Maintenance operation assistance system, maintenance operation assistance method, and non-transitory computer-readable medium

Abstract

To provide a maintenance operation assistance system that facilitates identification of a root cause by using a fault tree even by an unskilled operator.SOLUTION: A systems and method can involve a maintenance operation assistance system that assists a maintenance operation on a machine. The method includes: managing, as fault tree information on the machine, fault information, cause information, information on how to identify a causal occurrence, and recovery method information; acquiring status information on the machine; processing the status information with respect to one or a plurality of pieces of external status information or internal status information; determining a method of identifying a causal occurrence of the machine from the processed external status information or internal status information on the machine; executing the method of determining a cause occurrence of the machine; and displaying the fault tree information on the machine, the acquired status information, and the determined cause occurrence for the machine.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure generally relates to factory systems, and more specifically, to fault tree management and maintenance management of factory systems.

Background Art

[0002] To maximize productivity, it is essential to maintain the operating time of factory production lines. The main cause of loss of line operating time is mechanical failure due to some abnormal condition. Therefore, an early recovery operation based on root cause analysis of mechanical failures is required. For this purpose, fault tree analysis is generally performed using a fault tree. A fault tree is a tree diagram that includes a top node indicating a fault event, lower nodes indicating root cause phenomena, and branches indicating the causal relationships of the phenomena. The fault tree is effective because it can immediately determine the root cause when a fault is described in the fault tree, thereby eliminating long downtime.

[0003] The fault tree focuses on explaining the relationship between phenomena and causes. Therefore, the method of checking whether a cause is occurring by examining the causes described in the fault tree, and the determination of the cause itself, are left to the operator. Therefore, even when a fault tree exists, there is a problem that it takes too much time for an inexperienced operator to identify the root cause. Other problems include misdiagnosis, or the inability to identify the root cause even after spending a considerable amount of time.

[0004] In related art, there can be a system that supports maintenance work involved in analyzing equipment failures by using a diagnostic tree having the same performance as a failure tree. In such a related art system, the diagnostic tree is not only used to simply search each path of the diagnostic tree, but also by using information on the necessary preparation time and maintenance work time recorded in each node, the estimated cost of tracing each path, as well as the past occurrence probability that efficiently supports the analysis of equipment failures, it is also used to optimize the search path.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0005]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0006] There is a need for a maintenance work support system that enables even an inexperienced operator to easily identify the root cause using a failure tree. The related art system can support efficient maintenance work by performing path optimization based on pre - installed information in the diagnostic tree. However, as a prerequisite, the operator must be at a level where they can identify the cause and perform the work necessary for decision - making related to cause identification. Therefore, an inexperienced operator may not be able to execute the optimal path even if it is presented.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0007] In the exemplary implementation described in this specification, a maintenance work support system for assisting in the maintenance work of a machine includes a recording unit that records failure information, cause information, information on how to identify the occurrence of a cause, as well as recovery method information (e.g., the failure tree information of the machine) and status acquisition, and a processing unit that processes the acquired status information. A display unit can be used to display the failure tree information, machine status acquisition method information, acquired status information, cause occurrence information based on the status, and recovery method information. The method of identifying the occurrence of a cause involves a method of identifying the cause based on either external status information or internal status information of the machine, and the occurrence of a cause is determined from such information.

[0008] Such a maintenance work support system can also use the video or image acquired by a camera as one of the external status information, which is input into the processing section as the external status information, and the judgment result for the occurrence of a cause is obtained as the output of the processing unit.

[0009] Such a maintenance work support system can also use information on how to identify the occurrence of a cause, including the necessity and content of the pre-work to be carried out before status collection, and the external or internal status information to be used to judge the completion of the pre-work.

[0010] Such a maintenance work support system can also start status collection by identifying the occurrence of a cause based on external or internal status information, which is used to judge the completion of the pre-work.

[0011] Such a maintenance work support system can also be executed such that one of the status information used to judge the completion of the pre-work is different from the type of status information used to identify the occurrence of a cause.

[0012] Aspects of the present disclosure can involve a maintenance work support system for supporting maintenance work on a machine. The system includes a memory configured to manage failure information, cause information, information on how to identify the occurrence of a cause, and recovery method information as the failure tree information of the machine, an interface configured to acquire the status information of the machine, processes the status information regarding one or more of the external status information or the internal status information, determines a method for identifying the occurrence of a cause of the machine from the processed external status information or internal status information of the machine, executes the method for determining the occurrence of a cause of the machine, and a processor configured to display the failure tree information of the machine, the acquired status information, and the determined occurrence of a cause for the machine.

[0013] Aspects of the present disclosure can involve a method, which can include managing failure information, cause information, information on how to identify the occurrence of a cause, and recovery method information as the failure tree information of the machine, acquiring the status information of the machine, processing the status information regarding one or more of the external status information or the internal status information, determining a method for identifying the occurrence of a cause of the machine from the processed external status information or internal status information of the machine, executing the method for determining the occurrence of a cause of the machine, and displaying the failure tree information of the machine, the acquired status information, and the determined occurrence of a cause for the machine.

[0014] Aspects of the present disclosure can be accompanied by a computer program with instructions that manage failure information, cause information, information on how to identify the occurrence of a cause, and recovery method information as a failure tree information of a machine, acquire status information of the machine, process status information regarding one or more of external status information or internal status information, determine a method for identifying the occurrence of a cause of the machine from the processed external status information or internal status information of the machine, and display the failure tree information of the machine, the acquired status information, and the determined occurrence of a cause for the machine. The computer instructions and programs can be stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium and executed by one or more processors.

[0015] Aspects of the present disclosure can be accompanied by a system that includes means for managing failure information, cause information, information on how to identify the occurrence of a cause, and recovery method information as a failure tree information of a machine, means for acquiring status information of the machine, means for processing status information regarding one or more of external status information or internal status information, means for determining a method for identifying the occurrence of a cause of the machine from the processed external status information or internal status information of the machine, means for executing the method for determining the occurrence of a cause of the machine, and means for displaying the failure tree information of the machine, the acquired status information, and the determined occurrence of a cause for the machine.

Advantages of the Invention

[0016] The exemplary implementation examples described herein are accompanied by a system that can reduce the number of operator-dependent processes and the probability of misdiagnosis. The exemplary implementation examples described herein may involve separating the task of identifying the cause of a failure tree or diagnosis tree into preliminary work so as to eliminate the need for information collection and judgment based on the knowledge and experience of the device. Problems, configurations, and effects other than those described above will be clarified by the description of the embodiments for carrying out the following invention.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0017]

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[0018] The following detailed description provides details of the drawings and exemplary implementations of the present application. Reference numerals and descriptions of overlapping elements between the drawings are omitted for clarity. The terms used throughout the description are provided by way of example and are not intended to be limiting. For example, the use of the term "automatically" may involve fully automatic or semi - automatic implementations with user or administrator control over specific aspects of the implementation, depending on the desired implementation by those skilled in the art practicing the implementations of the present application. The selection can be made by the user through a user interface or other input means, or can be realized through a desired algorithm. Exemplary implementations as described herein can be used alone or in combination, and the functionality of the exemplary implementations can be realized in any form according to the desired implementation. **Examples**

[0019] FIG. 1 shows an example of the architecture of a maintenance work support system in the related art. Specifically, the exemplary system uses a fault tree and, based on the acquired machine data, utilizes the machine data to identify the root cause.

[0020] FIG. 2 shows an example of the minimal relationship of a fault tree in the related art. At the core of the fault tree, there is a direct relationship between the fault and the cause. Other information such as how to identify the occurrence of the cause and recovery methods is added to assist unskilled technicians. The recovery method information is added only when the cause is the root cause (the final node of the fault tree).

[0021] Figure 3 shows a related technical example of a fault tree diagram existing in a recording unit as fault tree information. As shown in Figure 3, the fault tree diagram can be accompanied by information including conversations regarding fault symptoms, conversations regarding the type of fault, and conversations regarding recommendations for overcoming the fault. In this fault tree example, each node is an example of a cause of occurrence, and the final node will have recovery information. For example, the node "obstacle" has recovery methods of "check the operation path of the motor" and "remove the obstacle". In the case of an intermediate cause or fault (for example, "motor system fault"), there are also lower-level nodes that can exist in the tree. For example, if "motor cable defect" is the final node, it can be determined that it is the root cause of the fault, and the recovery methods can involve "manually start the motor using a swap cable" and "replace the cable".

[0022] Figure 4 shows a related technical example of detailed information on how to identify the occurrence of a cause. Specifically, Figure 4 shows the procedures for each case. To confirm the machine status, machine data or manual observation can be obtained. There are three steps in identifying the occurrence of a cause: pre-work, collection, and inspection. The pre-work involves the work necessary for collection and inspection (for example, it is necessary to open the machine door to inspect the inside of the machine). Collection involves the collection of data (for example, from the internal mechanism of the machine, from the observation by the technician). Inspection refers to the inspection based on the data collection (for example, the technician observes whether there are signs of burning or other damage to the machine after opening the door, traversing the fault tree from the internal status).

[0023] In the case of internal status, there is a sensor data or other control / feedback system related to the machine that can provide the internal status of the machine, collect the internal status, and then it can be used for inspection by mapping the data to a fault tree. However, in the case of external status, the systems of the related art rely only on manual work for collection and inspection, and the judgment depends only on the observations made by engineers or technicians and the corresponding technical levels.

[0024] FIG. 5 shows a related art flowchart of a maintenance work support system of the related art. In the related art example, the system traces a fault tree diagram from the top node by performing cause occurrence identification. The display unit shows each piece of information during the tracing, and when the root cause is reached, the recovery method information is shown as the final step. As shown in FIG. 5, the flow can calculate the occurrence when machine (internal status) data is used, but for external status, as shown in B-2, the judgment of the technician is manually required to determine the traversal of the fault tree. Therefore, the flow of the related art depends on the technology of the technician.

[0025] FIG. 6 shows a maintenance work support system according to an exemplary implementation. The difference from the related art example is the status information obtained as internal or external status information based on how the cause occurrence is identified. The identification process is separate from the preliminary work and collection / inspection.

[0026] In the maintenance work support system example 600, there are a status acquisition unit 601, a processing unit 602, a display unit 603, and a recording unit 604. In contrast to the related art implementation example, the status acquisition unit 601 can include a machine internal status acquisition module 610 and a machine external status acquisition module 611. The recording unit 604 can have fault tree information 640 that can include fault information 641, cause information 642, information 643 on how the cause occurrence is identified, and recovery method information 644.

[0027] FIG. 7 shows an example of information 643 regarding how to identify the occurrence of a cause according to an exemplary implementation. In this example, the status information for identifying the occurrence of a cause can be based on the internal status or external status of the machine. The process for identifying the occurrence of a cause can be separated into pre-work and collection / inspection. In this example, all of the pre-work information involves manual information, while the collection / inspection information is obtained from either internal machine data or external machine data. Examples of internal machine data can include, but are not limited to, programmable logic controller (PLC) bits, machine alarms, controller feedback values, etc.

[0028] Examples of external machine data can include, but are not limited to, photos, videos, environmental sensors (such as audio, vibration, load, temperature, humidity sensors), images or videos of the machine captured by a camera focused on the machine. Therefore, the exemplary implementation separates the internal status and the external status and makes an automated determination based on at least one of the statuses.

[0029] FIG. 8 shows a partial example of a fault tree 640 according to an exemplary implementation. For example, in the case of a motor system fault, the fault tree requires pre-work by an operator to manually start the motor. The collection / inspection involves taking a video of the motor operation (e.g., via a camera focused on the motor) as an external status to check the rotation of the motor. The fault tree can also include recovery method information, such as shown by "replace the cable" in response to a cable defect in the motor.

[0030] FIG. 9 shows an example of a flowchart of a maintenance work support system according to an exemplary implementation.

[0031] At 900, the flow acquires user input regarding current fault information. At 901, the flow determines the first node of the fault tree. At 902, the flow traverses the depth of the fault tree and selects a node that has not yet been processed.

[0032] At 903, the flow provides information (e.g., to the display unit 603) on how to identify the occurrence of a cause at the selected node. At 904, the flow then calculates the occurrence by using external or internal status data. The flow can automate the flow, thereby avoiding the judgment by the technician, and thus is different from the related art example in that the traversal of the fault tree for identifying the root cause is made independent of the technical level of the technician.

[0033] At 905, it is determined whether there is another node at the same depth. If there is another node (Yes), the flow proceeds to 903 to process that node, otherwise (No), the flow proceeds to 906.

[0034] At 906, a determination is made as to which node is most likely to occur for a given event. At 907, it is determined whether there is a deeper node to traverse the fault tree. If there is a deeper node (Yes), the flow proceeds to 902 to traverse that depth of the fault tree to the next level, otherwise (No), the flow proceeds to 908 to determine that the determined node is the root cause of the event. At 909, the recovery method information associated with that node is provided (e.g., to the display unit 603).

[0035] According to the above exemplary implementation, inspections can be automatically performed through the collected internal or external information, so that unskilled operators do not need to judge the cause underlying the event by themselves, thereby preventing misjudgment of the event.

[0036] Figure 10 shows another architecture example of the maintenance work support system according to an exemplary implementation. In this architecture example, the machine external status acquisition module 611 can use the camera device 612 to provide and process photos or videos to identify the occurrence of a cause.

[0037] By using the camera device 612 of the system and further processing the acquired data with the processing unit 602, the system can automatically inspect the occurrence of a cause. Furthermore, the system can eliminate the storage amount consumed by the system by directly processing photo and / or video data that may cause system delays if not processed directly and may require more storage space for processing.

[0038] Figure 11 shows an example of information regarding how to identify the occurrence of a cause according to an exemplary implementation. As shown in Figure 7, in many cases, the preliminary work is still performed manually, which may still rely on the skills of the technician performing the preliminary work, thereby introducing the possibility of human error. In this example, an automated preliminary work completion check is used to prevent misdiagnosis and is verified through internal machine data or external machine data. The completion check can be determined by external machine data or internal machine data to reduce the possibility of incorrect work or human error in the preliminary work process.

[0039] Figure 12 shows an example of a fault tree diagram with a completion check according to an exemplary implementation. As shown in the fault tree diagram example of Figure 12, the completion check requirements for a "motor system failure" can include receiving a manual start button input as an internal status and starting the motor manually. In another example regarding a failure of the motor cable, the completion check can also include a photo of the swap cable as external status information for the completion check. Through such exemplary implementations, the reduction of human error can be achieved.

[0040] Figure 13 shows another flowchart example of a maintenance work support system with a completion check according to an exemplary implementation. The difference from the third example is that, as indicated by 1000 in the flow, a pre-work completion check is used as a trigger for data collection in order to prevent misdiagnosis.

[0041] By applying a completion check by using internal or external status data, two different possibilities of misdiagnosis are prevented. In the first possibility of misdiagnosis, in the case of a motor system failure or the like, the operator / technician may need to press some button on the touch panel. When using a touch panel, it may be difficult for the technician to determine whether the button has been pressed appropriately. So, in some cases, even if a failure occurs due to not pressing the button, the technician may think that the target system is not operating properly. In the second possibility of misdiagnosis, data collection such as a motor defect may need to be performed after the pre-work is completed. In such an example, since the necessary motor current statistics include the increase in the motor current at the start of motor rotation, the system may not be able to acquire data if the data collection is started manually.

[0042] Figure 14 shows an example of identifying the cause occurrence by involving a pre-work completion check according to an exemplary implementation. The example of Figure 14 shows the main combinations of the data source for inspection and the pre-work completion check. The data source for each is set as the opposite (for example, completion check by external machine data, collection / inspection by internal machine data), and this is also reflected in the fault tree as shown in Figure 12. By applying such combinations, some faults specifically related to the internal status or external status, such as a malfunction of the acquisition system or a device malfunction, can be eliminated.

[0043] Especially in the case of an electrical system, since it can be difficult to check for electrical system failures internally, internal data for pre-work completion checks and external data for inspections can serve as valid combinations in a fault tree such as that shown in FIG. 12.

[0044] The exemplary implementations described herein involve a fault tree in which the information necessary to identify the cause is categorized into pre-work as well as internal or external status collection and inspections. This enables the system to automate external status collection and inspections using image recognition to prevent misdiagnosis by unskilled operators, and to use the completion signal as a trigger for pre-work collection to prevent pre-work implementation errors.

[0045] By using this system, unskilled operators can perform the tasks necessary to identify the root cause of a malfunction, reducing misdiagnosis. This eliminates the need for equipment manufacturers to have their in-house skilled technicians perform maintenance work, and also eliminates the need to install a maintenance center near the installation location even when the equipment is installed in an area far from the installation location, thereby reducing support costs.

[0046] FIG. 15 shows a plurality of physical systems network-connected to a management device according to an exemplary implementation. One or more physical systems 1521 (e.g., air compressors, lathes, server systems, etc.) are associated with a physical machine communicatively coupled to a network 1520 (e.g., a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN)) through corresponding network interfaces of sensor systems installed in the physical systems 1521, and the network is connected to a management device 1522 configured to facilitate the functionality of a maintenance work support system 600 for assisting with maintenance work on the machines of the physical systems 1521. The one or more systems 1521 may or may not be associated with sensors, depending on the desired implementation. The management device 1522 manages a database 1523 that houses historical data collected from the sensor systems from each of the physical systems 1521. In an alternative exemplary implementation, data from the sensor systems of the physical systems 1521 can be stored in a central repository or central database, such as a proprietary database that ingests data from the physical systems 1521, or in a system such as an enterprise resource planning system, and the management device 1522 can access or retrieve data from the central repository or central database. The sensor systems of the physical systems 1521 can include any type of sensor, such as, but not limited to, gyroscopes, accelerometers, global positioning system (GPS), thermometers, humidity gauges, or any sensor that facilitates a desired implementation and provides internal status machine data. As described herein, the management device 1522 can also be connected to one or more cameras (not shown) that monitor the external status of the machines of the one or more physical systems 1521.

[0047] FIG. 16 shows an example of a computing environment having examples of computer devices suitable for use in some exemplary implementations, such as a management device 1522 that facilitates the functionality of the security work support system 600. The computer device 1605 of the computing environment 1600 can include one or more processing units, cores, or processors 1610, memory 1615 (e.g., RAM, ROM, and / or others), internal storage 1620 (e.g., magnetic, optical, solid state storage, and / or organic), and / or an I / O interface 1625, all of which can be coupled by a communication mechanism or bus 1630 that communicates information, or can be embedded within the computer device 1605. The I / O interface 1625 can also be configured to receive an image from a camera or provide an image to a projector or display, depending on the desired implementation.

[0048] Computer device 1605 can be communicatively coupled to an input / user interface 1635 and an output device / interface 1640. Either or both of the input / user interface 1635 and the output device / interface 1640 can be a wired or wireless interface and can be removable. The input / user interface 1635 can include any physical or virtual device, component, sensor, or interface that can provide an input (e.g., buttons, touch screen interface, keyboard, pointing / cursor control, microphone, camera, braille, motion sensor, optical reader, and / or others). The output device / interface 1640 can include a display, television, monitor, printer, speaker, braille, etc. In some exemplary implementations, the input / user interface 1635 and the output device / interface 1640 can be embedded in or physically coupled to the computer device 1605. In other exemplary implementations, other computer devices can function as or provide the functions of the input / user interface 1635 and the output device / interface 1640 of the computer device 1605.

[0049] Examples of computer device 1605 can include, but are not limited to, highly mobile devices (e.g., smartphones, devices within automobiles or other machines, devices carried by people and animals, etc.), mobile devices (e.g., tablets, notebooks, laptops, personal computers, portable televisions, radios, etc.), and devices not designed for mobility (e.g., desktop computers, other computers, information kiosks, televisions with one or more processors embedded therein and / or to which they are coupled, radios, etc.).

[0050] Computer device 1605 can be communicatively coupled to external storage 1645 and network 1650 (e.g., via I / O interface 1625) to communicate with any number of networked components, devices, and systems, including one or more computer devices of the same or different configurations. Computer device 1605, or any connected computer device, can function as, provide services as, or be referred to by the name of, a server, client, hybrid server, general-purpose machine, dedicated machine, or other level.

[0051] I / O interface 1625 can include wired and / or wireless interfaces that use any communication or I / O protocol or standard (e.g., Ethernet, 802.11x, Universal System Bus, WiMax, modem, cellular network protocol, etc.) to communicate information between at least all connected components, devices, and networks of computing environment 1600, but is not limited thereto. Network 1650 can be any network or combination of networks (e.g., the Internet, local area network, wide area network, telephone network, cellular network, satellite network, etc.).

[0052] Computer device 1605 can use and / or communicate using computer-usable or computer-readable media, including transient media and non-transient media. Transient media includes transmission media (e.g., metal cables, optical fibers), signals, carrier waves, etc. Non-transient media includes magnetic media (e.g., disks and tapes), optical media (e.g., CD ROM, digital video disk, Blu-ray disk), solid media (e.g., RAM, ROM, flash memory, solid state storage), and other non-volatile storage or memory.

[0053] The computer device 1605 can be used to implement technologies, methods, applications, processes, or computer-executable instructions in some example computing environments. The computer-executable instructions can be retrieved from a temporary medium and also stored in and retrieved from a non-temporary medium. The executable instructions can be by one or more of any programming, scripting, and machine language (e.g., C, C++, C#, Java, Visual Basic, Python, Perl, JavaScript, etc.).

[0054] The processor 1610 can execute under any operating system (OS) (not shown) in a native or virtual environment. One or more applications can be deployed that include the logic unit 1660, the application programming interface (API) unit 1665, the input unit 1670, the output unit 1675, and the inter-unit communication mechanism 1695 for the different units to communicate with each other, with the OS, and with other applications (not shown). The described units and elements can vary in design, function, configuration, or implementation and are not limited to the provided description. The processor 1610 can be in the form of a hardware processor such as a central processing unit (CPU) or a combination of hardware and software units.

[0055] In some exemplary implementations, when information or execution instructions are received by API unit 1665, they may be communicated to one or more other units (e.g., logic unit 1660, input unit 1670, output unit 1675). In some examples, logic unit 1660 may control the information flow between units and, in some of the exemplary implementations described above, may be configured to direct the services provided by API unit 1665, input unit 1670, and output unit 1675. For example, the flow of one or more processes or implementations may be controlled by logic unit 1660 alone or in combination with API unit 1665. Input unit 1670 may be configured to obtain inputs for the calculations described in the exemplary implementations, and output unit 1675 may be configured to provide outputs based on the calculations described in the exemplary implementations.

[0056] Memory 1615 can be configured to manage, as machine fault tree information as shown in FIGS. 8 and 12, fault information 641, cause information 642, information 643 on how to identify the occurrence of a cause, and recovery method information 644, so as to facilitate the functionality of recording unit 604.

[0057] I / O interface 1625 can be configured to obtain the status information of the machine in physical system 1521 (e.g., external status or internal status).

[0058] Processor 1610 can process status information regarding one or more of external status information or internal status information (e.g., according to what is being received), determine a method for identifying the cause occurrence of the machine from the processed external status information or internal status information of the machine (e.g., by referring to collection / inspection information as shown in FIGS. 7, 11, and 14 and as shown at 903, 904 in FIGS. 9 and 13), execute the method to determine the cause occurrence of the machine, and be configured to display the machine's fault tree information, the acquired status information, and the determined cause occurrence for the machine as shown in FIGS. 8 and 12.

[0059] According to a desired implementation example, a camera can also be connected to the I / O interface 1625, the external status information includes images or pictures of the machine captured by the machine's camera, and the method for identifying the cause occurrence of the machine is based on the external status information.

[0060] Processor 1610 can be configured to execute the methods and instructions as described above, and further be configured to determine a method for identifying the cause occurrence based on information regarding how to identify the cause occurrence, where the information regarding how to identify the cause occurrence includes information regarding pre-work to be performed before status collection and external status information or internal status information to be used to determine the completion of the pre-work as shown in FIG. 11.

[0061] Processor 1610 can be configured to execute the methods and instructions as described above. Processor 1610 is configured to control the interface 1625 to obtain the status information of the machine and determine a method for identifying the cause occurrence of the machine. Processor 1610 executes the method for determining the cause occurrence of the machine and determines the completion of the pre-work based on the cause occurrence output from the execution of the method as shown with respect to FIGS. 12 - 14.

[0062] The status information that can be used to determine the completion of pre-work, depending on the realization example of the desired outcome, is different from the status information used to determine the method of identifying the cause as shown in FIG. 14 (for example, the completion check is verified by machine data opposite to collection / inspection).

[0063] Some parts of the detailed description are presented with respect to the algorithms and symbolic representations of operations within a computer. These algorithmic descriptions and symbolic representations are the means used by those skilled in the data processing art to convey the essence of a technological innovation to other skilled artisans. An algorithm is a series of defined steps that lead to a desired final state or result. In the exemplary realization, the steps implemented require physically manipulating physical quantities to achieve a tangible result.

[0064] Unless otherwise specifically stated, as is apparent from the discussion, throughout the description, discussions using terms such as "processing", "computing", "calculating", "determining", "displaying", etc. involve manipulating data presented as physical (electronic) quantities within the registers and memories of a computer system, and converting the data into other data presented as physical quantities within the memory or registers of a computer system or other information storage, transmission, or display device. It is recognized that this can include the operations and processes of a computer system or other information processing device.

[0065] Exemplary implementations may also relate to an apparatus for performing the operations of this specification. This apparatus may be specially constructed for the required purposes, or may involve one or more general-purpose computers selectively activated or reconfigured by one or more computer programs. Such computer programs may be stored on a computer-readable medium, such as a computer-readable storage medium or a computer-readable signal medium. The computer-readable storage medium may involve a tangible medium, such as an optical disk, a magnetic disk, a read-only memory, a random access memory, a solid-state device and drive, or any other type of tangible or non-transitory medium suitable for storing electronic information. The computer-readable signal medium may include a medium such as a carrier wave. The algorithms and displays presented in this specification are not inherently related to any particular computer or other device. The computer program may involve a pure software implementation with instructions for performing the operations of the desired implementation.

[0066] Various general-purpose systems may be used with the programs and modules according to the examples of this specification, or it may prove convenient to construct more specialized apparatus for performing the desired method steps. In addition, the exemplary implementations are not described with reference to any particular programming language. It will be recognized that various programming languages may be used to implement the teachings of the exemplary implementations as described herein. The instructions of the programming language may be executed by one or more processing devices, such as a central processing unit (CPU), a processor, or a controller.

[0067] As is known in the art, the above operations can be implemented by hardware, software, or some combination of software and hardware. Various aspects of the exemplary implementations may be realized using circuits and logic devices (hardware), and other aspects may be realized using instructions stored on a machine-readable medium (software) that, when executed by a processor, will cause the processor to implement the methods of the implementations of the present application. Further, some implementations of the present application may be implemented by hardware alone, and other exemplary implementations may be implemented by software alone. Further, the various functions described can be implemented in a single unit or spread across multiple components in various ways. When implemented by software, the method may be executed by a processor, such as a general-purpose computer, based on instructions stored on a machine-readable medium. If desired, the instructions can be stored on the medium in a compressed and / or encrypted format.

[0068] Furthermore, other implementations of the present application will be apparent to those skilled in the art upon consideration of this specification and practice of the teachings of the present application. The various aspects and / or components of the described exemplary implementations may be used alone or in any combination. This specification and the exemplary implementations are considered as merely illustrative, and the true scope and spirit of the present application are to be indicated by the following claims.

Description of the Reference Numerals

[0069] 600: Example of a maintenance work support system 601: Status acquisition unit 602: Processing unit 603: Display unit 604: Recording unit 610: Machine internal status acquisition module 611: Machine external status acquisition module 641: Failure information 642: Cause information 643: Information on how to identify the occurrence of the cause 644: Recovery method information

Claims

1. A maintenance work support system for supporting maintenance work on a machine, a memory configured to manage failure information, cause information, information on how to identify the occurrence of a cause, and recovery method information as the failure tree information of the machine; an interface configured to acquire status information of the machine; process the status information with respect to one or more of external status information or internal status information, determine a method for identifying the occurrence of a cause of the machine from the processed external status information or the internal status information of the machine, execute the method for determining the occurrence of the cause of the machine, a processor configured to display the failure tree information of the machine, the acquired status information, and the determined occurrence of the cause for the machine; A maintenance work support system, characterized by comprising the above.

2. The maintenance work support system according to Claim 1, further comprising a camera connected to the interface, wherein the external status information includes an image or a picture of the machine captured by the camera of the machine, and the method for identifying the occurrence of the cause of the machine is based on the external status information. A maintenance work support system.

3. The maintenance work support system according to Claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to determine the method for identifying the occurrence of the cause based on the information on how to identify the occurrence of the cause, and the information on how to identify the occurrence of the cause includes information on pre-work to be performed before status collection, and the external status information or the internal status information to be used for determining the completion of the pre-work. A maintenance work support system.

4. The maintenance work support system according to Claim 3, wherein the processor is configured to control the interface to acquire the status information of the machine and determine the method for identifying the occurrence of the cause of the machine, the processor executes the method for determining the occurrence of the cause of the machine, and determines the completion of the pre-work based on the occurrence of the cause from the execution of the method. A maintenance work support system.

5. The maintenance work support system according to Claim 3, A maintenance work support system, characterized in that the status information used to determine the completion of the pre-work is different from the status information used to determine the method for identifying the cause occurrence.

6. A maintenance work support method for supporting maintenance work on a machine, managing failure information, cause information, information on how to identify the cause occurrence, and recovery method information as the failure tree information of the machine, acquiring the status information of the machine, processing the status information regarding one or more of external status information or internal status information, determining a method for identifying the cause occurrence of the machine from the processed external status information or internal status information of the machine, executing the method for determining the cause occurrence of the machine, displaying the failure tree information of the machine, the acquired status information, and the determined cause occurrence for the machine. A maintenance work support method, characterized by including the above.

7. The maintenance work support method according to Claim 6, wherein the external status information includes video or images captured by a camera of the machine, and the method for identifying the cause occurrence of the machine is based on the external status information. A machine maintenance work support method.

8. The maintenance work support method according to Claim 6, determining the method for identifying the cause occurrence based on the information regarding how to identify the cause occurrence, the information regarding how to identify the cause occurrence including information on pre-work to be performed before status collection and the external status information or the internal status information to be used to determine the completion of the pre-work. A maintenance work support method.

9. The maintenance work support method according to Claim 8, wherein the status information of the machine is used to determine the method for identifying the cause occurrence of the machine, and the method for determining the cause occurrence of the machine is executed to determine the completion of the pre-work based on the cause occurrence from the execution of the method. A maintenance work support method.

10. The maintenance work support method according to Claim 8, A maintenance work support method, characterized in that the status information used to determine the completion of the pre-work is different from the status information used to determine the method for identifying the cause occurrence.

11. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions for supporting maintenance work on a machine, the instructions comprising: managing failure information, cause information, information on how to identify the cause occurrence, and recovery method information as the failure tree information of the machine; acquiring the status information of the machine; processing the status information with respect to one or more of external status information or internal status information; determining a method for identifying the cause occurrence of the machine from the processed external status information or internal status information of the machine; executing the method for determining the cause occurrence of the machine; displaying the failure tree information of the machine, the acquired status information, and the determined cause occurrence of the machine A non-transitory computer-readable medium.

12. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to claim 11, wherein the external status information includes video or images captured by a camera of the machine, and the method for identifying the cause occurrence of the machine is based on the external status information.

13. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to claim 11, wherein determining the method for identifying the cause occurrence based on the information on how to identify the cause occurrence, the information on how to identify the cause occurrence includes information on pre-work to be performed before status collection, and the external status information or the internal status information to be used to determine the completion of the pre-work.

14. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to claim 13, wherein the status information of the machine is used to determine the method for identifying the cause occurrence of the machine, and the method for determining the cause occurrence of the machine is executed to determine the completion of the pre-work based on the cause occurrence from the execution of the method.

15. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to claim 13, wherein the status information used to determine the completion of the preliminary work is different from the status information used to determine the method for identifying the cause occurrence.

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