Repair information providing apparatus and repair information providing method

Abstract

To accurately determine whether each of repairs is a re-repair or not.SOLUTION: A repair information providing apparatus 10 includes: an information storage unit 14 which stores repair information on repairs of products; an information acquisition unit 11 which acquires the repair information; and a re-repair determination unit 12 which determines, based on the repair information, whether a repair made at a first point of time is a re-repair for eliminating a defect that has not been eliminated by a repair made at a second point of time which is earlier than the first point of time. The repair information includes information on occurrence of defect and information on a part repaired, for each repair. The re-repair determination unit determines, when a first-timepoint part and a second-timepoint part, which are parts repaired at first and second points of time, are identical, or when the contents of defects specified by the defect occurrence information on the first-timepoint part and the second-timepoint part are identical, that the repair made at the first point of time is a re-repair.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a repair information providing device and a repair information providing method for providing information regarding the repair of a product. [Background technology]

[0002] As an example of this type of device, a device that provides information on vehicle repair methods is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1). The device described in Patent Document 1 identifies a symptom code that indicates the type of malfunction occurring in the vehicle, and extracts multiple response action codes that correspond to the identified symptom code. Then, by referring to the response action codes and repair dates in a past repair history table, the device outputs response action codes that indicate work that has not been performed within the past six months as repair methods with higher priority. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2005-157580 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] When a product has a defect such as a breakdown, it is preferable to correctly identify the cause of the defect and the necessary measures and resolve the defect in one repair, but when a second repair is required, it is necessary to quickly verify the cause of the second repair and take necessary measures. However, since there are various circumstances that lead to a second repair, it is difficult to accurately determine whether each repair is a second repair or not. For example, it is difficult to accurately determine whether a different repair was performed for a similar symptom, as in the case of the device described in the above Patent Document 1. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] A repair information providing device according to one aspect of the present invention includes an information storage unit that stores repair information related to product repairs, an information acquisition unit that acquires repair information, and a re-repair determination unit that determines, based on the repair information acquired by the information acquisition unit, whether a repair performed on a product at a first time point is a re-repair to resolve a product defect that was not resolved by a repair performed at a second time point prior to the first time point. The repair information includes, for each product repair, product defect occurrence information and information on the part on which the repair was performed. The re-repair determination unit determines that the repair performed at the first time point is a re-repair when the first-time point target part that is the target of the repair performed at the first time point matches the second-time point target part that is the target of the repair performed at the second time point, or when the defect content identified by the defect occurrence information for the first-time point target part matches the defect content identified by the defect occurrence information for the second-time point target part.

[0006] A repair information providing method according to another aspect of the present invention includes an information acquisition step executed by a computer to acquire repair information related to product repairs, and a re-repair determination step to determine whether or not a repair performed on a product at a first time point is a re-repair to resolve a product defect that was not resolved by a repair performed at a second time point prior to the first time point, based on the repair information acquired in the information acquisition step. The repair information includes, for each product repair, product defect occurrence information and information on the part on which the repair was performed. In the re-repair determination step, if the first-time point target part that is the subject of the repair performed at the first time point matches the second-time point target part that is the subject of the repair performed at the second time point, or if the defect content identified by the defect occurrence information for the first-time point target part matches the defect content identified by the defect occurrence information for the second-time point target part, the repair performed at the first time point is determined to be a re-repair. Effect of the Invention

[0007] According to the present invention, it is possible to accurately determine whether each repair is a re-repair or not. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining various factors that lead to product repair. [Diagram 2] FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining a case of re-repair. [Diagram 3] 1 is a block diagram showing an example of an overall configuration of a repair information providing system including a repair information providing device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] 4 is a diagram for explaining repair information managed by the repair information providing device of FIG. 3; [Diagram 5] 4 is a diagram for explaining re-repair determination performed by the re-repair determination unit in FIG. 3; [Figure 6] 4 is a diagram showing an example of a re-repair determination result by the re-repair determination unit in FIG. 3. [Figure 7] 2 is a flowchart showing an example of a process executed by the repair information providing device of FIG. 1; DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Fig. 1 to Fig. 7. A repair information providing device according to an embodiment of the present invention provides information on the repair of a product such as a vehicle, in particular, information on whether each repair is a re-repair. When a defect such as a breakdown occurs in a product, it is preferable to correctly identify the cause of the defect and the necessary measures and eliminate the defect in one repair, but when a re-repair is required, it is necessary to quickly verify the cause that led to the re-repair and take necessary measures.

[0010] FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining various factors that lead to re-repair of a product. As shown in FIG. 1, the circumstances that lead to re-repair can be roughly divided into cases where the defect is not resolved by the first repair, and cases where the defect is resolved by the first repair but then a similar defect reoccurs. When the defect is not resolved by the first repair, the cause of the defect or the necessary measures cannot be correctly identified due to the lack of diagnostic ability of the repair person, or the defect is difficult to diagnose in the first place, such as low reproducibility. When a similar defect reoccurs, the cause of the defect may be that only the damaged part that is affected (damaged) by the cause part and causing the defect is repaired without repairing the part that caused the defect, or there is a quality problem with the product itself.

[0011] Figure 2 is a diagram to explain cases (patterns) of re-repair. As shown in Figures 1 and 2, if a similar defect symptom recurs or continues to occur between the first and second repairs, and it is clear that a similar part should be repaired or it is difficult to identify other repair parts, the similar part may be repaired (Case A). Such repairs are considered to be re-repairs to resolve defects that were not resolved by the first repair.

[0012] If the first repair does not resolve the problem, and new symptoms of a malfunction different from those seen at the first repair appear at the second repair, i.e., related or advanced symptoms of a malfunction, the same part may be repaired again (Case B). For example, if an oil leak occurs in a damper as a vehicle part, an abnormal noise may occur as a related or advanced symptom of a malfunction. This type of repair is also considered a second repair. If the first repair does not resolve the problem, and new symptoms of a malfunction different from those seen at the first repair appear at the second repair, and a different part is repaired, it is not considered a second repair.

[0013] If the first repair does not resolve the problem, and the second repair shows the same problem symptoms, it is possible that the first repair was not appropriate, so a different part may be repaired (Case C). This type of repair is also considered a repeat repair.

[0014] In this embodiment, the repair information providing device is configured as follows so that it can take into account all cases of re-repair as shown in FIG. 2, accurately determine whether each repair is a re-repair, and provide information regarding product repairs.

[0015] Fig. 3 is a block diagram showing an example of the overall configuration of a repair information providing system 100 including a repair information providing device (hereinafter, device) 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Fig. 3, the repair information providing system 100 includes the device 10 and an information input terminal 20 provided in a store or the like that repairs products such as vehicles. The information input terminal 20 may include one managed by a business entity that manufactures products such as vehicles. The device 10 and the information input terminal 20 are connected to each other so as to be able to communicate with each other via a communication network 30 including a WAN (Wide Area Network) such as a LAN (Local Area Network) or the Internet.

[0016] The device 10 includes a computer having a CPU (processor), a ROM, a RAM (memory), and other peripheral circuits. The device 10 has an information acquisition unit 11, a re-repair determination unit 12, and an information output unit 13 as the functional configuration of the processor, and has an information storage unit 14 as the functional configuration of the memory. That is, the processor of the device 10 functions as the information acquisition unit 11, the re-repair determination unit 12, and the information output unit 13, and the memory of the device 10 functions as the information storage unit 14. The device 10 may be configured as a single server device, may be configured as a distributed server device, or may be configured as a distributed virtual server device provided on a cloud environment.

[0017] The information input terminal 20 is configured by a device connectable to a communication network 30, such as a personal computer or a tablet terminal provided in a shop or the like that repairs products such as vehicles. Repair information and the like relating to product repairs is input to the information input terminal 20 by a staff member or the like at the shop. The repair information input to the information input terminal 20 is transmitted to the device 10 via the communication network 30 and managed there.

[0018] Fig. 4 is a diagram for explaining repair information. As shown in Fig. 4, the repair information includes an identification number for each repair of a product (a reception number in the example of Fig. 4) for identifying one repair, and an identification number for identifying the product for which the repair was performed (a vehicle identification number in the example of Fig. 4). In addition, the repair information includes information indicating the date and time for identifying when the repair was performed and the amount of use of the product (the repair reception date and the accumulated mileage in the example of Fig. 4).

[0019] The repair information further includes information for identifying the defect (defect symptoms) that occurred in the product (symptom code in the example of FIG. 4) and information for identifying the part that was actually repaired (representative part number and replacement part number in the example of FIG. 4). A "representative part" is a single part that was identified as the cause of the defect and repaired, and a "replacement part" is a part that was replaced when the representative part was repaired. There may be no replacement part, or there may be multiple replacement parts. Repairs include replacing a defective part with a new part, as well as removing the defective part and inspecting, cleaning, processing, or performing some other treatment on it, and then reattaching it to the product. The part number includes multiple character strings, some of which (e.g., the first digit) identifies the mounting location or major category of the part, and some of which (e.g., the first 5 digits) identifies the part itself. The symptom code also includes multiple character strings, some of which (e.g., the first 3 digits) identifies the defect symptoms.

[0020] The information acquisition unit 11 of the device 10 acquires the repair information transmitted from the information input terminal 20. The repair information acquired by the information acquisition unit 11 is stored and accumulated in the information storage unit 14.

[0021] The re-repair determination unit 12 determines whether or not the repair performed on the product at the first time point is a re-repair to resolve a defect of the product that was not resolved by the repair performed at the second time point prior to the first time point, based on the repair information acquired by the information acquisition unit 11. For example, when the information acquisition unit 11 acquires repair information of a new repair, the repair information of past repairs performed on the same product is extracted from the repair information stored and accumulated in the information storage unit 14, and it is determined whether or not it corresponds to a case of re-repair as shown in Fig. 2. Alternatively, the repair information of a series of repairs performed on each product is extracted from the repair information stored and accumulated in the information storage unit 14, and it is determined whether or not each combination of repair information corresponds to a case of re-repair as shown in Fig. 2.

[0022] 5 is a diagram for explaining re-repair judgment by the re-repair judgment unit 12. The re-repair judgment unit 12 first extracts repair information of repairs performed on a product at a first time point and repair information of repairs performed at a second time point prior to the first time point from the repair information acquired by the information acquisition unit 11 and stored in the information storage unit 14. More specifically, the re-repair judgment unit 12 extracts a combination of repair information in which the identification number for identifying the product (e.g., vehicle identification number) matches, and the time when the repair was performed or the amount of use of the product (e.g., accumulated mileage) is different.

[0023] At this time, the period from the second time point to the first time point may be limited to within a predetermined period to extract repair information. That is, even in the case of a re-repair as shown in FIG. 2, a repair performed after a predetermined period has elapsed since the previous repair is usually not considered a re-repair. The predetermined period may be determined based on time (e.g., six months, etc.) or on the amount of product usage (e.g., mileage of 10,000 km, etc.). The predetermined period may be determined for each part, for example, according to the service life of each part.

[0024] Next, as shown in FIG. 5, the re-repair determination unit 12 compares the representative part number (part number of the representative part at the first time point) included in the extracted repair information at the first time point with the representative part number (part number of the representative part at the second time point) included in the repair information at the second time point. Also, the replacement part number (part number of the replaced part at the first time point) included in the repair information at the first time point is compared with the replacement part number (part number of the replaced part at the second time point) included in the repair information at the second time point. If the upper five digits of the part numbers match, the first time point target part (first time point representative part or first time point replaced part) that is the target of the repair at the first time point and the second time point target part (second time point representative part or second time point replaced part) that is the target of the repair at the second time point are the same part. In this case, it corresponds to case A or case B in FIG. 2, and it is determined that the repair at the first time point is a re-repair for the repair at the second time point. Note that, as for the replacement parts, it is sufficient that any of the replaced parts at the first time point and any of the replaced parts at the second time point are the same part.

[0025] The re-repair determination unit 12 further compares the symptom code (first-time symptom code) included in the repair information at the first time point with the symptom code (second-time symptom code) included in the repair information at the second time point. If the top three digits of the symptom code match, it can be said that the same malfunction symptom as at the second time point recurs or continues at the first time point. Even if the top five digits of the part numbers do not match, if the top one digit of the part numbers match, the first-time point target part and the second-time point target part are parts with the same mounting location or major category. Therefore, if the top three digits of the symptom code match the top one digit of the part numbers, it can be said that there is a relationship between the repair at the first time point and the repair at the second time point. In this case, it is determined that the repair at the first time point is a re-repair of the repair at the second time point as corresponding to case A or case C in FIG. 2. Regarding the replacement parts, it is sufficient that any of the first-time point replacement parts and any of the second-time point replacement parts are parts with the same mounting location or major category.

[0026] The determination result by the re-repair determination unit 12 is stored in the information storage unit 14. More specifically, among the repair information stored in the information storage unit 14, information on the number of times re-repairs have been performed is added to the repair information at the second point in time, and the repair information of the repair at the first point in time that was performed as a re-repair is associated with the repair information, thereby updating the repair information.

[0027] The re-repair determination unit 12 further calculates (determines) a score value indicating the likelihood that the repair at the first time point is a re-repair. That is, when the upper five digits of the part numbers of the first time point representative part and the second time point representative part match, which is the case where the repair at the first time point is most likely to be a re-repair, the highest first score value (1000 points in the example of FIG. 5) is calculated. When the upper five digits of the part numbers of the first time point representative part and the second time point replaced part match, the second score value (100 points in the example of FIG. 5) which is the second highest score value is calculated. When the upper one digit of the part numbers of the first time point representative part and the second time point replaced part match and the upper three digits of the symptom code, the third score value (10 points in the example of FIG. 5) which is the second highest score value is calculated. When the upper one digit of the part numbers of the first time point representative part and the second time point replaced part match and the upper three digits of the symptom code, the fourth score value (1 point in the example of FIG. 5) which is the second highest score value is calculated.

[0028] The score value calculated by the re-repair determination unit 12 is stored in the information storage unit 14. More specifically, the score value calculated by the re-repair determination unit 12 is assigned to a combination of the repair information at the first point in time and the repair information at the second point in time, and the repair information stored in the information storage unit 14 is updated.

[0029] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a re-repair determination result by the re-repair determination unit 12, and shows an example of a series of repairs performed at different times of accumulated mileage for a vehicle with the same vehicle identification number. As shown in FIG. 6, the upper five digits of the part numbers of the representative parts of repair 1a and repair 2 do not match, but the upper five digits of the part numbers of the replacement parts match, so repair 2 is determined to be a re-repair of repair 1a, and a score value of 100 points is calculated. The upper digit of the part numbers of the representative parts and the upper digit of the part numbers of the replacement parts do not match between repair 1a and repairs 3 and 4, so repairs 3 and 4 are determined not to be re-repairs of repair 1a. In this case, information that a re-repair was performed once is added to the repair information of repair 1a, and the repair information of repair 2 performed as a re-repair is associated with it, and the repair information is updated.

[0030] Because the top five digits of the part number of the representative part for Repair 1b are the same as those for Repairs 2 and 3, Repairs 2 and 3 are determined to be re-repairs of Repair 1b, and a score of 1000 points is calculated. Because the top digit of the part number of the representative part for Repair 1b and Repair 4 does not match even the top digit, but the top digit of the part number of the replacement part matches the top three digits of the symptom code, Repair 4 is determined to be a re-repair of Repair 1b, and a score of 1 point is calculated. In this case, the repair information for Repair 1b is given information that it was re-repaired three times, and the repair information for Repairs 2, 3, and 4, which were performed as re-repairs, is associated with it, and the repair information is updated.

[0031] Because the top five digits of the part numbers of the representative parts for Repair 2 and Repair 3 are the same, Repair 3 is determined to be a re-repair of Repair 2, and a score value of 1000 points is calculated. Because the top digit of the part numbers of the representative parts and the top digit of the part numbers of the replacement parts do not match between Repair 2 and Repair 4, Repair 4 is determined not to be a re-repair of Repair 2. In this case, the repair information for Repair 2 is given information that a re-repair was performed once, and the repair information for Repair 3, which was performed as a re-repair, is associated with it, and the repair information is updated.

[0032] Since Repair 3 and Repair 4 do not match in the most significant digit of the part number of the representative part or the most significant digit of the part number of the replacement part, Repair 4 is determined to be not a re-repair of Repair 3.

[0033] When the re-repair determination unit 12 determines that the repairs performed at a plurality of first time points are re-repairs corresponding to a single repair performed at a second time point, it identifies a combination of the repairs at the first time point and the repairs at the second time point that is most likely to be re-repairs. In the example of FIG. 6, among the combinations of repair 1b and repair 2, the combination of repair 1b and repair 3, and the combination of repair 1b and repair 4 that are determined to be re-repairs, the combination of repair 1b and repairs 2 and 3 with the highest score value is identified as the combination most likely to be re-repairs. In this case, the repair information of repair 1b is further given information that repairs 2 and 3 are most likely to be re-repairs corresponding to repair 1b, and the repair information is updated. Only the combination of repair 1b and repairs 2 and 3 with the highest score value may be determined as a combination of re-repairs.

[0034] Such a score value not only indicates the likelihood that the repair at the first time point is a re-repair, but also indicates the magnitude of the impact of the defect related to the re-repair on the product and the priority of dealing with the defect. In other words, if the top five digits of the part numbers of the representative parts and replacement parts at the first and second time points are the same and the same parts are re-repaired, it is highly likely that the product (part) itself has a quality problem, and it is necessary to take measures such as design changes for the parts immediately. In this way, if the defect related to the re-repair has a large impact on the product and the priority of dealing with the defect is high, a relatively high score value is calculated. On the other hand, if only the top digit of the part numbers of the representative parts and replacement parts at the first and second time points is the same and different parts are re-repaired, it is highly likely that the part to be treated in the first repair was not correctly identified, and it is unlikely that the part itself has a quality problem. In this way, if the defect related to the re-repair has a relatively small impact on the product and the priority of dealing with the defect is relatively low, a relatively low score value is calculated.

[0035] The information output unit 13 outputs the updated repair information stored in the information storage unit 14 to the outside. For example, the updated repair information for each shop that repairs products such as vehicles is transmitted to the information input terminal 20 for each shop. The information output unit 13 may output all of the repair information stored in the information storage unit 14, or may extract and output a part of it. For example, only the repair information for each shop may be extracted and transmitted to the information input terminal 20 of each shop. The output of the updated repair information by the information output unit 13 may be performed each time the information acquisition unit 11 acquires repair information for a new repair, or may be performed periodically (for example, daily, weekly, monthly, etc.). For example, each time repair information for a new repair is transmitted from each shop to the device 10, a re-repair determination is performed, and the updated repair information is transmitted to the information input terminal 20 of each shop. In this case, each shop can quickly check whether the new repair was a re-repair to resolve a defect that was not resolved by a past repair, and the past repair that led to the re-repair. This allows each shop to quickly verify the cause that led to the re-repair and take necessary measures.

[0036] FIG. 7 is a flow chart showing an example of processing executed by the device 10, and shows an example of a case where a re-repair determination is made each time new repair information is acquired from the information input terminal 20. The processing in FIG. 7 is repeatedly executed at a predetermined cycle. As shown in FIG. 7, first, in step S1, it is determined whether or not new repair information has been acquired from the information input terminal 20. If the result in step S1 is affirmative, the processing proceeds to step S2, and if the result in step S1 is negative, the processing ends. In step S2, from the past repair information stored in the information storage unit 14, repair information having the same vehicle identification number but a different cumulative mileage from the repair information at the first time point acquired in step S1 is extracted as a candidate for repair information at the second time point.

[0037] Next, in step S3, it is determined whether the upper five digits of the representative part numbers included in the repair information at the first time point acquired in step S1 and the repair information at the second time point extracted as candidates in step S2 match. If the result in step S3 is affirmative, the process proceeds to step S4, where a first score value (1000 points) is assigned to the combination of the repair information at the first time point and the repair information at the second time point determined in step S3, and the repair information stored in the information storage unit 14 is updated.

[0038] If the result in step S3 is negative, the process proceeds to step S5, where it is determined whether the upper five digits of the replacement part numbers included in the repair information at the first time point and the repair information at the second time point determined in step S3 match. If the result in step S5 is positive, the process proceeds to step S6, where a second score value (100 points) is assigned to the combination of the repair information at the first time point and the repair information at the second time point determined in steps S3 and S5, and the repair information is updated.

[0039] If the result in step S5 is negative, the process proceeds to step S7, where it is determined whether the upper digit of the representative part number and the upper 3 digits of the symptom code included in the repair information at the first time point and the repair information at the second time point determined in steps S3 and S5 match. If the result in step S7 is positive, the process proceeds to step S8, where a third score value (10 points) is assigned to the combination of the repair information at the first time point and the repair information at the second time point determined in steps S3, S5, and S7, and the repair information is updated.

[0040] If the result in step S7 is negative, the process proceeds to step S9, where it is determined whether the first digit of the replacement part number and the first three digits of the symptom code included in the repair information at the first time point and the repair information at the second time point determined in steps S3, S5, and S7 match. If the result in step S9 is positive, the process proceeds to step S10, where a fourth score value (1 point) is assigned to the combination of the repair information at the first time point and the repair information at the second time point determined in steps S3, S5, S7, and S9, and the repair information is updated.

[0041] If the result in step S9 is negative, the process proceeds to step S11, and a score value (0 points) is assigned to the combination of the repair information at the first point in time and the repair information at the second point in time determined in steps S3, S5, S7, and S9, indicating that the combination is not a re-repair combination, and the repair information is updated.

[0042] Next, in step S12, it is determined whether or not the scores have been calculated for all candidates of repair information at the second time point extracted in step S2. If the result in step S12 is negative, the process returns to step S3, where the next candidate is determined. If the result in step S12 is positive, the process proceeds to step S13, where the updated repair information is sent to the information input terminal 20, and the process ends.

[0043] In this way, by making a re-repair judgment taking into consideration all the re-repair cases shown in Figures 2 and 5 (steps S3 to S11), it is possible to accurately judge whether each repair is a re-repair or not. Also, by making a re-repair judgment every time new repair information is acquired and providing the repair information (steps S1 and S13), it is possible to quickly verify the cause that led to the re-repair and take necessary measures.

[0044] According to the embodiment described above, the following advantageous effects are achieved. (1) The device 10 includes an information storage unit 14 that stores repair information related to product repairs, an information acquisition unit 11 that acquires the repair information, and a re-repair determination unit 12 that determines, based on the repair information acquired by the information acquisition unit 11, whether or not a repair performed on a product at a first time point is a re-repair to resolve a product defect that was not resolved by a repair performed at a second time point prior to the first time point (FIG. 3). The repair information includes, for each product repair, information on the occurrence of the product defect and information on the part on which the repair was performed (FIG. 7).

[0045] The re-repair determination unit 12 determines that the repair performed at the first time point is a re-repair when the first-time point target part that is the target of the repair performed at the first time point matches the second-time point target part that is the target of the repair performed at the second time point, or when the malfunction content identified by the malfunction occurrence information for the first-time point target part matches the malfunction content identified by the malfunction occurrence information for the second-time point target part (FIGS. 2 and 5). In this way, by considering all the cases of re-repair as shown in FIGS. 2 and 5 and making a re-repair determination based on the repair information, it is possible to accurately determine whether each repair is a re-repair or not.

[0046] (2) When the defect content specified by the defect occurrence information for the first time point target part matches the defect content specified by the defect occurrence information for the second time point target part, the re-repair determination unit 12 determines that the repair performed at the first time point is a re-repair, provided that the mounting part of the product where the first time point target part is mounted matches the mounting part of the second time point target part. This makes it possible to more accurately determine whether each repair is a re-repair or not.

[0047] (3) The re-repair determination unit 12 further calculates a score value indicating the likelihood that the repair performed at the first time point is a re-repair. The re-repair determination unit 12 calculates a score value when the first time point target part and the second time point target part match (cases A and B in FIG. 2) that is higher than the score value when the defect content identified by the defect occurrence information for the first time point target part and the defect content identified by the defect occurrence information for the second time point target part match (cases A and C in FIG. 2) (FIG. 5). In this case, it is possible to easily and accurately evaluate the likelihood that each repair is a re-repair based on the repair information. In addition, it is possible to easily and accurately evaluate the impact of defects related to re-repair on the product and the priority of dealing with the defects.

[0048] (4) When the re-repair determination unit 12 determines that the repairs performed at a plurality of first time points are re-repairs corresponding to a repair performed at a single second time point, it identifies the most likely combination of the repairs performed at the first time point and the repairs performed at the second time point. In this case, for example, only the combination with the highest score value can be identified as a combination of re-repairs. In addition, a combination with a high score value is highly likely to have a quality problem in the product (part) itself, and it is necessary to take measures such as design changes immediately for that part, so by identifying such re-repairs, the necessary measures can be taken efficiently.

[0049] (5) The period from the second point in time to the first point in time is within a predetermined period. In other words, even if the case in Figures 2 and 5 applies, a repair that is performed after a predetermined period has passed since the previous repair is usually not considered a repeat repair, so by excluding combinations of repairs that exceed the predetermined period, it is possible to more accurately determine whether each repair is a repeat repair or not.

[0050] In the above embodiment, an example of performing a re-repair judgment for the repair of a product such as a vehicle has been described, but the product is not limited to a vehicle. The product may be any product as long as the details of the malfunction symptoms in each repair and information on the parts that have been treated are managed as repair information. The product may be a vehicle or other moving body, or an engine or motor mounted on a generator or the like.

[0051] In the above embodiment, the device 10 has the information output unit 13 and transmits repair information to the information input terminal 20 of a store or the like that repairs the product, but the repair information providing device is not limited to this. For example, the device may automatically perform only the re-repair judgment and the update of the repair information, and output the updated repair information in response to an output command from outside. In other words, the person who receives the repair information may access the device 10 as necessary and obtain the updated repair information.

[0052] In the above embodiment, an example of automatically performing a re-repair judgment every time new repair information is acquired is described in Fig. 7 and the like, but the re-repair judgment unit that performs the re-repair judgment is not limited to this. For example, in response to an external command, the repair information of a series of repairs performed on each product may be extracted from the repair information stored and accumulated in the information storage unit 14, and a re-repair judgment may be performed. In other words, the re-repair judgment may be performed in response to a request from a person who receives the repair information.

[0053] Although the present invention has been described above as a repair information providing device, the present invention can also be used as a repair information providing method. That is, the repair information providing method includes an information acquisition step S1 executed by a computer to acquire repair information related to product repair, and a re-repair determination step S2 to S12 to determine whether or not a repair performed on a product at a first time point is a re-repair to resolve a product defect that was not resolved by a repair performed at a second time point prior to the first time point, based on the repair information acquired in the information acquisition step S1 (FIG. 6). The repair information includes information on the occurrence of a defect in the product and information on the part on which the repair was performed for each product repair (FIG. 7). In the re-repair determination step, if the first-time target part that is the target of the repair performed at the first time point and the second-time target part that is the target of the repair performed at the second time point match, or if the defect content identified by the defect occurrence information for the first-time target part and the defect content identified by the defect occurrence information for the second-time target part match, the repair performed at the first time point is determined to be a re-repair (FIGS. 2 and 5).

[0054] The above description is merely an example, and the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment and modifications, provided that the characteristics of the present invention are not impaired. It is also possible to arbitrarily combine one or more of the above-mentioned embodiment and modifications. [Explanation of symbols]

[0055] 10 Repair information providing device (device), 11 Information acquisition unit, 12 Re-repair determination unit, 13 Information output unit, 14 Information storage unit, 20 Information input terminal, 30 Communication network, 100 Repair information providing system

Claims

1. an information storage unit that stores repair information related to the repair of the product; An information acquisition unit that acquires the repair information; and a re-repair determination unit that determines, based on the repair information acquired by the information acquisition unit, whether or not a repair performed on the product at a first time point is a re-repair to resolve a defect of the product that was not resolved by a repair performed at a second time point prior to the first time point, The repair information includes, for each repair of the product, information on the occurrence of a defect in the product and information on the part that was repaired; The repair information providing device is characterized in that the re-repair determination unit determines that the repair performed at the first time point is a re-repair when the first time point target part that is the target of the repair performed at the first time point matches the second time point target part that is the target of the repair performed at the second time point, or when the malfunction content identified by the malfunction occurrence information for the first time point target part matches the malfunction content identified by the malfunction occurrence information for the second time point target part.

2. 2. The repair information providing device according to claim 1, The repair information providing device is characterized in that when the defect content identified by the defect occurrence information for the target part at the first time point matches the defect content identified by the defect occurrence information for the target part at the second time point, the re-repair determination unit determines that the repair performed at the first time point is a re-repair, provided that the mounting location of the target part at the first time point and the mounting location of the target part at the second time point on the product match.

3. 3. The repair information providing device according to claim 1, The repair information providing device is characterized in that the re-repair determination unit further calculates a score value indicating the likelihood that the repair performed at the first time point was a re-repair, and calculates a score value when the target part at the first time point and the target part at the second time point match to be higher than a score value when the defect content identified by the defect occurrence information for the target part at the first time point and the defect content identified by the defect occurrence information for the target part at the second time point match.

4. 4. The repair information providing device according to claim 3, The repair information providing device is characterized in that, when it determines that the repairs performed at multiple first points in time are re-repairs corresponding to the repairs performed at a single second point in time, it identifies the combination of the repairs performed at the first point in time and the repairs performed at the second point in time that is most likely to be re-repairs.

5. 3. The repair information providing device according to claim 1, A repair information providing device, wherein a period from the second point in time to the first point in time is within a predetermined period.

6. A method for implementing the present invention using a computer An information acquisition step of acquiring repair information regarding the repair of the product; and a re-repair determination step of determining whether or not a repair performed on the product at a first time point is a re-repair for resolving a defect of the product that was not resolved by a repair performed at a second time point prior to the first time point, based on the repair information acquired in the information acquisition step, The repair information includes, for each repair of the product, information on the occurrence of a defect in the product and information on the part that was repaired; The repair information providing method is characterized in that in the re-repair determination step, if the first-time point target part that is the subject of the repair performed at the first time point matches the second-time point target part that is the subject of the repair performed at the second time point, or if the malfunction content identified by the malfunction occurrence information for the first-time point target part matches the malfunction content identified by the malfunction occurrence information for the second-time point target part, it is determined that the repair performed at the first time point is a re-repair.

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