data, transmits the corresponding alarm information to a mobile device held by the serviceman, and issues an alarm from the mobile device. The serviceman checks his mobile device, tallies the number of alarms, and compares it with the number of alarms (average occurrence rate) of multiple alarms, including other work machines, to determine the priority of the response (the order of response). In other words, based on the number of alarms, if it is higher than the average value of the other work machines, adjustments are made such as increasing the priority of the response. In this way, events that repeatedly trigger alarms are considered to have a high priority for response, but there are also events that have a high priority even if they are only issued a small number of times.

[0005] As it is not realistic to distinguish between the two, one solution is to keep notifying the user until the event is resolved. However, when failure-related events occur in multiple parts, alarms are repeatedly issued from each part, resulting in a huge number of alarms being displayed on the mobile device, and there is a risk that important alarms will be overlooked. This creates a risk that the service technician will not be able to carry out the tasks that he or she should be performing.

[0006] Therefore, the present invention has been devised to solve these problems, and provides an alarm aggregation system that optimizes the frequency (number of times) of alarms notified to the service technician's mobile terminal, making it possible to prevent important alarms from being overlooked. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The alarm aggregation system of the present invention, which solves the above-mentioned problems, acquires data from the vehicle body sensors that exceeds a threshold value due to component failure or the like, and issues an alarm as an alert, but if an alarm is issued with the same content as an alarm that has already been received, only the first alert is displayed on the service technician's mobile device. Effect of the Invention

[0008] According to the present invention, alarms that occur during the operation hours of a work machine are tallied and sent to a server each time, but if it is determined that the alarm is the same as the previous one, only the first alarm is notified, and the number of alarms notified is reduced and optimized, which prevents important alarms from being overlooked and reduces the burden on inspectors who visit the site. Further features related to the present invention will become apparent from the description of this specification and the attached drawings. Problems, configurations and effects other than those described above will become apparent from the description of the embodiments below. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] 1 is an overall configuration diagram showing an embodiment of an alarm aggregation system according to the present invention; [Diagram 2]Hardware block diagram of the vehicle body and server. [Diagram 3] FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram showing communication between the vehicle body and the server. [Figure 4] 6 is a flowchart illustrating the contents of a notification determination process of alarm data executed by a control device of the server. [Diagram 5] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of daily report data of a work machine. [Figure 6] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of an alarm data list. [Figure 7] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a data table showing alarm names. [Figure 8] FIG. 1 is a hardware block diagram showing communication between a server and a terminal. [Figure 9] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a display on a mobile terminal. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. 1 is an overall configuration diagram showing one embodiment of an alarm aggregation system according to the present invention. The alarm aggregation system 1 of this embodiment is a system that acquires and aggregates alarm data from a work machine 100, and notifies users such as service personnel and customers. In this embodiment, a case will be described in which the work machine 100 is a hydraulic excavator.

[0011] The alarm aggregation system 1 has a work machine 100, a communication satellite 200, a base station 300, a network 400, a server 500, and a mobile terminal 600. In this embodiment, an example will be described in which there is one work machine 100, one base station 300, one server 500, and one mobile terminal 600, but there may be more than one. Furthermore, communication with the work machine 100 is not limited to communication with the communication satellite 200, and the system may be configured to communicate directly with the base station 300.

[0012] In addition to the server 500, the base station 300 and the mobile terminal 600 are connected to the network 400, and two-way communication of information is possible. The mobile terminal 600 is a digital device that can be connected to the network 400, and is used by service personnel and customers. The mobile terminal 600 is equipped with, for example, a touch panel display that displays information and allows touch input, and is a tablet or a smartphone. The server 500 can send and receive data to and from these nodes connected to the network 400, that is, the base station 300 and the mobile terminal 600.

[0013] FIG. 2 is a hardware block diagram of the vehicle body and the server. The work machine 100 has a sensor group 110 , a display device 120 , a controller 130 , a memory device 140 , and a communication device 150 .

[0014] The sensor group 110 is made up of a plurality of sensors, and in the case where the work machine 100 is a hydraulic excavator, for example, it detects the state of each part required to operate the hydraulic excavator, such as the engine operating state and temperature, and the discharge pressure and pilot pressure of the hydraulic pump. Generally, several tens to several hundreds of sensor groups 110 are provided for one hydraulic excavator. Signals from these various sensor groups 110 are input to the controller 130 as needed via dedicated signal lines.

[0015] The controller 130 has a CPU, a memory, and an input / output interface, and processes input signals from the various sensors 110 according to a predetermined control program, and outputs the data and control signals to the storage device 140, the communication device 150, and the display device 120.

[0016] The storage device 140 is an external storage device such as a hard disk drive or SSD (Solid State Drive), and mainly stores and saves alarm data, aggregated data, and the like output from the controller 130 so that they can be read at any time. The communication device 150 performs data communication with a remote server 500 via a network such as a satellite communication network or a mobile phone network. The communication device 150 is equipped with an antenna for wireless communication, a GPS function for sending location information of the current location, and the like.

[0017] The server 500 is connected to the network 400, and is installed in a remote location far away from the work site. As shown in Fig. 2, the server 500 has a display device 510, a communication device 520, a control device 530, and a storage device 540. The communication device 520 acquires alarm data from the work machine 100 via the network 400, and the control device 530 performs arithmetic processing based on the alarm data acquired by the communication device 520. The storage device 540 stores the alarm data and the calculation results processed by the control device 530, and the display device 510 displays the alarm data, the calculation results, etc.

[0018] A mobile terminal 600 can be connected to the server 500 via the network 400 , and data can be downloaded from the server 500 to the mobile terminal 600 and data can be transmitted from the mobile terminal 600 to the server 500 .

[0019] FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram showing the exchange between the vehicle body and the server. FIG. 3 shows a schematic diagram of the flow of information from the exchange between the work machine 100 and the server 500 to the mobile terminal 600.

[0020] The controller 130 of the work machine 100 receives detection information from each part of the work machine 100 from the sensor group 110, performs calculation processing using the detection information, and stores the calculation result data in the storage device 140. The controller 130 has an alarm data determination unit that compares the data with a threshold value and determines that data that exceeds the threshold value is alarm data. The controller 130 determines that the threshold value has been exceeded when the sensor detection value of the sensor group 110 exceeds an upper limit value, when the number of times that the sensor detection value has exceeded the upper limit value is equal to or greater than a specified number of times, when the cumulative time that the sensor detection value has exceeded the upper limit value is equal to or greater than a predetermined time, etc.

[0021] The controller 130 has a daily report data creation unit that creates daily report data for the work machine 100. The daily report data creation unit creates daily report data, for example, each time a day's work is completed. The daily report data records the operation details of the work machine 100 for that day. The daily report data is transmitted from the work machine 100 to the server 500 and stored by day in the storage device 540 of the server 500. The communication device 150 of the work machine 100 constitutes a data transmission unit that transmits the daily report data and alarm data to the server 500.

[0022] When the server 500 receives alarm data from the work machine 100 via the communication device 520, the control device 530 performs processing to determine whether or not to notify the mobile terminal 600 of the alarm. The data used to determine whether or not to notify the alarm is recorded in the storage device 540 within the server 500, and will be used the next time the same alarm data is received.

[0023] FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating the contents of an alarm notification determination process executed by the control device 530 of the server 500.

[0024] In step S210, alarm data transmitted from the work machine 100 is acquired. In step S220, it is determined whether or not alarm data with the same content as the alarm data acquired in step S210 has been acquired previously (data acquisition determination unit). The determination of whether or not alarm data with the same content has been acquired previously is made by comparing with data recorded in the storage device 540 in the server 500. Then, if alarm data with the same content has been acquired previously, the process proceeds to step S230.

[0025] In step S230, it is determined whether or not there is daily report data created between the time when alarm data with the same content was previously acquired and the time when the current alarm data is acquired, that is, whether or not there is daily report data created after the time when alarm data with the same content was previously acquired (daily report data determination unit). Daily report data is data that records the operation of the work machine 100 on a daily basis, and is created whenever there is a day on which the work machine 100 is operated. Daily report data is created by the work machine 100, for example, every time a day's work is completed, and is transmitted from the work machine 100 to the server 500, and is stored by day in the storage device 540 of the server 500. If daily report data exists on a specified date, it can be determined that normal work was performed by the work machine 100 on that day, that is, the condition of the work machine 100 is normal, and no alarm data was received from the work machine 100.

[0026] The presence or absence of this daily report data is determined in step S230 to determine whether the currently acquired alarm data is the result of consecutive acquisition of alarm data with the same content as the previous alarm because the cause of the previous alarm has not been resolved, or whether the current alarm data is the result of the previous alarm being resolved but new alarm data with the same content has been acquired.

[0027] For example, there are cases where the controller 130 of the work machine 100 creates alarm data indicating an abnormality in a part of the work machine 100 and transmits it to the server 500, but if the abnormality is not resolved, the controller 130 creates alarm data with the same content again and repeatedly transmits it to the server 500. On the other hand, there are also cases where, after a serviceman receives an alarm notification and acts to resolve the abnormality, a new abnormality occurs in the same part, and alarm data is created and transmitted to the server 500. In such cases, the server 500 cannot distinguish whether the alarm data it has received this time is the data that has been repeatedly transmitted in succession without the abnormality being resolved, or the data that has been transmitted regarding a new abnormality that occurred after the abnormality was once resolved.

[0028] Therefore, the server 500 judges whether or not there is daily report data created between the time when the same alarm data was previously acquired and the time when the current alarm data is acquired, that is, whether or not there is daily report data created after the time when the same alarm data was previously acquired, and judges, depending on the presence or absence of daily report data, whether the currently received alarm data is the data that has been repeatedly transmitted in succession without the abnormality being resolved, or the data that has been transmitted regarding a new abnormality that has occurred after the abnormality was once resolved.

[0029] For example, if there is no daily report data created during the specified period, that is, if there is no daily report data created after the time when the same alarm data was previously acquired, it is determined that the currently acquired alarm data is the same alarm data acquired consecutively because the cause of the previous alarm has not been resolved. In this way, if there is no daily report data created during the specified period, the process proceeds to step S240, and the alarm data is stored in the server 500 without notifying the mobile terminal 600 of the alarm.

[0030] If there is daily report data created during a specified period, it is determined that after the abnormality was resolved, a new abnormality occurred in the same part, alarm data was created, and the alarm data acquired this time is another new alarm data with the same content, although the cause of the previous alarm has been resolved for the time being. This means that it can be determined that the same alarm was previously notified, and at that time some repair was performed by a serviceman, and the alarm was able to be turned off once, and it can be determined that it is a different alarm, not a consecutive alarm.

[0031] If it is determined in step S220 that the same alarm data has not been acquired previously, and if it is determined in step S230 that daily report data exists for the predetermined period, the process proceeds to step S250. In step S250, a process of notifying the mobile terminal 600 of the alarm is performed.

[0032] Therefore, when an abnormality occurs in the work machine 100, only the first alarm can be notified to the mobile terminal 600, and it is possible to prevent the same alarm from being repeatedly notified without the abnormality being resolved. This prevents the serviceman from overlooking an important alarm, and allows him to head to the place he should be heading.

[0033] FIG. 5 shows an example of the configuration of daily report data for a work machine. The daily report data includes at least the model code of the work machine 100, the machine number (individual number), the date and time the daily report data was generated, and information identifying the machine number (the last digit of the machine number), and although not shown, depending on the machine, it also includes information such as the engine operating time and the time each engine mode was operated that day. In the example shown in Figure 5, September 20, 2021 is recorded in the item for the date and time the daily report data was generated.

[0034] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a list of alarm data transmitted from a work machine. The model code, unit number, alarm code, and occurrence date and time are shown in chronological order. Note that the alarm code string is actually multiple character strings, but in Fig. 6 it is simplified and written as "A, B, C." Also, alarm codes are not limited to A, B, and C, and many codes are prepared depending on the alarm pattern and type.

[0035] For example, when model code a, unit number 000001, and alarm code A are acquired by server 500 at 18:04 on September 4, 2021, they are compared with previous alarm data recorded in server 500.

[0036] Furthermore, the alarm data acquired by server 500 at 13:04 on September 3, 2021, which is a time earlier than 18:04 on September 4, 2021, has model code a, unit number 000001, and alarm code A, which is the same as the alarm data acquired at 18:04 on September 4, 2021, and therefore it can be determined that the alarm data acquired at 18:04 on September 4, 2021 is the same alarm data as the previously acquired alarm data.

[0037] Server 500 checks whether there is daily report data for a predetermined period, that is, whether there is daily report data created between 13:04 on September 3, 2021 and 18:04 on September 4, 2021. If there is no daily report data, it is considered to be a continuous alarm, and server 500 does not notify mobile terminal 600 of the alarm. If there is daily report data, it is not considered to be a continuous alarm, and server 500 notifies mobile terminal 600 of the alarm as a separate alarm.

[0038] Figure 7 is a data table showing alarm names, and shows the specific content of the alarm codes in Figure 6. There are multiple alarm codes, such as "warning" and "abnormality", depending on the part targeted by the alarm and the nature of the alarm, and such warning or abnormality alarms are issued when data from a sensor exceeds a threshold, such as an overheat warning or engine oil pressure warning.

[0039] FIG. 8 is a hardware block diagram showing the exchange between the server and the mobile terminal. The mobile terminal 600 includes a communication device 610 , a control device 620 , a storage device 630 , an operation device 640 , an imaging device 650 , and a display device 660 .

[0040] When the mobile terminal 600 receives an alarm notification from the server 500 via the communication device 610, it displays an alarm code and an alarm name corresponding to the alarm data on the display device 660. By looking at the display on the display device 660, a service technician can actually take action such as repair or maintenance.

[0041] FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a display on the mobile terminal 600, which is a screen displaying the alarm data notified to the mobile terminal.

[0042] The display device 660 of the mobile terminal 600 has a display monitor 661 that displays alarm data on a screen. At the top of the screen of the display monitor 661, the model 671 of the work machine 100, the machine number 672, the customer name 673, the engine operating hours 674, the number of years of use 675, and the address 676 are displayed.

[0043] An alarm history 677 is displayed in the center of the screen of the display monitor 661, with alarm data arranged in chronological order from the top. When alarm data is repeatedly transmitted multiple times from the work machine 100 to the server 500, only one item is displayed in the alarm history. Therefore, the serviceman can recognize the importance or priority of the alarms displayed in chronological order on the mobile terminal 600 and tackle repairs or maintenance.

[0044] The method of displaying alarm data on the mobile terminal 600 is not limited to chronological order. The display device 660 may display alarm data in different colors according to the nature of the alarm data, such as the urgency or priority of the alarm data. Specifically, even if the alarm data is displayed later in the chronological order, the background color of the display area for alarm data that needs to be addressed urgently may be red, and alarm data with normal priority may be displayed in blue. The background color is not limited to red or blue, and can be set arbitrarily. By indicating the urgency, the service person can know which alarms should be given priority.

[0045] As another embodiment, a part of the screen may display an image of the entire vehicle body, and the part for which the alarm is being notified may be identified by a circle or an arrow pointer. By looking at this display, the service technician can visually and intuitively grasp the part that needs to be inspected.

[0046] According to the alarm aggregation system 1 of this embodiment, alarm data from the work machine 100 is acquired by the server 500, and if the same alarm data was previously acquired within the server 500, only the first one is displayed as a notification on the mobile terminal 600, so alarm notifications to the mobile terminal 600 are reduced and optimized, making it possible to prevent an enormous number of alarms from being notified to the mobile terminal 600 and reducing the burden on service personnel who visit the site. Therefore, the service personnel can prevent important alarms from being overlooked and can go to the work machine 100 that requires maintenance or repairs.

[0047] The alarm aggregation method of the present embodiment includes a step in which the server 500 receives alarm data exceeding a threshold value from the work machine 100, and determines in the control device 530 of the server 500 whether or not the same alarm data has been received previously. If the same alarm data has been received, the method includes a step in which the server 500 determines whether or not there is daily report data that was created between the time when alarm data with the same content was previously received and the time when the current alarm data is received. If the server 500 has not received the same alarm data from the work machine 100, and if daily report data exists, the method includes a step in which the server 500 notifies the mobile terminal 600 of an alarm, and if there is no daily report data, the method includes a step in which the server 500 does not notify the mobile terminal 600 of an alarm.

[0048] According to the alarm aggregation method of this embodiment, when the same alarm data as before is received from the work machine 100, only the first one is notified as an alarm to the mobile terminal 600. This reduces alarm notifications to the mobile terminal 600, reduces the chance of a serviceman overlooking an alarm, and enables the serviceman to remember to respond even to alarms that do not require an immediate response, which leads to preventing machine downtime for customers in advance.

[0049] (Other embodiments) In relation to the description of FIG. 6, the list of alarm data may include "location information". Then, prior to alarm notification, only terminals that belong to the notification destination range are specified. This allows Rather than receiving all alarm notifications, the mobile device can be configured to receive alarm data only for work machines within the current location, while not displaying work machines located far away outside the area, enabling an efficient response. Alternatively, when there are multiple service personnel within a given area, the system may be set to give priority to notifying the service personnel closest to the location information of the machine that has issued the alarm.

[0050] Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above in detail, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various design changes can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention described in the claims. For example, the above-described embodiments have been described in detail to clearly explain the present invention, and the present invention is not necessarily limited to those having all of the configurations described. In addition, it is possible to replace a part of the configuration of one embodiment with the configuration of another embodiment, and it is also possible to add the configuration of another embodiment to the configuration of one embodiment. Furthermore, it is possible to add, delete, or replace a part of the configuration of each embodiment with another configuration. [Explanation of symbols]

[0051] 100...working machine (hydraulic excavator), 200...communication satellite, 300...base station, 400...network, 500...server, 600...mobile terminal, 110...sensor group, 120...display device, 130...controller, 140...storage device, 150...communication device, 510...display device, 520...communication device, 530...controller, 540...storage device, 610...communication device, 620...controller, 630...storage device, 640...operation device, 650...imaging device, 660...display device

Claims

1. An alarm aggregation system having a server that acquires alarm data from a work machine and transmits alarm notifications to a terminal, The server a communication device that receives daily report data that records the operation details of one day from the work machine and the alarm data, and a control device, The control device determining whether alarm data having the same content has been previously acquired, and determining whether any of the daily report data has been created after the time when the alarm data having the same content was previously acquired; When alarm data of the same content has not been acquired previously, or when alarm data of the same content has been acquired previously and there is daily report data created after the time of the acquisition, the alarm is notified to the terminal via the communication device, and when there is no daily report data created after the time of the acquisition of alarm data of the same content, the alarm is not notified to the terminal; An alarm aggregation system comprising:

2. 2. The alarm aggregation system according to claim 1, wherein the control device displays the alarm data in chronological order on a display device of the terminal as an alarm to be notified to the terminal.

3. 2. The alarm aggregation system according to claim 1, wherein the control device selects the terminal to which the alarm is to be notified based on position information of the work machine and the terminal.

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