Method of providing maintenance service of airport facilities, method of performing processing needed for maintenance of airport facilities, and computer system

Abstract

To enable improvement of work efficiency of maintenance work of airport facilities, and thereby reducing cost needed for maintenance of the airport facilities.SOLUTION: Processing that is needed for maintenance of airport facilities including at least one touchdown area is carried out by a computer system Cs. On a vehicle V movable on the at least one touchdown area, there is mounted a sensor to detect data related to growth of turf, grass and the like. The computer system Cs is configured to: obtain the data related to growth of the turf, grass and the like detected by the sensor in at least one point of a growth area of the turf, grass and the like during the vehicle moving on the growth area of the turf, grass and the like; generate, on the basis of the data related to growth of the turf, grass and the like, information utilizable for maintenance of the airport facilities; and perform output of the information.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2A

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a method for providing airport facility maintenance management services, a method for executing processing required for airport facility maintenance management, and a computer system, and more particularly to an airport facility maintenance management service that addresses time constraints and pursues safety improvements in carrying out airport facility maintenance management. [Background technology]

[0002] Traditionally, airports have been maintaining and managing airport facilities such as runways, landing strips, and aprons throughout the year to ensure safe and smooth aircraft operations.

[0003] The maintenance costs of such airport facilities are a heavy burden for each airport. For example, at Tokyo International Airport (Haneda Airport), the area that needs to be mowed is 3.2 million m. 2 The grass is mowed 3 to 4 times a year, and the area is 1m 2 If the unit price per m is 50 yen, the annual cost of mowing is 640 million yen (= 50 yen / m 2 ×3.2 million m 2 × 4 times).

[0004] In fact, Tokyo International Airport paid 661.35 million yen in contract fees for maintenance work in fiscal year 2011, and the number of personnel involved in maintenance work totaled approximately 11,200 over the course of the year. Of particular note is the outstanding number of personnel used for grass cutting work, at 5,390 per year, with labor costs alone estimated at around 200 million yen.

[0005] Specifically, this mowing work is carried out in areas where plants such as grass and grass grow, such as landing strips that play an important role in aircraft operations.

[0006] A landing strip is a vast area surrounding a runway to ensure the safety of aircraft when they land. Article 2 of the Civil Aeronautics Act defines a landing strip as "a rectangular area within an airport that is set aside for aircraft taking off (including water takeoff, the same applies below) in a specific direction" or landing (including water landing, the same applies below)." The Civil Aeronautics Act Enforcement Regulations specify standard values ​​for the width of a landing strip based on the length and width of the runway.

[0007] These landing strips play an important role in minimizing damage to aircraft by providing grass and other vegetation to cushion the impact on the aircraft if the aircraft deviates from the runway. Furthermore, the landing strips appear as green areas to pilots in the air, allowing them to easily identify the runway due to the contrast between the green of the landing strip and the asphalt runway. Furthermore, the landing strips are equipped with signs such as guide lights to guide aircraft as they land.

[0008] On landing strips that have such a role, if grass, grass, and other vegetation is too short, it will lose its cushioning effect in the event of a plane's failed landing. Conversely, if grass, grass, and other vegetation on the landing strip grows too long, it will become difficult to see signs such as emergency lights, and it will be difficult for ambulances and fire trucks to enter the landing strip in an emergency. For this reason, Tokyo International Airport requires that grass, grass, and other vegetation on landing strips be cut to a height of 5cm.

[0009] Currently, mowing work to cut grass, grass, and other plants on landing strips is done manually or by a person operating a tractor. The use of such a tractor for mowing work is disclosed, for example, in Patent Document 1. Mowing work during the day requires the worker to move the tractor away every time an aircraft takes off or lands, which is inefficient, so work is usually done at night. Therefore, mowing work on landing strips requires a huge amount of labor costs.

[0010] Furthermore, in addition to the labor costs involved in mowing the landing strips, the costs of purchasing and maintaining work vehicles such as tractors for mowing the grass are also enormous, as these vehicles are kept at each airport.

[0011] Additionally, airports have a problem with bird strikes, which hinder the safe and smooth operation of aircraft. Currently, a bird control measure is implemented in which teams of three people patrol the airport and, if they spot a bird, scare it away with a loud noise generator, which also requires labor costs.

[0012] Furthermore, airports face the costly problem of mowing runway strips and preventing bird damage. This is a significant problem for the safe operation of aircraft. The winter withering of grass and other vegetation on runway strips can lead to failed landings. The winter withering of grass and other vegetation on runway strips can lead to failed landings because the contrast between the runway and the runway strip is reduced, making it difficult for pilots to distinguish the runway. In fact, at airports with taxiways parallel to the runway, the winter withering of grass and other vegetation on the runway strips can make it difficult to distinguish between the runway and the taxiway, resulting in accidents in which aircraft mistakenly land on the taxiway. A taxiway is a passageway used by aircraft to move from an apron or other access point to a designated position on the runway for takeoff and from the runway to an apron or other access point after landing. An apron is a place where aircraft are parked for boarding and disembarking passengers, loading and unloading cargo, refueling, and simple inspections and maintenance. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0013] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 6-133631 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0014] As mentioned above, the efficiency of airport facility maintenance at conventional airports was extremely poor, resulting in enormous costs. The fact that airport facility maintenance is so costly has long been recognized, but no effective measures have been found to date.

[0015] The present invention has been made to solve these problems, and aims to provide a method and system that can improve the efficiency of airport facility maintenance work, thereby reducing the costs required for airport facility maintenance. [Means for solving the problem]

[0016] The method of the present invention is a method for providing maintenance services for an airport facility, the airport facility including at least one landing strip on which plants grow, the method including providing the airport facility with at least one vehicle capable of moving on the at least one landing strip, the at least one vehicle being equipped with at least one sensor that detects data related to the growth of the plants, generating information that can be used for the maintenance of the airport facility based on the data related to the growth of the plants detected by the at least one sensor at at least one point on the at least one landing strip while the at least one vehicle is moving on the at least one landing strip, and providing the information to the airport facility, thereby achieving the above-mentioned object.

[0017] In one embodiment of the present invention, the information may include work information indicating work required for the maintenance and management of the airport facilities.

[0018] In one embodiment of the invention, the information may be displayed on a map of the airport facility.

[0019] In one embodiment of the present invention, the data related to the growth of the plant includes at least one of environmental data indicating the environment in which the plant grows and growth status data indicating the growth status of the plant, and the environmental data includes at least one of data indicating temperature, data indicating humidity, data indicating wind direction, data indicating soil moisture content, and data indicating soil pH value, and the growth status data may include data indicating chlorophyll concentration.

[0020] In one embodiment of the present invention, the method may further include providing the airport facility with at least one work vehicle capable of moving on the at least one landing strip, the at least one work vehicle being equipped with at least one work device that performs work necessary for maintaining the airport facility based on the information.

[0021] In one embodiment of the present invention, the information is available in the at least one vehicle, and the at least one vehicle may further be equipped with at least one work device that performs work necessary for maintaining and managing the airport facility based on the information.

[0022] The method of the present invention is a method for performing processing necessary for the maintenance and management of an airport facility, the airport facility including at least one landing strip on which plants grow, the method being executed by a computer system, and at least one vehicle capable of moving on the at least one landing strip being equipped with at least one sensor that detects data related to the growth of the plants, the method including the computer system acquiring data related to the growth of the plants detected by the at least one sensor at at least one point on the at least one landing strip while the at least one vehicle is moving on the at least one landing strip, the computer system generating information that can be used for the maintenance and management of the airport facility based on the acquired data related to the growth of the plants, and the computer system outputting the information, thereby achieving the above-mentioned object.

[0023] In one embodiment of the present invention, the information is available to at least one work vehicle capable of moving on the at least one landing strip, and the at least one work vehicle may be equipped with at least one work device that performs work necessary for maintaining the airport facility based on the information.

[0024] In one embodiment of the present invention, the information is available in the at least one vehicle, and the at least one vehicle may further be equipped with at least one work device that performs work necessary for maintaining and managing the airport facility based on the information.

[0025] The system of the present invention is a computer system that performs processing necessary for the maintenance and management of airport facilities, the airport facilities including at least one landing strip, plants growing on the at least one landing strip, and at least one vehicle that can move on the at least one landing strip is equipped with at least one sensor that detects data related to the growth of the plants, the computer system being configured to acquire data related to the growth of the plants detected by the at least one sensor at at least one point on the at least one landing strip while the at least one vehicle is moving on the at least one landing strip, generate information that can be used for the maintenance and management of the airport facilities based on the acquired data related to the growth of the plants, and output the information, thereby achieving the above-mentioned object.

[0026] In one embodiment of the present invention, the information is available to at least one work vehicle capable of moving on the at least one landing strip, and the at least one work vehicle may be equipped with at least one work device that performs work necessary for maintaining the airport facility based on the information.

[0027] In one embodiment of the present invention, the information is available in the at least one vehicle, and the at least one vehicle may further be equipped with at least one work device that performs work necessary for maintaining the airport facility based on the information.

[0028] The method of the present invention is a method for providing maintenance services for an airport facility, the airport facility including at least one landing strip, with plants growing on the at least one landing strip, the method including providing the airport facility with at least one vehicle capable of moving on the at least one landing strip, the at least one vehicle being equipped with a coloring means for coloring the plants and a control means for controlling the coloring means, the control means controlling the coloring means to color the plants on the at least one landing strip while the at least one vehicle is moving on the at least one landing strip, thereby achieving the above-mentioned object.

[0029] In one embodiment of the present invention, the coloring means is configured to color the plants with a coloring agent, and the coloring agent may have adhesive properties that can attract dust or dirt that is kicked up into the air by aircraft takeoff or landing.

[0030] In one embodiment of the present invention, the coloring means is configured to color the plant with a coloring agent, and the coloring agent may be semi-non-flammable.

[0031] In one embodiment of the present invention, the coloring means is configured to color the plant with a coloring agent, and the coloring agent may have properties that promote photosynthesis in the plant.

[0032] In one embodiment of the present invention, the at least one vehicle is further equipped with a cutting means for cutting the plants, and the control means may control the cutting means to cut the plants on the at least one landing strip while the at least one vehicle is moving over the at least one landing strip.

[0033] In one embodiment of the present invention, after the cutting means cuts the plants before they die in winter, the control means may control the coloring means so that the coloring means colors the plants once or in several batches.

[0034] In one embodiment of the present invention, after the harvesting means harvests the plants before they die in winter, the control means may control the coloring means so that the coloring means adjusts the shade of the colorant to perform coloring.

[0035] The method of the present invention is a method for providing maintenance services for an airport facility, the airport facility including at least one running path along which aircraft travel, the method including providing the airport facility with at least one vehicle capable of moving on the at least one running path, the at least one vehicle being equipped with snow removal means for removing snow from the at least one running path and a control means for controlling the snow removal means, the control means controlling the snow removal means so that snow removal from the at least one running path is performed by the snow removal means while the at least one vehicle is moving on the at least one running path, thereby achieving the above-mentioned objective.

[0036] The method of the present invention is a method for providing maintenance services for an airport facility, the airport facility including at least one area where plants grow, the method including providing at least one vehicle capable of moving over the at least one area to the airport facility, the at least one vehicle being equipped with a water intake means for taking in water from puddles that have formed in the at least one area, a water discharge means for discharging the water taken in by the water intake means, and a control means for controlling the water intake means and the water discharge means, and the control means controls the water intake means and the water discharge means while the at least one vehicle is moving over the at least one area so that the water from the puddles that have formed in the at least one area is dispersed by the water intake means and the water discharge means to areas where no water has accumulated, thereby achieving the above-mentioned object. [Effects of the Invention]

[0037] According to the present invention, the efficiency of maintenance and management work for airport facilities can be improved, thereby reducing the costs required for maintenance and management of airport facilities. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0038] [Figure 1A] FIG. 1A is a diagram for explaining a mode of providing maintenance management services in the first embodiment of the present invention, and shows a plurality of airports A1 to A5 that are managed by an establishment that provides maintenance management services. [Figure 1B] FIG. 1B is a diagram for explaining a mode of providing maintenance management services in the first embodiment of the present invention, showing a state in which a plurality of airports under the care of an establishment that provides maintenance management services are divided into groups. [Figure 2A] FIG. 2A is a diagram for explaining the maintenance system according to the first embodiment of the present invention, showing the configuration of the maintenance system. [Figure 2B] FIG. 2B is a diagram for explaining the maintenance management system according to the first embodiment of the present invention, and shows the configuration of a computer system included in the maintenance management system. [Figure 2C] FIG. 2C is a diagram for explaining the maintenance management system according to the first embodiment of the present invention, showing an example of an airport that is a target of the maintenance management service. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating the process of providing a maintenance service by the maintenance management system according to embodiment 1 of the present invention, and shows processes Pa to Pc executed by the computer system Cs of the maintenance management system 100 installed in the business establishment 1000. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the basic configuration of a method for providing a maintenance management service according to the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the configuration of a vehicle V used in the maintenance system 100 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 6A]FIG. 6A is a plan view showing a state in which a vehicle of the maintenance management system according to the first embodiment of the present invention moves on the first landing strip of airport A1. [Figure 6B] FIG. 6B is a perspective view showing a state in which a vehicle of the maintenance management system according to the first embodiment of the present invention moves on the first landing strip of airport A1. [Figure 7A] FIG. 7A is a diagram for explaining a mode of providing maintenance management services in the second embodiment of the present invention, and shows a plurality of airports A1 to A5 that are managed by an establishment that provides maintenance management services. [Figure 7B] FIG. 7B is a diagram for explaining a mode of providing maintenance management services in the second embodiment of the present invention, showing a state in which a plurality of airports under the care of an establishment that provides maintenance management services are divided into groups. [Figure 7C] FIG. 7C is a diagram for explaining a maintenance system according to the second embodiment of the present invention, showing the configuration of the maintenance system. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the configuration of a vehicle Va used in a maintenance management system 200 according to the second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 9A] FIG. 9A is a plan view showing a work vehicle Va in a maintenance management system according to embodiment 2 of the present invention moving on the first landing strip of airport A1. [Figure 9B] FIG. 9B is a perspective view showing a state in which a work vehicle Va in a maintenance management system according to embodiment 2 of the present invention moves on the first landing strip of airport A1. [Figure 10A] FIG. 10A is a diagram for explaining a mode of providing maintenance management services in the third embodiment of the present invention, and shows a plurality of airports A1 to A5 that are managed by an establishment that provides maintenance management services. [Figure 10B] FIG. 10B is a diagram for explaining a mode of providing maintenance management services in the third embodiment of the present invention, showing a state in which a plurality of airports under the care of an establishment that provides maintenance management services are divided into groups. [Figure 10C] FIG. 10C is a diagram for explaining a maintenance system according to the third embodiment of the present invention, showing the configuration of the maintenance system. [Figure 11]FIG. 11 is a diagram showing the configuration of a detection work vehicle Vb used in a maintenance system 300 according to a third embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 12A] FIG. 12A is a plan view showing a state in which a detection work vehicle Vb of a maintenance management system according to embodiment 3 of the present invention moves on the first landing strip of airport A1. [Figure 12B] FIG. 12B is a perspective view showing the state in which the detection work vehicle Vb of the maintenance management system according to the third embodiment of the present invention moves on the first landing strip of airport A1. [Figure 13A] FIG. 13A is a diagram for explaining a form of providing maintenance management services in the fourth embodiment of the present invention, and shows a plurality of airports A1 to A5 that are managed by an establishment that provides maintenance management services. [Figure 13B] FIG. 13B is a diagram for explaining a form of providing maintenance management services in the fourth embodiment of the present invention, showing a state in which a plurality of airport facilities under the management of an establishment that provides maintenance management services are divided into groups. [Figure 13C] FIG. 13C is a diagram for explaining a maintenance system according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention, showing the configuration of the maintenance system. [Figure 14] FIG. 14 is a diagram showing the configuration of a detection work vehicle Vc used in a maintenance system 400 according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 15A] FIG. 15A is a plan view showing a state in which a detection work vehicle Vc of a maintenance management system according to embodiment 4 of the present invention moves on the first landing strip of airport A1. [Figure 15B] FIG. 15B is a perspective view showing the state in which the detection work vehicle Vc of the maintenance management system according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention moves on the first landing strip of airport A1. [Figure 16A] FIG. 16A is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a vehicle that can be used in the maintenance management system of the second embodiment of the present invention, and shows a vehicle configuration in which a towing vehicle is coupled to a towed vehicle equipped with a working device. [Figure 16B]Figure 16B is a diagram showing an example of a vehicle configuration that can be used in the maintenance management systems of embodiments 3 and 4 of the present invention, and shows a vehicle configuration in which a towing vehicle equipped with a sensor unit and a towed vehicle equipped with a work device are connected together. [Figure 17A] FIG. 17A is a diagram for explaining a mode of providing maintenance management services in the fifth embodiment of the present invention, and shows a plurality of airports A1 to A5 that are managed by an establishment that provides maintenance management services. [Figure 17B] FIG. 17B is a diagram for explaining a mode of providing maintenance management services in the fifth embodiment of the present invention, and shows a state in which a plurality of airports under the care of an establishment that provides maintenance management services are divided into groups. [Figure 17C] FIG. 17C is a diagram for explaining a maintenance system according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention, showing the configuration of the maintenance system. [Figure 18] FIG. 18 is a diagram showing the configuration of a vehicle Vf used in a maintenance system 500 according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 19A] FIG. 19A is a plan view showing a vehicle Vf of a maintenance management system according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention moving on the first landing strip of airport A1. [Figure 19B] FIG. 19B is a perspective view showing a state in which a vehicle Vf of a maintenance management system according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention moves on the first landing strip of airport A1. [Figure 20] FIG. 20 is a diagram showing the configuration of a vehicle Vg which is a modified example of the vehicle Vf shown in FIG. [Figure 21] FIG. 21 is a diagram for explaining a method for providing a maintenance management service according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention, and shows the configuration of a maintenance management system installed in an establishment that provides the maintenance management service. [Figure 22] FIG. 22 is a diagram showing runways and landing strips at an airport for which maintenance management services are provided by the maintenance management system shown in FIG. [Figure 23A] FIG. 23A is a diagram for explaining a maintenance system according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention, and shows a sideways snowplow AVh1 used in this maintenance system. [Figure 23B]FIG. 23B is a diagram for explaining a maintenance system according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention, showing a rotary snowplow AVh2 used in this maintenance system. [Figure 24A] FIG. 24A is a diagram schematically showing the appearance of the sidewalk snowplow AVh1 shown in FIG. 23A. [Figure 24B] FIG. 24B is a diagram for explaining snow removal work by the sidewalk snow removal vehicle AVh1 shown in FIG. 24A. [Figure 24C] FIG. 24C shows a state in which the sidewalk snowplow AVh1 shown in FIG. 24A has completed snow removal work. [Figure 25A] FIG. 25A is a diagram schematically showing the appearance of the rotary snowplow AVh2 shown in FIG. 23B. [Figure 25B] FIG. 25B is a diagram for explaining snow removal work by the rotary snowplow AVh2 shown in FIG. 25A. [Figure 25C] FIG. 25C shows the state after the snow removal work by the rotary snowplow AVh2 shown in FIG. 25A has been completed. [Figure 26] FIG. 26 is a diagram for explaining a method for providing a maintenance management service according to the seventh embodiment of the present invention, and shows the configuration of a maintenance management system installed in an establishment that provides the maintenance management service. [Figure 27] FIG. 27 is a diagram for explaining an airport to which maintenance management services are provided by the maintenance management system shown in FIG. [Figure 28] FIG. 28 is a diagram for explaining the maintenance system shown in FIG. 26, showing a puddle removal vehicle AVk used in this maintenance system. [Figure 29] FIG. 29 is a diagram for explaining the puddle removal work performed by the puddle removal vehicle AVk shown in FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0039] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0040] (Embodiment 1) The present invention relates to a method and system for providing maintenance services for airport facilities including at least one area where plants such as turf or grass grow. Airports include facilities such as landing strips, taxiways, and aprons that play important roles in the safe and smooth operation of aircraft, and landing strips are large areas around runways where plants such as turf or grass grow. The plants may be, but are not limited to, turf or grass. The plants may be any plant.

[0041] First, one form of providing airport facility maintenance management services will be explained.

[0042] (Providing airport facility maintenance and management services) FIG. 1A shows multiple airports A1 to A5 that are managed by a single business establishment 1000 that provides airport facility maintenance and management services.

[0043] Preferably, the multiple airports managed by one business establishment 1000 are all nearby airports, but this is not a limitation. Here, the business establishment 1000 is responsible for, for example, three airports A1 to A3 in the Kansai region and two airports A4 to A5 in the Kanto region, and provides airport facility maintenance and management services S to each of these five airports A1 to A5. As a result, even if each airport does not have the machinery or know-how required for maintaining and managing airport facilities, it is possible for the airport facilities to be maintained and managed using the airport maintenance and management services provided by the business establishment 1000. Note that the airports managed by one business establishment 1000 are not limited to airports in the Kansai region or the Kanto region, for example, but may also be domestic airports in the Tohoku region, Chugoku region, Kyushu region, etc., or foreign airports located near the country where the business establishment 1000 is located.

[0044] FIG. 1B shows five airports A1 to A5 that are under the management of the business establishment 1000, which are divided into two groups in order to improve the efficiency of maintenance and management work.

[0045] In the example shown in Figure 1B, airports A1 to A3 are classified into one group (unit U1), and airports A4 to A5 are classified into another group (unit U2). Airports belonging to the same group are preferably located close to each other, but this is not a limitation. In the example shown in Figure 1B, the runways of each airport A1 to A5 are indicated by bold lines.

[0046] The business establishment 1000 provides airport facility maintenance and management services to airports A1 to A5 for each of these groups (i.e., units). For example, the business establishment 1000 provides one or more vehicles owned by the business establishment 1000 (or the company to which the business establishment 1000 belongs) to airport A1. For example, a worker at the business establishment 1000 may drive the one or more vehicles to transport them to airport A1. Alternatively, a worker at the business establishment 1000 may transport the one or more vehicles to airport A1 by loading them onto a truck. The one or more vehicles are vehicles (e.g., lawn mowers) used to perform airport facility maintenance and management, and are equipped with sensors that collect various data related to the growth of plants such as grass and turf that can be used for the maintenance and management of airport facilities (e.g., areas where plants such as grass and turf grow, such as landing strips). Here, the data related to the growth of plants such as grass and grass includes at least one of environmental data indicating the environment in which plants such as grass and grass grow and growth status data indicating the growth status of plants such as grass and grass. It is preferable that one or more vehicles are shared among several airports in each unit. For example, one or more vehicles may be shared among airports A1 to A3 belonging to unit U1, and one or more other vehicles may be shared among airports A4 to A5 belonging to unit U2. However, the manner in which one or more vehicles for airport maintenance and management are shared among airport facilities is not limited to this. For example, one or more vehicles may be used to circulate among airports A1 to A3 belonging to unit U1, and then the same one or more vehicles may be used to circulate among airports A4 to A5 belonging to unit U2.

[0047] While one or more vehicles brought into airport A1 are being used for the maintenance of airport A1, the one or more vehicles collect various data (e.g., data related to the growth of plants such as turf and grass) that can be used for the maintenance of airport A1. The data collected by the one or more vehicles is stored in a maintenance management system 100 installed in a business facility 1000. The maintenance management system 100 processes the stored data to generate information that can be used for the maintenance of airport A1. This information is provided to airport A1 (e.g., the manager of airport A1).

[0048] One or more vehicles delivered to airport A1 are moved to airport A2 one week later, and then moved to airport A3 one week later. In this way, one or more vehicles provided by the business establishment 1000 can be shared in a cyclical manner among airports A1 to A3 included in unit U1, with unit U1 being one unit. It is preferable that the work of moving one or more vehicles between airports be performed by workers at the business establishment 1000, but this is not limited to this. Of course, the shift for rotating one or more vehicles does not have to be weekly and can be performed at predetermined intervals. Furthermore, it is also possible to shorten the work interval by delivering one set of one or more vehicles to airport A1 while simultaneously delivering another set of one or more vehicles to airport A2, and sharing these two sets of one or more vehicles in a cyclical manner.

[0049] In this way, one or more vehicles delivered to each airport are provided periodically by business establishment 1000, so that each airport does not need to own one or more vehicles. Therefore, each airport does not need to bear the costs of purchasing or maintaining one or more vehicles. Furthermore, since business establishment 1000 provides each airport with information that can be used for the maintenance and management of each airport, there is no need for each airport to have its own computer equipment. This enables each airport to reduce the costs required for the maintenance and management of the airport.

[0050] In the example shown in FIG. 1A, one business establishment 1000 is responsible for five airports, but the number of airports that one business establishment 1000 is responsible for is not limited to five. One business establishment 1000 can be responsible for any number of airports. In the example shown in FIG. 1B, one unit U1 includes three airports and another unit U2 includes two airports, but the number of airports included in one unit is not limited to three or two. One unit can include any number of airports.

[0051] 1A and 1B, multiple airports managed by a single business are grouped together to provide maintenance management services, but this is not limiting. For example, multiple airports managed by a single business may not be grouped together, and maintenance management services may be provided to each airport individually.

[0052] (Maintenance System 100) FIG. 2A shows an example of the configuration of the maintenance management system 100 installed in the business establishment 1000 shown in FIG. 1B.

[0053] The maintenance management system 100 executes the processes necessary to provide a maintenance management service. The maintenance management system 100 includes a computer system Cs and one or more vehicles V that can move on at least one area (landing strip). Here, the one or more vehicles may be grass cutters as described above, or may be vehicles that do not function as grass cutters. The one or more vehicles V are equipped with at least one sensor that detects data related to the growth of plants such as grass and grass. The data related to the growth of plants such as grass and grass includes at least one of environmental data that indicates the environment in which plants such as grass and grass grow and growth status data that indicates the growth status of plants such as grass and grass. The environmental data includes at least one of data indicating temperature, data indicating humidity, data indicating wind direction, data indicating soil moisture content, and data indicating soil pH value. The growth status data includes data indicating the concentration of chlorophyll. Here, it is preferable that the vehicle V is equipped with at least a moisture sensor that detects the amount of moisture in the soil, which is environmental data of the area where plants such as lawns and grass grow, and a chlorophyll sensor that detects data indicating the concentration of chlorophyll as the growth state of plants such as lawns and grass.

[0054] FIG. 2B shows an example of the configuration of a computer system Cs included in the maintenance system 100 shown in FIG. 2A.

[0055] The computer system Cs includes a database Db1 that stores reference data indicating criteria for determining the work required for maintaining airport facilities from data related to the growth of plants such as turf and grass, just like a knowledgeable and experienced worker, and a data processing unit Dp that creates work information indicating the work required for maintaining airport facilities by referring to the reference data based on the detected data related to the growth of plants such as turf and grass. In the computer system Cs, the work information created by the data processing unit Dp is stored in a storage device (not shown).

[0056] FIG. 2C illustrates an example of an airport that receives maintenance services. In the example shown in FIG. 2C, airport A1 includes airport facilities such as a first runway 1, a first landing strip 1a surrounding the first runway 1, a first apron 1b, a first taxiway 1c connecting the first runway 1 and the first apron 1b, a second runway 2, a second landing strip 2a surrounding the second runway 2, a second apron 2b, and a second taxiway 2c connecting the second runway 1 and the second apron 2b. The reference data is used to determine the amount of watering and the amount of fertilizer, fungicide, herbicide, etc. to be sprayed in the areas where plants such as grass grow, such as the first landing strip 1a and the second landing strip 2a of airport A1, based on two parameters: soil moisture content and chlorophyll concentration. The reference data is stored in a database Db1, for example, in table format. However, the reference data is not limited to data for determining the amount of water to be sprinkled and the amount of fertilizer, fungicide, herbicide, etc. to be sprayed in the areas of airport A1 where plants such as lawns and grass grow, based on the two parameters of soil moisture content and chlorophyll concentration, based on the knowledge and experience of an operator. The reference data may be any data that can be used to determine, from various parameters, the work required for maintaining the areas of airports where plants such as lawns and grass grow, in the same way as a knowledgeable and experienced operator.

[0057] In addition to the database Db1, the computer system Cs shown in FIG. 2B may also include a database Db2 storing map data showing a map of airport A1. In this case, the work information generated by the data processing unit Dp may be in the form of a map showing the work required for maintenance on a map of airport A1. For example, in this map-format information, areas requiring watering are indicated by a specific color, and areas requiring a large amount of watering are indicated by a darker color than areas requiring a small amount of watering. Furthermore, in this map-format information, areas requiring spraying of fertilizer, fungicide, herbicide, etc. are indicated by a specific color, and areas requiring a large amount of spraying are indicated by a darker color than areas requiring a small amount of spraying.

[0058] 2B may also include a database Db3 that stores data related to the growth of plants such as turf and grass, in addition to the databases Db1 and Db2. In this case, data related to the growth of plants such as turf and grass at each landing strip at an airport can be accumulated, making it possible to standardize work for managing and maintaining the landing strips at the airport.

[0059] FIG. 3 shows an example of a process executed by the computer system Cs shown in FIG. 2B.

[0060] Step Pa: While one or more vehicles V are moving over at least one area where plants such as grass or turf are growing (e.g., a landing strip at airport A1), the computer system Cs acquires data related to the growth of plants such as grass or turf (e.g., environmental data indicating the environment in which plants such as grass or turf are growing and / or growth state data indicating the growth state of plants such as grass or turf) detected by at least one sensor mounted on one or more vehicles at at least one point in the at least one area. The environmental data includes, for example, at least one of data indicating the soil moisture content in the area where plants such as grass or turf are growing, including the landing strip, data indicating the temperature in this area, data indicating humidity, data indicating wind direction, and data indicating the soil pH value. The data indicating the growth state of plants such as grass or turf includes, for example, data indicating the chlorophyll concentration of plants such as grass or turf. However, the data indicating the growth state of plants such as grass or turf may further include data indicating the height of plants such as grass or turf. Data related to the growth of plants such as grass and turf detected by sensors mounted on one or more vehicles may be wirelessly transmitted from one or more vehicles and received by the computer system Cs via a wireless network, thereby being acquired by the computer system Cs. Alternatively, if data related to the growth of plants such as grass and turf detected by sensors mounted on one or more vehicles is stored in a media memory in one or more vehicles, the media memory may be inserted into a slot in the computer system Cs, thereby being acquired by the computer system Cs. The manner in which the computer system Cs acquires data related to the growth of plants such as grass and turf detected by at least one sensor mounted on one or more vehicles may be any manner.

[0061] Step Pb: The computer system Cs generates information that can be used for the maintenance of the landing strips of airport A1 based on the data related to the growth of plants such as turf and grass acquired in step Pa. Here, the information that can be used for the maintenance of airport A1 may be the data itself related to the growth of plants such as turf and grass. Alternatively, the information that can be used for the maintenance of the landing strips of airport A1 may be work information that indicates the work required for the maintenance of the landing strips of airport A1. A specific example of how the computer system Cs generates work information that indicates the work required for the maintenance of the landing strips of airport A1 based on the data related to the growth of plants such as turf and grass will be described later with reference to Figures 6A and 6B.

[0062] Step Pc: The computer system Cs outputs the information generated in step Pb (i.e., information that can be used for the maintenance and management of landing strips at airport A1). Here, the format of the information output from the computer system Cs may be any format. For example, the information output from the computer system Cs may be printed on paper or recorded on a recording medium. In this case, the information that can be used for the maintenance and management of landing strips at airport A1 may be provided to airport A1 (e.g., the manager of airport A1) in the form of paper or recording medium. Alternatively, the information output from the computer system Cs may be provided to airport A1 (e.g., the manager of airport A1) in a format that is transmitted from the computer system Cs to a terminal device of the manager of airport A1 via a wireless or wired network.

[0063] FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating the basic configuration of the method for providing the airport maintenance and management services described above.

[0064] Step S1: Provide at least one vehicle equipped with at least one sensor that detects data related to the growth of plants such as turf and grass (e.g., environmental data indicating the environment in which plants such as turf and grass grow and / or growth condition data indicating the growth condition of plants such as turf and grass) to an airport facility.

[0065] Step S2: While at least one vehicle is moving over at least one area (landing strip) of the airport facility, information that can be used for maintaining and managing the airport facility is generated based on data related to the growth of plants such as turf and grass detected by at least one sensor at at least one point in the at least one area.

[0066] Step S3: Provide the information generated in step S2 to the airport facility (for example, the airport facility manager).

[0067] (vehicle) FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a vehicle V in this maintenance system 100.

[0068] The vehicle V has a drive unit 20 for moving the vehicle, a drive control unit 30 for controlling the drive unit 20, a sensor unit 40 for detecting data related to the growth of plants such as grass and turf, and a data processing unit 10 for processing the data related to the growth of plants such as grass and turf detected by the sensor unit 40. The environmental data included in the data related to the growth of plants such as grass and turf (data indicating the environment in which plants such as grass and turf are growing) is, for example, at least one of data indicating temperature, data indicating humidity, data indicating wind direction, data indicating soil moisture content, and data indicating soil pH value. The growth state data included in the data related to the growth of plants such as grass and turf (data indicating the growth state of plants such as grass and turf) is, for example, data indicating the chlorophyll concentration of plants such as grass and turf.

[0069] Here, data indicating the growth state of plants such as grass and turf can be obtained by, for example, using a chlorophyll sensor to measure the concentration of chlorophyll (chlorophyll) contained in plants such as grass and turf, because chlorophyll plays an important role in the photosynthetic reaction of plants such as grass and turf, and its concentration can be used to determine the growth state.

[0070] FIG. 5 shows sensor unit 40 including temperature sensor 41, humidity sensor 42, wind direction sensor 43, soil moisture sensor 44, soil pH sensor 45, and chlorophyll sensor 46. However, sensor unit 40 may include at least one of these sensors 41-46. In particular, if the moisture content increases in areas of airports where plants such as grass and turf grow (e.g., landing strips), more pests such as earthworms that serve as food for birds will appear, which in turn increases the number of birds that fly in, resulting in a higher probability of bird strikes. Therefore, it is important to identify and address areas of high soil moisture content in landing strips. Therefore, it is preferable that sensor unit 40 of vehicle V used at airports include soil moisture sensor 44. Furthermore, from the perspective of understanding the growth status of plants such as grass and turf on landing strips, it is preferable that sensor unit 40 include chlorophyll sensor 46.

[0071] The data processing unit 10 is configured to store data detected by each sensor of the sensor unit 40 in an internal memory 11 in association with location data indicating the location on the airport landing strip at which the data was measured. The method of acquiring the location data indicating the location of the measurement location is not particularly limited, but may include a method of calculation based on the distance and direction traveled from a reference location, or a method of calculation using a satellite positioning system. The data related to the growth of plants such as turf and grass stored in the memory 11 is provided to the maintenance management system 100 of the business establishment 1000 by wireless or wired communication, or via a portable recording medium.

[0072] The drive unit 20 includes a power source such as an engine or motor, a steering mechanism, and one of wheels, caterpillar tracks, legs, etc. that come into contact with the ground surface L, and is configured to enable the vehicle V to steer left and right, and switch between forward, stop, and reverse.

[0073] The drive control unit 30 controls the drive unit 20 so that the vehicle V moves along a predetermined course. For example, the drive control unit 30 controls the drive unit so that the vehicle moves along guide lines installed on an airport landing strip, or controls the drive unit so that the vehicle moves on the landing strip along a course set on map data of the airport landing strip using a satellite positioning system. However, the configuration of the drive control unit 30 is not limited to these configurations.

[0074] Next, a process for creating information used by vehicle V for the maintenance of landing strip 1a at airport A1 will be described.

[0075] First, the configuration of the first runway 1 of airport A1 and its surrounding area will be briefly described.

[0076] (Runway 1 at Airport A1) 6A and 6B are a plan view and a perspective view showing an example of the configuration of the first runway 1 of airport A1 and its surrounding area.

[0077] First landing strips 1a are provided on both sides and both ends of first runway 1 so as to surround first runway 1. In addition, along first runway 1, taxiways 1c are provided that connect first runway 1 and first apron 1b (see Figure 2C).

[0078] Next, a procedure for creating information to be used for maintaining plants such as grass and other plants on the first landing strip 1a will be described.

[0079] As shown in FIG. 1B, this airport A1, together with neighboring airports A2 to A3, forms a unit U1, which is a unit for which maintenance management services are provided by a business establishment 1000.

[0080] When maintenance services are provided to airports A1-A3 of unit U1, one or more vehicles V are deployed from business establishment 1000 to airport A1. Here, two vehicles V are deployed to first landing strip 1a of airport A1, and as shown in FIG. 6B, one vehicle V is placed at detection start point Sp1 near one end of first runway 1 at first landing strip 1a (on the left side of the paper), and the other vehicle V is placed at detection start point Sp2 near the other end of first runway 1 at first landing strip 1a (on the right side of the paper). Here, a case will be described in which sensors 41-46 of each vehicle V detect temperature data, humidity data, wind direction data, soil moisture data, soil pH data, and chlorophyll concentration.

[0081] The vehicle V placed at the detection start point Sp1 moves along a route P1, and at multiple positions along the route P1, the sensors 41-46 detect temperature data, humidity data, wind direction data, soil moisture data, soil pH data, and chlorophyll concentration. The detected data is associated with position data indicating the detection positions by the data processing unit 10 and stored in the internal memory 11. The vehicle V departs from the detection start point Sp2 and moves along a route P2, and at multiple positions along the route P2, the sensors 41-46 detect temperature data, humidity data, wind direction data, soil moisture data, soil pH data, and chlorophyll concentration. The detected data is associated with position data indicating the detection positions by the data processing unit 10 and stored in the internal memory 11. Here, the position data may be data indicating a position relative to a reference position of the airport A1, or may be position data indicated by latitude and longitude information obtained by a satellite positioning system. Furthermore, it may be position data indicating a position shown on a map of the airport A1 based on latitude and longitude information obtained by a satellite positioning system.

[0082] In this way, when data related to the growth of plants such as grass and grass on the first landing strip 1a is detected by the two vehicles V, data related to the growth of plants such as grass and grass on the second landing strip 2a is similarly detected and stored in the memory 11 of the data processing unit 10.

[0083] The process of detecting data related to the growth of plants such as grass and turf at such airports is carried out in parallel at the three airports A1 to A3 within unit U1, and after the process is completed, vehicles V are returned to the business premises 1000 almost simultaneously from the three airports A1 to A3 within unit U1.

[0084] Data related to the growth of plants such as turf and grass stored in the memory 11 of the data processing unit 10 of multiple vehicles V collected at the business establishment 1000 is passed to the data processing unit Dp (FIG. 2B) of the computer system Cs of the maintenance management system 100 shown in FIG. 2A. Note that data transfer from the vehicle's data processing unit 10 to the data processing unit Dp of the computer system Cs may be performed via a recording medium or via a network such as a wired LAN or wireless LAN. Furthermore, the maintenance management system 100 installed at the business establishment 1000 may be configured to include a wireless communication unit, and the vehicle V may be configured to be equipped with a wireless communication device, so that data related to the growth of plants such as turf and grass associated with the position data in the data processing unit 10 of the vehicle V is received by the wireless communication device in the maintenance management system 100 installed at the business establishment 1000 and output to the computer system Cs.

[0085] When data related to the growth of plants such as turf and grass is provided to the data processing unit Dp of the computer system Cs, the data processing unit Dp refers to the reference data in the database Db1 and creates work information indicating the work required to maintain the landing strips of each of the airports A1 to A3 of the unit U1 based on the data related to the growth of plants such as turf and grass. This work information is provided by the business establishment 1000 to each of the airports A1 to A3 of the unit U1.

[0086] This work information indicates, for example, work required in a work area such as first landing strip 1a. This work information may be information obtained from data indicating the condition of first landing strip 1a. This work information is information that is reflected in, for example, subsequent work plans and airport facility measures. Note that the data indicating the condition of first landing strip 1a is measured at an arbitrary measurement point on first landing strip 1a. As such work information, airport A1 is provided with work information necessary for maintaining plants such as grass and vegetation on first landing strip 1a and second landing strip 2a of airport A1. Similarly to airport A1, airports A2 and A3 are also provided with work information necessary for maintaining plants such as grass and vegetation on their respective landing strips.

[0087] Furthermore, the work information can instruct the vehicle V to detect bird arrivals and remove dead leaves, depending on what data is detected by the vehicle V as data indicating the maintenance status of airport facilities, in addition to data related to the growth of plants such as grass and grass. Furthermore, the work information can also instruct the vehicle V to color plants such as grass and grass on the landing strip. For coloring (coloring), a method can be used in which the growth status of plants such as grass and grass is determined based on data indicating the growth status of plants such as grass and grass contained in the data related to the growth of plants such as grass and grass, and colored powder made from crushed scallop shells is sprayed based on the determination results. Furthermore, a coloring agent for coloring plants such as grass and grass is preferably green and has adhesive properties that can capture dust or dirt (e.g., powder dust) that is blown up into the air by aircraft takeoff or landing. This will clearly define the boundary between the asphalt runway and the green landing strip, reducing the amount of dust and other particles that are blown up, which is expected to improve the safety of aircraft operations. Alternatively, the coloring agent may not have such adhesive properties. In addition to or instead of this adhesiveness, the colorant may have at least one of semi-nonflammability to take into account emergency fires and the like, and the property of promoting photosynthesis in plants such as turf and grass. For example, the property of promoting photosynthesis in plants can be imparted to the colorant by changing the color of the colorant. By promoting photosynthesis in this way, the underground temperature in the area where plants such as turf and grass grow can be increased compared to before coloring. Furthermore, by taking advantage of the property of the colorant that the underground temperature is warmer compared to before coloring, a snow-melting effect can be achieved for a certain amount of snowfall.

[0088] In addition, instructions for coloring work for winter withering of plants such as grass and grass in winter can also be given based on seasonal information.

[0089] Seasonal information can be obtained from the clock function of the computer system Cs. The color of plants such as grass and grass can be determined using an image sensor, etc. Therefore, it is possible to create information based on the sensor output to instruct the work of coloring winter-dead plants such as grass and grass to an approximate color (green).

[0090] Thereafter, in accordance with the schedule information at the business facility 1000, the operator deploys the multiple vehicles collected from the airports A1-A3 of unit U1 at the airports A4-A5 of unit U2. As was done at the airports A1-A3 of unit U1, vehicle V detects data related to the growth of plants such as turf and grass at each of the airports A4-A5 of unit U2. The schedule information at the business facility 1000 is a vehicle patrol work plan that takes into account the region, season, etc., and indicates how frequently airport facility maintenance services will be provided to each airport throughout the year. Vehicle V is then returned to the business facility 1000. The data related to the growth of plants such as turf and grass stored in memory 11 of the data processing unit 10 of vehicle V collected at the business facility 1000 is provided to the computer system Cs of the maintenance management system 100 installed at the business facility 1000. The data processing unit Dp of computer system Cs generates work information indicating the work required for the maintenance of each of the airports A4-A5 of unit U2.

[0091] This work information is provided from the business establishment 1000 to each of the airports A4 to A5.

[0092] In this way, in the first embodiment, airports A1-A5 are provided with vehicles V equipped with sensors that detect data related to the growth of plants such as turf and grass (for example, environmental data and / or growth state data), and work information indicating the work required to maintain the landing strips at each airport A1-A5 is created based on the data detected by the sensors of these vehicles V. The created work information is then provided to each airport A1-A5. This allows each airport A1-A5 to clarify and standardize work standards, and therefore allows even workers with little knowledge and experience or unmanned work vehicles to efficiently perform the work required to maintain the landing strips at airport facilities based on the work information. As a result, the costs required for maintaining airport facilities can be reduced.

[0093] In particular, based on the detected environmental data and / or growth condition data, the computer system Cs refers to standard data that indicates the judgment criteria of experienced and knowledgeable workers to determine the work necessary to maintain and manage the airport landing strip, thereby resolving the shortage of experienced and knowledgeable workers.

[0094] Furthermore, since airport facilities vary in conditions, such as facilities with a large number of aircraft takeoffs and landings where work can only be done at night, facilities with few aircraft takeoffs and landings where work can be done during the day while checking flight status, and facilities where work cannot be done at night due to issues such as noise pollution to the neighborhood, inefficient work can be avoided by using unmanned work vehicles to carry out the work required for maintaining airport facilities based on a work plan that takes into account the conditions of each airport.Furthermore, since environmental data and / or growth status data can be accumulated at airport facilities, it is also possible to standardize the work required for maintaining airport facilities such as landing strips, which are areas where plants such as turf and grass grow.

[0095] Furthermore, since the system for creating work information indicating the work required for maintaining airport facilities is provided by the business 1000 that provides airport facility maintenance services, there is no need for the airport to purchase the equipment required for creating the work information. As a result, equipment maintenance and fuel costs are reduced, and manpower can be reduced by going unmanned.

[0096] In the first embodiment, a vehicle V equipped with a sensor that detects data related to the growth of plants such as turf and grass within airport facilities is provided to airports A1 to A5, and the business 1000 provides a service to airports A1 to A5 with work information obtained from the data detected using the vehicle V, indicating the work necessary to maintain the landing strips of each airport A1 to A5. However, the business 1000 may also provide the airports with a service to perform the work necessary to maintain the airport facilities, as indicated by the work information.

[0097] In this case, the airport will not need to purchase the latest general-purpose machinery for maintenance work of the landing strip, since unmanned vehicles that perform work based on the work information will be provided to the airport from the business 1000. Furthermore, work using unmanned vehicles will be less susceptible to weather conditions.

[0098] Below, we will explain an example, as embodiment 2, in which the airport facility maintenance service provided by a business to an airport not only includes a service of providing the airport with work information indicating the work required for maintaining the airport facilities, but also a service of performing the work required for maintaining the airport facilities based on this work information.

[0099] (Embodiment 2) A method for providing maintenance management services according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Figures 7A to 7C. Figure 7A shows multiple airports A1 to A5 managed by an establishment that provides maintenance management services, Figure 7B shows the multiple airports managed by the establishment that provides maintenance management services grouped together, and Figure 7C shows the establishment's maintenance management system. In the example shown in Figure 7B, the runways of each airport A1 to A5 are indicated by bold lines.

[0100] In this embodiment 2, airport maintenance services are also carried out in a similar manner to embodiment 1, with multiple airports A1 to A5 under the responsibility of one business establishment 2000 being grouped into two units U1 and U2, as shown in Figures 7A and 7B, and each group is collectively provided.

[0101] This embodiment 2 differs from embodiment 1 in that the maintenance service provided to the airport by the business establishment 2000 includes not only a service of providing the airport with work information indicating the work required for maintaining the airport, but also a service of performing the work required for maintaining the airport based on this work information.

[0102] Therefore, in the second embodiment, the maintenance management system 200 installed in the business establishment 2000 includes, as shown in FIG. 7C, the multiple vehicles V included in the maintenance management system 100 of the first embodiment, i.e., vehicles V equipped with at least one sensor that detects data related to the growth of plants such as turf and grass (hereinafter also referred to as detection vehicles), as well as at least one vehicle Va equipped with a work device that performs work necessary for maintenance management within the airport (hereinafter also referred to as work vehicle). Furthermore, in addition to the functions of the computer system Cs of the first embodiment, the computer system Csa of the maintenance management system 200 is configured to be able to provide the work vehicle Va with work information indicating work necessary for the maintenance management of airport facilities, which is created from data detected by the sensor of the detection vehicle. The other configurations of the maintenance management system 200 of the second embodiment are the same as those of the first embodiment.

[0103] (Work vehicle Va) FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the configuration of a work vehicle Va used in a maintenance management system 200 according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

[0104] Unlike the detection vehicle V shown in Fig. 5, the work vehicle Va does not have a sensor unit 40, but in addition to the drive unit 20 and drive control unit 30, it has a work device 50 that performs tasks such as watering, mowing, and spreading fertilizer, and a work control unit 10a that replaces the data processing unit 10 of the detection vehicle V. Here, the work control unit 10a has a memory 11a and is configured to control the work device 50 based on the work information stored in this memory 11a. The work control unit 10a is also configured to control the drive control unit 30 in accordance with the work procedure to control the position of the work vehicle Va.

[0105] Next, the maintenance management service provided by the maintenance management system 200 of this second embodiment will be specifically described using airport A1 as an example.

[0106] First, as in the first embodiment, when the detection vehicle V of the maintenance management system 200 is introduced into the airport A1 from the business establishment 2000, the detection vehicle V detects data related to the growth of plants such as turf and grass, as in the first embodiment. The detected data (hereinafter also referred to as detection data) is brought back to the business establishment 2000 by the detection vehicle V and provided to the computer system Csa of the maintenance management system 200 of the business establishment 2000. Note that the detection data may be transmitted to the maintenance management system 2000 of the business establishment 2000 in real time via wireless communication or the like.

[0107] When the computer system Csa of the maintenance management system 200 acquires the detection data, the computer system Csa stores the detection data in a database (not shown), creates work information from the detection data indicating the work required to maintain the airport facilities, and provides the work information to the work vehicles Va to be deployed at airport A1. After that, a maintenance service to perform the work is provided to airports A1 to A3 of unit U1. For example, as shown in FIGS. 9A and 9B, a plurality of work vehicles Va are deployed at airport A1 from business establishment 2000.

[0108] Here, two work vehicles Va are deployed at the first landing strip 1a, and one work vehicle Va is placed at a work start point Sp1 (e.g., the same as the detection start point shown in Figure 6B) close to one end of the first runway 1 at the first landing strip 1a (on the left side of the paper), as shown in Figures 9A and 9B, and the other work vehicle Va is placed at a work start point Sp2 (e.g., the same as the detection start point shown in Figure 6B) close to the other end of the first runway 1 at the first landing strip 1a (on the right side of the paper).

[0109] A work vehicle Va positioned at detection start point Sp1 moves along route P1 and performs the required work based on the work information at multiple positions along this route. Similarly, a work vehicle Va positioned at detection start point Sp2 moves along route P2 and performs the required work based on the work information at multiple positions along this route.

[0110] In this way, once the necessary work at the first landing strip 1a has been carried out by the two work vehicles Va, the necessary work will be carried out in the remaining area, the second landing strip 2a, in a similar manner.

[0111] The execution of data detection processing and management work related to the growth of plants such as turf and grass at airports is carried out in parallel at the three airports A1 to A3 within unit U1, and after completion, the work vehicles Va are returned to the business establishment 2000 almost simultaneously from the three airports A1 to A3 within unit U1. Note that in order to simultaneously collect the work vehicles Va provided to each airport in this way, for example, the number of work vehicles Va provided to each airport within one unit U1 needs to be set so that the time required for all work at each airport is approximately the same, depending on factors such as the size of the area where plants such as turf and grass grow, including the airport's landing strip.

[0112] After that, airport facility maintenance services will be provided to other airports A4 to A5 of Unit U2 in the same manner according to schedule management.

[0113] In this way, in the second embodiment, airports A1 to A5 are provided with a detection vehicle V equipped with at least one sensor that detects data related to the growth of plants such as turf and grass within the airport facilities. Work information indicating the work required for the maintenance of each airport A1 to A5 is created based on the data detected by this detection vehicle V. Based on the created work information, the work required for the maintenance of each airport A1 to A5 is carried out by a work vehicle Va. Therefore, at each airport A1 to A5, the work required for the maintenance of airport facilities can be performed by an unmanned work vehicle in the same way as a knowledgeable and experienced worker. As a result, the necessary expenses for the maintenance of airport facilities can be reduced.

[0114] The work vehicle Va described in embodiment 2 may also be configured as shown in Fig. 16A, in which a towing vehicle V0 is coupled via a coupler 80 to a towed vehicle A equipped with a work implement 50 and a work control unit 10d that controls it. Here, the work control unit 10d has a memory 11d and is configured to control the work implement 50 based on work information stored in this memory 11d. The work control unit 10d is also configured to control the drive control unit 30 of the towing vehicle V0 in accordance with the work procedure, thereby controlling the position of the towed vehicle A.

[0115] Furthermore, in the above-described second embodiment, the maintenance management system 200 includes at least one detection vehicle V equipped with a sensor and at least one work vehicle Va equipped with a work device, but the maintenance management system 200 of the second embodiment may include at least one detection work vehicle equipped with both a sensor and a work device instead of the detection vehicle V and work vehicle Va. A method for providing airport facility maintenance management services using such a detection work vehicle will be described below as a third embodiment.

[0116] (Embodiment 3) A method for providing a maintenance service according to a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 10A to 10C.

[0117] Figure 10A shows multiple airports A1 to A5 managed by a business that provides maintenance management services, Figure 10B shows multiple airport facilities managed by a business that provides maintenance management services grouped together, and Figure 10C shows the business's maintenance management system.

[0118] In this embodiment 3, airport maintenance services are also carried out in a group-by-group manner, as in embodiments 1 and 2, by grouping multiple airports A1 to A5 under the responsibility of one business establishment 3000 into two units U1 and U2, as shown in Figures 10A and 10B.

[0119] In this third embodiment, the maintenance management system 300 installed at the business establishment 3000 includes, instead of the multiple vehicles V included in the maintenance management system 100 of the first embodiment, a detection work vehicle Vb capable of detecting data related to the growth of plants such as turf and grass and performing tasks for airport facility management based on the detected data, as shown in FIG. 10C . Here, the computer system Csb of the maintenance management system 300, like the computer system Csa of the second embodiment, is configured to acquire data detected by each detection work vehicle Vb, create work information from the acquired data indicating tasks required for the maintenance of airport facilities, and provide the work information to each detection work vehicle Vb. The computer system Csb is also configured to acquire and store data detected by the detection work vehicles Vb.

[0120] (Detection work vehicle Vb) As shown in FIG. 11 , in addition to the configuration of the work vehicle Va of the second embodiment, the detection work vehicle Vb is equipped with a sensor unit 40 having multiple sensors 41-46, and further equipped with a work control unit 10b that is different from the work control unit 10a of the second embodiment. This work control unit 10b controls the drive control unit 30 in the same way as the work control unit 10a of the second embodiment, stores work information provided by the computer system Csb in memory 11b, and is configured to instruct the work device 50 to perform work required for maintaining and managing the airport facilities based on the work information. The memory 11b of the work control unit 10b also records data detected by the multiple sensors 41-46. When the detection work vehicle Vb returns to the business establishment 3000, at least one of the environmental data and growth condition data stored in memory 11b is provided to and accumulated in the computer system Csb of the maintenance management system 300.

[0121] Next, the maintenance management service provided by the maintenance management system 300 of this third embodiment will be specifically described using airport A1 as an example.

[0122] First, as in embodiment 2, when the detection work vehicle Vb of the maintenance management system 300 is deployed from the business establishment 3000 to airport A1, the detection work vehicle Vb detects data related to the growth of plants such as turf and grass, as in embodiment 1. The detected data (hereinafter also referred to as detection data) is brought back to the business establishment 3000 by the detection work vehicle Vb and provided to the computer system Csb of the maintenance management system 300 of the business establishment 3000. Note that the detection data may be transmitted to the maintenance management system 3000 of the business establishment 3000 in real time via wireless communication or the like.

[0123] When the computer system Csb of the maintenance management system 300 acquires the detection data, the computer system Csb stores the detection data in a database (not shown), and, similar to the computer system Csa of embodiment 2, creates work information from the detection data indicating the work required for maintaining the airport facilities, and provides the work information to the detection work vehicle Vb to be deployed at airport A1. Thereafter, when a maintenance service to perform the work is provided to airports A1 to A3 of unit U1, multiple detection work vehicles Vb are deployed from the business establishment 3000 to airport A1, as shown in Figures 12A and 12B.

[0124] Here, two detection work vehicles Vb are deployed at the first landing strip 1a, and one detection work vehicle Vb is placed at a work start point Sp1 (e.g., the same as the detection start point shown in Figure 6B) close to one end of the first runway 1 at the first landing strip 1a (on the left side of the paper), as shown in Figure 12B, and the other detection work vehicle Vb is placed at a work start point Sp2 (e.g., the same as the detection start point shown in Figure 6B) close to the other end of the first runway 1 at the first landing strip 1a (on the right side of the paper).

[0125] The detection work vehicle Vb positioned at the work start point Sp1 moves along the route P1 and performs the required work based on the work information at multiple locations along this route. Similarly, the detection work vehicle Vb positioned at the work start point Sp2 moves along the route P2 and performs the required work based on the work information at multiple locations along this route.

[0126] In this way, once the necessary work in the first landing strip 1a has been carried out by the two detection work vehicles Vb, the necessary work will be carried out in the remaining area, the second landing strip 2a, in a similar manner.

[0127] If an airport facility has multiple landing strips, data detection and work execution may be performed in parallel at multiple landing strips.

[0128] The detection processing of data related to the growth of plants such as turf and grass at such airports and the execution of maintenance work are carried out in parallel at the three airports A1 to A3 within unit U1, and after completion, the detection work vehicles Vb are returned to the business establishment 3000 almost simultaneously from the three airports A1 to A3 within unit U1. In order to simultaneously collect the detection work vehicles Vb provided to each airport in this way, for example, the number of detection work vehicles Vb provided to each airport within one unit U1 needs to be set so that the time required for work at each airport is approximately the same, depending on factors such as the size of the area where plants such as turf and grass grow, including the airport's landing strip.

[0129] After that, airport facility maintenance services will be provided to other airports A4 to A5 of Unit U2 in the same manner according to schedule management.

[0130] In this way, in this embodiment 3, instead of the detection vehicle V and work vehicle Va of embodiment 2, a detection work vehicle Vb is used that is equipped with a sensor unit that detects data related to the growth of plants such as grass and turf, and a work device that performs work necessary for maintaining airport facilities.Therefore, the detection work vehicle Vb can be used to detect data related to the growth of plants such as grass and turf on the landing strip, as well as for work to maintain the landing strip, thereby increasing the efficiency of vehicle utilization at the business site.

[0131] In the third embodiment, the maintenance management system 300 includes only the detection work vehicle Vb. However, the maintenance management system 300 may also include the detection vehicle V and work vehicle Va of the second embodiment in addition to the detection work vehicle Vb. In this case, the vehicle to be provided to the airport facility can be selected depending on the service requested by the airport. For example, if a service is requested to provide only work information indicating work necessary for airport maintenance, the detection vehicle V or the detection work vehicle Vb is provided to the airport facility. Alternatively, if a service is requested to provide such work information as well as actual work for maintaining the airport facility, both the detection vehicle V and the work vehicle Va, or the detection work vehicle Vb, is provided to the airport facility. Furthermore, if work for maintaining the airport facility is urgent, the detection work vehicle Vb is provided to the airport facility.

[0132] In addition, in the above embodiment 3, a detection work vehicle Vb equipped with both a sensor unit 40 and a work device 50 is used as the vehicle that runs on the landing strip for maintaining the landing strip, and an example has been described in which the work information required for work by the detection work vehicle Vb is created by the computer system of the maintenance management system based on data obtained from the detection work vehicle Vb, but the work information may also be created inside the detection work vehicle Vb based on data detected by the sensor unit of the detection work vehicle Vb.

[0133] Below, an example in which such work information is created inside a detection work vehicle and used in work by the detection work vehicle will be described as a fourth embodiment.

[0134] (Embodiment 4) A method for providing a maintenance service according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 13A to 13C.

[0135] Figure 13A shows multiple airports A1 to A5 managed by a business that provides maintenance management services, Figure 13B shows multiple airports managed by a business that provides maintenance management services grouped together, and Figure 13C shows the business's maintenance management system.

[0136] In this embodiment 4, maintenance services are provided to airports in the same manner as in embodiments 1 to 3, as shown in Figures 13A and 13B, by grouping multiple airports A1 to A5 under the responsibility of one business establishment 4000 into two units U1 and U2, and collectively providing these services to each group.

[0137] In this embodiment 4, a maintenance management system 400 installed in a business establishment 4000 includes, instead of the multiple vehicles V included in the maintenance management system 100 of embodiment 1, a detection work vehicle Vc that is capable of detecting data related to the growth of plants such as turf and grass, and that can perform work for airport facility management based on the detected data, as shown in Fig. 13C. Here, the computer system Csc of the maintenance management system 400 is configured to acquire and store data detected by the detection work vehicle Vc.

[0138] (Detection work vehicle Vc) 14, the detection work vehicle Vc is equipped with a work control unit 10c that replaces the work control unit 10b of the detection work vehicle Vb of embodiment 3, and is configured so that this work control unit 10c creates work information indicating work required for maintenance of the landing strip based on data detected by the sensor unit of the detection work vehicle Vc. Reference data is stored in memory 11c of this work control unit 10c, and the process of determining work required for airport maintenance based on data from the sensors is performed by this work control unit 10c by referring to the reference data stored in memory 11c based on data from the sensors, just like the data processing unit Dp of computer system Cs of embodiment 1, and work information indicating work determined to be required for airport maintenance is stored in memory 11b of the work control unit 10c.

[0139] In addition, the memory 11c of the work control unit 10c also records data detected by the multiple sensors 41-46. When the detection work vehicle Vc returns to the business establishment 4000, the data detected by the sensors and the work information stored in the memory 11c are provided to and stored in the computer system Csc of the maintenance management system 400. Therefore, the computer system Csc of this fourth embodiment does not need a function to refer to reference data based on data from the sensors and generate work information indicating the work required for airport maintenance. However, the computer system Csc may have a function to refer to reference data and generate work information indicating the work required for airport maintenance based on data detected by the sensor unit of the detection work vehicle Vc, which is acquired from the detection work vehicle Vc and stored.

[0140] The drive unit 20, drive control unit 30, sensor unit 40, and work device 50 in this detection work vehicle Vc are the same as those in the detection work vehicle Vb of the third embodiment.

[0141] Next, the maintenance management service provided by the maintenance management system 400 of this fourth embodiment will be specifically described using airport A1 as an example.

[0142] As shown in Figures 15A and 15B, a detection work vehicle Vc of the maintenance management system 400 is deployed to airport A1 from business establishment 4000. Here, two detection work vehicles Vc are deployed to first landing strip 1a of airport A1, with one detection work vehicle Vc being placed at work start point Sp1 close to one end of first runway 1 at first landing strip 1a (on the left side of the paper), as shown in Figure 15B, and the other detection work vehicle Vc being placed at work start point Sp2 close to the other end of first runway 1 at first landing strip 1a (on the right side of the paper, in the background).

[0143] The detection work vehicles Vc placed at the respective work start points Sp1 and Sp2 move along routes P1 and P2, detecting data related to the growth of plants such as grass and turf at multiple positions along these routes and performing work based on the work information obtained from the detected data.

[0144] Specifically, while the detection work vehicle Vc is moving over the first landing strip 1a, the sensor unit 40 detects data related to the growth of plants such as turf or grass at at least one point on the first landing strip 1a, and the work control unit 10c refers to reference data based on the detected data to generate work information indicating work required for airport maintenance and management, and provides the work information to the work device 50. The work device 50 performs work required for airport maintenance and management (such as watering or spreading fertilizer) based on the provided work information.

[0145] In this way, at the first landing strip 1a, data related to the growth of plants such as grass and turf, work information is created based on the detected data, and the work indicated by the work information is carried out by two detection work vehicles Vc.Then, similarly, at the remaining area, the second landing strip 2a, data related to the growth of plants such as grass and turf is detected, work information indicating work necessary for maintaining the airport is generated from the detected data, and the work indicated by the work information is carried out.

[0146] The provision of maintenance services to such airports is carried out in parallel at the three airports A1 to A3 within unit U1, and after completion, as in embodiment 3, the detection work vehicles Vc used to provide maintenance services to each airport are returned to the business establishment 4000 almost simultaneously from the three airports A1 to A3 within unit U1.

[0147] After that, airport facility maintenance services will be provided to other airports A4 to A5 of Unit U2 in the same manner according to schedule management.

[0148] In this way, in this embodiment 4, airports A1 to A5 are provided with a detection work vehicle Vc equipped with a sensor unit 40 that detects data related to the growth of plants such as grass and turf on landing strips within airport facilities and a work device 50 that performs maintenance work on airport facilities.This detection work vehicle Vc detects data related to the growth of plants such as grass and turf, creates work information from the detected data, and performs maintenance work based on the work information, so that work for airport maintenance can be carried out quickly without the need for workers.

[0149] In the fourth embodiment, the maintenance management system 400 is shown as including only the detection work vehicle Vc, but the maintenance management system 400 may also include, in addition to the detection work vehicle Vc, the detection vehicle V and work vehicle Va of the second embodiment, and further the detection work vehicle Vb of the third embodiment.

[0150] Furthermore, in the above-described fourth embodiment, the work control unit 10 of the detection work vehicle Vc may create work data indicating the work performed by the work device 50 and record it in memory 11c. In this case, when the detection work vehicle Vc returns to the business premises 4000, the work data stored in memory 11c may be provided to and accumulated in the computer system Csc of the maintenance management system 400, making it possible for the computer system Csc to generate and output a work report based on the work data.

[0151] Furthermore, the detection work vehicle Vb shown in embodiment 3 or the detection work vehicle Vc shown in embodiment 4 may be configured as shown in FIG. 16B, in which a towed vehicle A equipped with a work implement 50 and a work control unit 10e that controls it is coupled via a coupler 80 to a vehicle V equipped with the sensor unit 40 shown in embodiment 1. Here, the work control unit 10e has a memory 11e and is configured to control the work implement 50 based on the work information stored in this memory 11e. The work control unit 10e is also configured to control the drive control unit 30 of the vehicle V in accordance with the work procedure to control the position of the towed vehicle A.

[0152] Here, it goes without saying that the towed vehicle A can be equipped with a work device that automatically sprays fertilizer, fungicide, herbicide, etc.

[0153] In addition, the vehicles installed in the maintenance management systems of embodiments 1 to 4 may be equipped with mowing means for mowing plants such as grass and grass, in which case mowing work can be performed in parallel with work other than mowing work (data detection, work for maintaining airport facilities) performed by each vehicle.

[0154] Furthermore, in the above embodiments 1 to 4, the maintenance management system detects data related to the growth of plants such as grass and turf at a landing strip, and creates work information indicating the work required to maintain the landing strip based on the detected data. However, the maintenance management system may also detect data related to the growth of plants such as grass and turf in areas other than landing strips within the airport where plants such as grass and turf grow, such as parks within the airport, or areas around taxiways and aprons where plants such as grass and turf grow, and create work information indicating the work required to maintain these areas.

[0155] Furthermore, in embodiments 2 to 4, the maintenance management system has been described as performing work at a landing strip based on work information obtained from data related to the growth of plants such as turf and grass, but the maintenance management system may also perform work based on work information in areas other than landing strips within the airport where plants such as turf and grass grow, such as in parks within the airport, or in areas around taxiways and aprons where plants such as turf and grass grow.

[0156] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, work to maintain plants such as grass and other plants growing within the airport is carried out based on data related to the growth of plants such as grass and other plants, but work to maintain the functionality of the landing strip in response to the withering of plants such as grass and other plants on the landing strip may be carried out in accordance with the season without relying on data related to the growth of plants such as grass and other plants.

[0157] Hereinafter, a method for carrying out coloring work on grass, turf, and other plants on landing strips in response to withering of the plants, in accordance with the season, as a maintenance and management service for airport facilities will be described as a fifth embodiment.

[0158] (Embodiment 5) A method for providing a maintenance service according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 17A to 17C.

[0159] Figure 17A shows multiple airports A1 to A5 managed by a business that provides maintenance management services, Figure 17B shows multiple airport facilities managed by a business that provides maintenance management services grouped together, and Figure 17C shows the business's maintenance management system.

[0160] In this embodiment 5, maintenance services are provided to airports in the same manner as in embodiments 1 to 4, as shown in Figures 17A and 17B, by grouping multiple airports A1 to A5 under the responsibility of one business establishment 5000 into two units U1 and U2, and collectively providing these services to each group.

[0161] In this fifth embodiment, a maintenance management system 500 installed in a business establishment 5000 includes, instead of the multiple vehicles V included in the maintenance management system 100 of the first embodiment, a work vehicle Vf configured to be able to color plants such as grass and turf while moving over areas where plants such as lawns and grass grow, as shown in Fig. 17C. Here, the computer system Csf of the maintenance management system 500 is configured to acquire work data indicating work performed by the work vehicle Vf, and to create and output a work report based on the acquired work data.

[0162] (Work vehicle Vf) As shown in FIG. 18 , the work vehicle Vf is equipped with a work control unit 10f that replaces the work control unit 10a of the work vehicle Va of embodiment 2, and further includes a coloring means 50a that colors plants such as grass and grass as the work device 50 of the work vehicle Va of embodiment 2. The coloring means 50a is configured to color plants such as grass and grass on the landing strip while the work vehicle Vf is moving on the landing strip. The memory 11f of the work control unit 10f stores route information for moving the work vehicle Vf along a predetermined route. The work control unit 10f is configured to control the drive control unit 30 and the coloring means 50a so that the coloring means 50a colors plants such as grass and grass while the drive control unit 30 is driving the drive unit 20.

[0163] The drive unit 20 and drive control unit 30 are the same as those in the work vehicle Va of the second embodiment.

[0164] Next, the maintenance management service provided by the maintenance management system 500 of this fifth embodiment will be specifically described using airport A1 as an example.

[0165] 19A and 19B, a work vehicle Vf of the maintenance management system 500 is deployed to airport A1 from business establishment 5000. Here, two detection work vehicles Vf are deployed to first landing strip 1a of airport A1, with one work vehicle Vf being placed at work start point Sp1 close to one end of first runway 1 at first landing strip 1a (on the left side of the paper), as shown in FIG. 19B, and the other work vehicle Vf being placed at work start point Sp2 close to the other end of first runway 1 at first landing strip 1a (on the right side of the paper, in the background).

[0166] The work vehicles Vf located at the respective work start points Sp1 and Sp2 move along the landing strip 1a along the routes P1 and P2, coloring the grass, grass, and other plants along the path of the work vehicles Vf with a coloring agent. It is more efficient to color the grass, grass, and other plants while they are still green (for example, around November) rather than coloring them green after they have turned white due to winter withering. The coloring agent is preferably green and sticky enough to pick up dust or dirt that is stirred up in the air by aircraft takeoff or landing. Using a sticky coloring agent to color the grass, grass, and other plants in this way can prevent dust and dirt that is stirred up during aircraft takeoff and landing from entering the engine. However, the method of coloring the grass, grass, and other plants is not limited to using a coloring agent.

[0167] Specifically, when the work vehicle Vf begins to move over the first landing strip 1a, the coloring means 50a, under the control of the work control unit 10f, starts the process of coloring plants such as grass and grass green with a coloring agent in the part of the landing strip through which the work vehicle Vf passes. Also, when the work vehicle Vf moves along a predetermined route on the first landing strip 1a and stops at the end position, the coloring means 50a stops the process of coloring plants such as grass and grass green with a coloring agent under the control of the work control unit 10f.

[0168] In this way, once the work of coloring plants such as grass and turf has been completed by the two work vehicles Vf at the first landing strip 1a, the work of coloring plants such as grass and turf will be carried out in the remaining area, the second landing strip 2a, in a similar manner.

[0169] The work of coloring plants such as grass and turf at the landing strips of such airports is carried out in parallel at the three airports A1 to A3 within unit U1, and after completion, as in embodiment 3 or embodiment 4, the work vehicles Vf are returned to the business establishment 5000 almost simultaneously from the three airports A1 to A3 within unit U1.

[0170] After that, airport facility maintenance services will be provided to airports A4 to A5 of other unit U2 in accordance with schedule management, in the same way as airports A1 to A3 of unit U1.

[0171] In this manner, in this embodiment 5, airports A1 to A5 are provided with work vehicles Vf equipped with coloring means 50a that color plants such as grass and grass green, and these work vehicles Vf are used to color plants such as grass and grass on the landing strips while moving over the landing strips of the airport facilities. This prevents the contrast between the runway and the landing strips from decreasing due to the winter withering of plants such as grass and grass on the landing strips. This allows the function of the landing strips, which play an important role in the safe operation of aircraft, to be maintained even in winter, ensuring the safe operation of aircraft.

[0172] In this fifth embodiment, the coloring agent is shown to have adhesive properties that allow it to remove dust or dirt that becomes airborne during aircraft takeoff or landing. However, the coloring agent may not have such adhesive properties. Furthermore, in addition to or instead of adhesive properties, the coloring agent may have at least one of semi-nonflammable properties to take into account fire emergencies and other emergencies, and properties that promote photosynthesis in plants such as turf and grass. For example, the property of promoting photosynthesis in plants can be imparted to the coloring agent by its color. Such promotion of photosynthesis can increase the underground temperature in areas where plants such as turf and grass grow compared to before coloring. Furthermore, the coloring agent's property of warming the underground temperature compared to before coloring can be utilized to achieve a snow-melting effect for a certain amount of snowfall.

[0173] Furthermore, in the above-mentioned embodiment 5, the work vehicle Vf is equipped only with a coloring means 50a for coloring plants such as grass and grass as a work device, but this work vehicle Vf may also be equipped with a mowing means for mowing plants such as grass and grass.

[0174] FIG. 20 is a diagram illustrating a work vehicle Vg equipped with a coloring means and a mowing means in this manner.

[0175] This work vehicle Vg is equipped with a work control unit (control means) 10g that replaces the work control unit 10a of the work vehicle Va of embodiment 2, and further includes, as the work device 50 of the work vehicle Va of embodiment 2, a coloring means 50a that colors plants such as grass and grass, and a mowing means 50b that mows plants such as grass and grass.

[0176] The coloring means 50a is configured to color plants such as grass and grass on the landing strip while the work vehicle Vg is moving over the landing strip, similar to that in the work vehicle Vf of embodiment 5. The mowing means 50b is configured to mow plants such as grass and grass on the landing strip while the work vehicle Vg is moving over the landing strip.

[0177] Memory 11g of work control unit 10g stores route information for moving work vehicle Vg along a predetermined route. Work control unit 10g is configured to control drive control unit 30, coloring means 50a, and mowing means 50b so that, while drive control unit 30 is driving drive unit 20, plants such as grass and vegetation are colored by coloring means 50a and grass is mowed by mowing means 50b.

[0178] The drive unit 20 and drive control unit 30 are the same as those in the work vehicle Va of the second embodiment.

[0179] With a work vehicle Vg configured in this manner, it is possible to color plants such as grass and grass green while mowing the landing strip, and to effectively color plants such as grass and grass that have become shorter due to mowing.

[0180] In the work vehicle Vg shown in FIG. 20, the work control unit 10g is configured to control the coloring means 50a and the mowing means 50b so that plants such as grass and turf are colored by the coloring means 50a and the mowing means 50b is mowed, but the configuration of the work control unit 10g is not limited to this configuration.

[0181] For example, the work control unit 10g may be configured to control the mowing unit 50b and the coloring unit 50a so that the mowing unit 50b mows plants such as grass, grass, etc. before the plants wither in winter, and then the coloring unit 50a colors the plants such as grass, grass, etc. in one or several batches. Alternatively, the work control unit 10g may be configured to control the mowing unit 50b and the coloring unit 50a so that the coloring unit 50a colors the plants such as grass, grass, etc. after the mowing unit 50b mows plants such as grass, grass, etc. before the plants wither in winter, and to adjust the shade of the colorant when coloring the plants such as grass, grass, etc.

[0182] Furthermore, in the above-mentioned fifth embodiment, the maintenance management system has been described as performing coloring work on plants such as grass and turf at a landing strip, but the maintenance management system may also perform this coloring work in areas within the airport where plants such as grass and turf grow other than landing strips, such as in parks within the airport, or in areas where plants such as grass and turf grow around taxiways and aprons. (Modifications of Embodiments 1 to 5) Furthermore, the vehicles of the above embodiments may be equipped with sensors to avoid collisions with facilities such as signs on landing strips, lighting equipment for nighttime operation, laser devices for bird control, loud sound generators, and the like. Furthermore, the vehicle may be equipped with a bird-detecting sensor, and in response to the sensor's detection of a bird, a laser device for bird control may emit a laser beam at the bird, or a loud sound generator may be generated to scare off the bird. For example, the laser device for bird control may be a thermography / laser light system. Furthermore, during the summer, when grass and other plants grow rapidly, increasing the frequency of unmanned grass cutting using a vehicle equipped with the above-mentioned mowing means can prevent birds from flying into airport facilities and build nests, thereby reducing bird strikes. After unmanned grass cutting, the cut grass can be efficiently collected using an unmanned roll baler or the like. Furthermore, the thatch (grass debris) that is generated after unmanned mowing can be reduced by spraying a decomposing agent, for example, using a work device mounted on a work vehicle that sprays the decomposing agent, thereby reducing the amount of material left behind after mowing.

[0183] Furthermore, the patrol plans for the airport facility maintenance services provided by the business establishments in each of the above embodiments can be planned throughout the year, taking into account the region, season, etc., thereby improving the operating efficiency of vehicles and other equipment equipped in the maintenance management systems installed at each business establishment.

[0184] In addition to grass care, airport maintenance also covers the accumulation of dead leaves and the occurrence of pests. Therefore, by using a sensor capable of detecting these maintenance targets, such as an image sensor, as a vehicle-mounted sensor, it becomes possible to maintain things other than grass at the airport. In particular, damage to grass caused by pests can be effectively suppressed by predicting and dealing with their outbreaks. In the future, the realization of sensors that can detect signs of such outbreaks may make it possible to almost completely eliminate grass damage caused by pests.

[0185] Furthermore, at airport facilities in areas with heavy snowfall, snow removal work is required in the winter to remove snow that has accumulated on aircraft routes such as runways and taxiways, and the condition of snow on routes is also a subject of maintenance management for airport facilities.

[0186] Hereinafter, a method for providing a service for snow removal work to remove snow that has fallen on aircraft routes such as runways will be described as a sixth embodiment as a maintenance service for airport facilities.

[0187] (Embodiment 6) FIG. 21 is a diagram for explaining a method for providing a maintenance management service according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention, and shows the configuration of a maintenance management system installed in an establishment that provides the maintenance management service.

[0188] Here, the business establishment 9000a is a base that provides services for clearing snow from runways, taxiways, etc., at one or more airports (airport facilities) that the business establishment 9000a is responsible for. Note that, based on the nature of the snow removal work, the business establishment 9000a does not take the form of dividing multiple airports into groups and providing snow removal services to each group as explained in the fifth embodiment, but rather takes the form of providing a service in which work vehicles are brought in advance to airports where snow accumulation is predicted based on weather forecasts, etc. The following describes snow removal work at one airport.

[0189] Figure 22 is a diagram showing runways and taxiways at an airport for which maintenance management services are provided by the maintenance management system shown in Figure 21. Here, the airport is assumed to be in a heavy snowfall region such as Hokuriku or Tohoku. As shown in Figure 22, at this airport, a taxiway 6c is provided along a runway 61, and a landing strip 6a is an area within a predetermined range around the runway 61.

[0190] A business 9000a that provides snow removal services has a maintenance management system 900a for maintaining airport facilities through snow removal work, and this maintenance management system 900a includes, for example, two types of work vehicles.

[0191] One type of work vehicle is a side-pushing snowplow AVh1 that pushes snow that has accumulated on the travel path to the side of the travel path, and the other type of work vehicle is a rotary snowplow AVh2 that blows snow that has been pushed to the side of the travel path toward an area where vegetation grows (a green belt) adjacent to the travel path. The maintenance system 900a is equipped with multiple side-pushing snowplows AVh1 and multiple rotary snowplows AVh2. However, it is sufficient for the maintenance system 900a to be equipped with at least one side-pushing snowplow AVh1 and at least one rotary snowplow AVh2.

[0192] The maintenance management system 9000a also includes a computer system ACsh, which is configured to instruct the sidewalk snowplow AVh1 and rotary snowplow AVh2 on work details. Specifically, the computer system ACsh is configured to create a work schedule for these work vehicles based on the amount of snow, the type of roadway to be cleared of snow (for example, whether it is a runway or a taxiway), the width of the roadway, etc., and to instruct each work vehicle on work details based on the created work schedule.

[0193] The work vehicle is configured to perform snow removal work based on work instructions received from the computer system ACsh.

[0194] (Snowplow AVh1) Fig. 23A is a diagram for explaining the configuration of a sideways snowplow AVh1 provided in the maintenance system 900a. Fig. 24A is a diagram schematically showing the appearance of the sideways snowplow AVh1 shown in Fig. 23A.

[0195] The sidewalk snowplow AVh1 has a vehicle body 901a and a snow removal mechanism 901b attached to the front of the vehicle body 901a. The vehicle body 901a has a drive unit 220 that moves the vehicle, a drive control unit 330 that controls the drive unit 220, and a work control unit 910 that controls the drive control unit 330 based on work instructions from the computer system ACsh. The work control unit 910 has a memory 911 and a transmitter / receiver unit (not shown) for transmitting and receiving information via a line such as a wireless LAN, and the memory 911 is configured to store information such as work details received from the computer system ACsh via a line such as a wireless LAN.

[0196] Snow removal mechanism 901b has snow removal board 913 for pushing snow accumulated on the road to the side of the road, and snow removal board support arm 914 for supporting snow removal board 913. The base of snow removal board support arm 914 is rotatably attached to vehicle body 901a, and snow removal board 913 is attached to the tip of snow removal board support arm 914.

[0197] (Rotary snowplow AVh2) Fig. 23B is a diagram illustrating the configuration of a rotary snowplow AVh2 provided in the maintenance system 900a. Fig. 25A is a diagram schematically illustrating the appearance of the rotary snowplow AVh2 shown in Fig. 23B.

[0198] The rotary snowplow AVh2 has a vehicle body 902a and a snow removal device 902b attached to the front of the vehicle body 902a.

[0199] Here, the vehicle body 902a has a drive unit 220, a drive control unit 330, and an operation control unit 920, similar to the vehicle body 901a of the sidewalk snowplow AVh1. The vehicle body 902a is configured to supply the loaded grass powder CGr to the snow removal device 902b. Specifically, the vehicle body 902a has a grass powder storage unit 902 that stores the grass powder CGr, a discharge unit 924 for discharging the grass powder CGr from the grass powder storage unit 902, and a conveying blower 925a that conveys the discharged grass powder CGr by airflow. The grass powder is conveyed to the snow removal device 902b by the conveying blower 925a via a conveying duct 925b. Here, the grass powder is made by finely crushing and coloring grass produced during summer mowing operations and is stored in a warehouse at the airport or elsewhere for recycling. The grass powder is transported from the warehouse and loaded onto the rotary snowplow AVh2 as needed for winter snow removal operations.

[0200] The snow removal device 902b has a cylindrical snow plow roller 926 that rotates to remove accumulated snow, a pair of left and right roller support plates 926a that rotatably support the snow plow roller 926, and a pair of upper and lower support plate support arms 926b that support each roller support plate 926a. A motor that rotates the snow plow roller 926 is built into the roller support plate 926a. One end of the support plate support arm 926b is fixed to the roller support plate 926a, and the other end of the support plate support arm 926b is rotatably attached to the vehicle body 902a. The rotation of the support plate support arm 926b is performed by an actuator (not shown) attached to the vehicle body 902a.

[0201] Snow removal device 902b further includes a mixer 927 that mixes grass powder transported from vehicle body 902a with snow scraped by snow plow roller 926, and a snow blower 928 that blows out snow SGm mixed with grass powder. Snow blower 928 includes a blowout pipe 928a and a blowout blower 928b. Mixer 927 is fixed to roller support plate 926a, and snow blower 928 is attached to the top of mixer 927.

[0202] In this rotary snowplow AVh2, the drive unit 220 and drive control unit 330 are the same as those in the sidewalk snowplow AVh1, and the work control unit 920, like the work control unit 910 of the sidewalk snowplow AVh1, has a memory 921 and a transceiver unit (not shown) for transmitting and receiving information to and from the computer system ACsh via a line such as a wireless LAN. However, the work control unit 920 is configured to control the drive control unit 330, as well as the motors of the discharge means 924, conveyor blower 925a, mixer 927, blowout blower 928b, snow plow roller 926, and the actuator of the mounting plate support arm 926b, based on the work content instructed by the computer system ACsh.

[0203] Next, the maintenance service (snow removal work) provided by the business establishment 9000a to the airport shown in FIG. 22 will be described.

[0204] When computer system ACsh of maintenance management system 900a at business establishment 9000a obtains snow accumulation information for the airport shown in Figure 22, it instructs sidewalk snowplow AVh1 and rotary snowplow AVh2 to perform snow removal work. This instruction is received by work control unit 910 of sidewalk snowplow AVh1 and work control unit 920 of rotary snowplow AVh2 via a line such as wireless LAN. Here, it is assumed that sidewalk snowplow AVh1 and rotary snowplow AVh2 have been transported to the airport from the business establishment in advance based on weather forecasts and other information, and are stored in a hangar or similar facility within the airport.

[0205] First, several AVh1 snowplows clear the runway.

[0206] FIG. 24B is a diagram for explaining an example of snow removal work by the sidewalk snow removal vehicle AVh1 shown in FIG. 24A.

[0207] The operation control units 910 of the multiple side-pushing snowplows AVh1 detect the position of the centerline of the runway 61 based on airport map information and determine the traveling position of each snowplow relative to the centerline of the runway 61 according to the operation content (snow removal operation execution) instructed by the computer system ACsh. Once the traveling position of each side-pushing snowplow AVh1 has been determined, the multiple side-pushing snowplows AVh1 travel from one end of the runway 61 to the other end, forming a formation with the side-pushing snowplow AVh1 traveling on the centerline of the runway 61 at the front, with multiple side-pushing snowplows AVh1 on either side of it, as shown in FIG. 24B. As the side-pushing snowplows AVh1 travel on the runway 61, snow Sn accumulated on the runway 61 is pushed to both sides of the runway 61. In this way, the operation of pushing snow to the side of the runway is usually completed by the side-pushing snowplow AVh1 traveling on the runway 61 one to several times. Figure 24C shows the state after the snow removal work by the sidewalk snowplow AVh1 shown in Figure 24A has been completed. After the snow removal work by the sidewalk snowplow AVh1 has been completed in this way, the snow removal work by the rotary snowplow AVh2 is then carried out.

[0208] FIG. 25B is a diagram for explaining an example of snow removal work by the rotary snowplow AVh2 shown in FIG. 25A.

[0209] Here, the rotary snowplows AVh2 perform snow removal work to remove snow that has accumulated beside the runway, and at the same time, they also perform work to color the areas of the landing strips on both sides of the runway 61 so that the boundary between the runway 61 and the landing strips 6a on both sides of the runway 61 is clearly defined. The coloring work is performed by scattering grass powder stored in a warehouse at the airport onto the landing strips 6a.

[0210] This will be explained in detail below.

[0211] The grass powder storage compartments 902 of multiple (e.g., two) rotary snowplows AVh2 are loaded in advance with grass powder CGr carried out from an airport warehouse. When the work control unit 920 of the rotary snowplow AVh2 receives instructions on the work content (snow removal work) from the computer system ACsh, the work control unit 920 detects the position of the centerline of the runway 61 based on airport map information and determines the driving position of each snowplow relative to the centerline of the runway 61 based on the work content (snow removal work) instructed by the computer system ACsh. In the case of the rotary snowplow Vh2, since it performs snow removal work to remove snow that has been pushed up to the side of the runway 61 by the side-pushing snowplow AVh1, it may be possible to photograph the scenery in front of the vehicle using an image sensor or the like while the vehicle is traveling, and to determine the optimal driving position for snow removal work by analyzing the photographed image.

[0212] When the two rotary snowplows AVh2 are positioned at the snow removal start position (for example, on both sides of one end of the runway 61) and start snow removal work, the snow that has collected on both sides of the runway 61 is collected by the snow plow rollers 926 of the snow removal device 902b of the rotary snowplow AVh2, and the collected snow is blown out by the snow blowing unit 928 toward the landing strip via the mixer 927. While the snow is being collected and blown out in this way, the grass powder stored in the grass powder storage unit 902 of the rotary snowplow AVh2 is transported by the carrying means 924 to the conveying blower 925a, and the grass powder is then transported by the conveying blower 925a to the mixer 927 via the conveying duct 925b. The mixer 927 is supplied with snow taken in by the snow plow roller 926, which mixes grass powder into the snow, and the grass powder-containing snow SGm is blown out toward the landing strip from the snow blowout section 928. As a result, the part of the landing strip 6a adjacent to the part of the runway 61 where snow removal work by the rotary snowplow AVh2 has been completed is colored the color of the colored grass powder (e.g., green), as shown by the dots in Figure 42B.

[0213] The operation of blowing away snow that has collected on the side of the runway in this way is usually completed by the rotary snowplow AVh2 making at least one run along the runway 61. Figure 25C shows the state after the snow removal operation by the rotary snowplow AVh2 shown in Figure 25A has been completed.

[0214] Furthermore, snow removal work using the side snowplow AVh1 and the rotary snowplow AVh2 is carried out not only on the runway 61 but also on the taxiway 6c in the same manner.

[0215] However, there are cases where airports are so busy clearing snow from the runway 61 that they are unable to fully clear the taxiway 6c. In such cases, snow removal from the taxiway 6c can be performed solely by the rotary snowplow AVh2. This is because, since aircraft only move along the taxiway 6c at low speeds, even if there is some snow accumulation, aircraft can still move along the taxiway as long as the boundary between the taxiway and the surrounding green area (taxiway green area) can be clearly defined. Specifically, when the rotary snowplow AVh2 removes snow from the side edges of the taxiway, snow containing colored grass powder is scattered into the area around the taxiway (taxiway green area), coloring the taxiway green area. This allows pilots to recognize the edges of both sides of the taxiway.

[0216] Once the snow removal work on the runway 61 and taxiway 6c is completed as described above, the airport will be ready for aircraft to take off and land.

[0217] If the snow continues to fall, the snow removal work by the side-pushing snowplow AVh1 and rotary snowplow AVh2 will be carried out intermittently, but if the snow stops falling, the snow removal work by the side-pushing snowplow AVh1 and rotary snowplow AVh2 will end and these work vehicles will be returned to a hangar, etc. Furthermore, if the weather forecast predicts that no more snow will fall for a while, these work vehicles will be temporarily returned to business establishment 9000a.

[0218] In this way, in the sixth embodiment, the airport is provided with a side snowplow AVh1 and a rotary snowplow AVh2, which are used to remove snow from aircraft runways such as the runway 61 and taxiway 6c at the airport facility while simultaneously coloring the landing strips and taxiway green areas, thereby improving the reduction in contrast between the runway and the surrounding area (green area) due to snowfall while simultaneously removing snow from the runway. This makes it possible to maintain the function of the runway and the surrounding green area, which play an important role in the safe operation of aircraft, even in areas with heavy snowfall in winter, thereby ensuring the safe operation of aircraft.

[0219] In this sixth embodiment, grass powder obtained by finely crushing and coloring cut grass is used for coloring. However, to color the snow, ash or charcoal obtained by burning cut grass can also be mixed into the snow taken in by the rotary snowplow AVh2. If charcoal is mixed in, the surface of the landing strip and green areas of the taxiway will turn black, promoting the absorption of sunlight, which will increase the temperature and promote snow melting and photosynthesis of the grass on the landing strip and green areas of the taxiway. It goes without saying that the rotary snowplow AVh2 can also mix snow-melting agent into the snow taken in and blow it away together with the snow-melting agent.

[0220] Furthermore, crushed scallop shells or colored crushed scallop shells can be used to color the snow picked up by the rotary snowplow AVh2. Because scallop shells have a glossy surface, even if they are not specifically colored, by mixing crushed scallop shells with snow and scattering them on the landing strips and green areas of the taxiways, the surfaces of the landing strips and green areas of the taxiways will shine in the sunlight, making the boundaries between the runway 61 and landing strip 6a and between the taxiway 6c and green areas of the taxiways clear.

[0221] In addition, airport facility maintenance services that respond to weather conditions include services that provide snow removal in the winter and removal of puddles caused by sudden heavy rain in the summer.

[0222] Specifically, the areas where plants grow (green belts) around roads such as runways and taxiways are not flat and uneven, so puddles can form in landing strips around runways and green belts around taxiways during summer torrential rains. Leaving these puddles in the areas where plants grow around roads unattended can lead to the development of many pests, such as earthworms, that serve as food for birds, which can lead to an increase in the number of birds visiting airports and an increased likelihood of bird strikes. In particular, in subtropical regions such as Southeast Asia, heavy rains accompanied by gusty winds (squalls) are frequent. Airport facilities in these regions are designed with such heavy rain (e.g., up to 100 mm per hour) in mind. However, when torrential rains (e.g., 300 mm per hour) occur, puddles can form in the green belts (areas where plants grow) around roads. For this reason, at some airports, work is required to remove puddles that form in green areas due to sudden heavy rain, and puddles that form in green areas are also subject to the maintenance and management of airport facilities.

[0223] Hereinafter, a method for providing a puddle removal service to remove puddles that have formed in green areas around the travel paths will be described as a seventh embodiment, as a maintenance service for airport facilities.

[0224] (Embodiment 7) FIG. 26 is a diagram for explaining a method for providing a maintenance management service according to the seventh embodiment of the present invention, and shows the configuration of a maintenance management system installed in an establishment that provides the maintenance management service.

[0225] Here, business establishment 9000b is a base that provides a service of removing puddles in areas where plants grow at one or more airports (airport facilities) that business establishment 9000b is responsible for. Similar to business establishment 9000a that provides the snow removal service described in embodiment 6, business establishment 9000b also provides a service of bringing in a work vehicle in advance to an airport where a sudden downpour is predicted based on weather forecasts, etc. Below, a description is given of puddle removal work at one airport.

[0226] FIG. 27 is a diagram showing an airport where maintenance management services (puddle removal work) are provided by the business establishment 9000b shown in FIG.

[0227] This airport A7 is constructed on an airport site La, for example, carved into a hilly region in a mountainous area, and is surrounded by mountains M. The airport site La is provided with one runway 71 and a parallel taxiway 7c. The areas around runway 71 and taxiway 7c are green areas where plants such as grass grow. A predetermined area around runway 71 is landing strip 7a, and the area around taxiway 7c is a taxiway green area. In FIG. 27, 7b is an apron, 7P is an airport parking lot, and Lp is an airport access road. Because this airport A7 is surrounded by mountains, when it experiences heavy rain, rainwater flows into the airport site, and puddles can form on landing strip 7a and the taxiway green area.

[0228] A business 9000b that provides a service of performing puddle removal work is provided with a maintenance management system 900b for maintaining airport facilities through puddle removal work, and this maintenance management system 900b includes a puddle removal vehicle AVk.

[0229] The maintenance management system 9000b also includes a computer system ACsk, which is configured to instruct the puddle removal vehicle AVk on work content. For example, the computer system ACsk is configured to identify the location of puddles in the green belt based on data from orbiting satellites and notify the puddle removal vehicle AVk. The puddle removal vehicle AVk is configured to move to the puddle in the green belt and remove the puddle based on the puddle location information notified by the computer system ACsk.

[0230] (Water Puddle Removal Vehicle AVk) FIG. 28 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of a puddle removal vehicle AVk provided in the maintenance system 900b.

[0231] The puddle removal vehicle AVk is equipped with water intake means 960 and water discharge means 970 in place of the coloring means 50a of the work vehicle Vf of embodiment 5, and is equipped with a work control unit 910k in place of the work control unit 10f of the work vehicle Vf of embodiment 5, and is configured to diffuse water from puddles to areas where there is no water, thereby promoting evaporation of the water from the puddles. The drive unit 220 and drive control unit 330 of the puddle removal vehicle AVk are the same as the drive unit 20 and drive control unit 30 of the work vehicle Vf of embodiment 5.

[0232] Here, water intake means 960 has a water inlet 961 and a suction pump (not shown), and is configured to suck up water from the puddle through water inlet 961 with the suction pump. However, the configuration of water intake means 960 is not limited to this, and water intake means 960 may be configured to scoop up water from the puddle with a shovel or the like, or may be configured to sweep up water from the puddle with a rotating brush or the like.

[0233] The water discharge means 970 discharges the puddle water taken into the puddle removal vehicle AVk by the water intake means 960 to a place where there is no accumulated water under the control of the work control unit 910k, and here has a water discharge pump 971, a water discharge pipe 972 connected to the water discharge pump 971, and a water discharge nozzle 973 attached to the tip of the water discharge pipe 972.

[0234] The work control unit 910k has a memory 911k and a transmitting / receiving unit (not shown) for transmitting and receiving information to and from the computer system ACsk via a line such as a wireless LAN. The work control unit 910k is configured to control the drive control unit 330, as well as the water intake means 960 and the water discharge means 970, based on the work content instructed by the computer system ACsk.

[0235] Next, a maintenance service (puddle removal work) provided by the business establishment 9000b to the airport shown in FIG. 27 will be described.

[0236] When the computer system ACsk of the maintenance management system 900b of the business establishment 9000b acquires information about a puddle Wp that has formed, for example, on landing strip 7a at airport A7 shown in Figure 27 from an orbiting satellite or the like, it instructs the puddle removal vehicle AVk to perform puddle removal work. When this instruction is received by the work control unit 910k of the puddle removal vehicle AVk via a line such as a wireless LAN, the puddle removal vehicle AVk performs the puddle removal work at landing strip 7a. It is assumed that the puddle removal vehicle AVk has been transported in advance from the business establishment 9000b to airport A7 based on a weather forecast or the like and stored in a hangar or the like.

[0237] FIG. 29 is a diagram for explaining the puddle removal work performed by the puddle removal vehicle AVk shown in FIG.

[0238] When the puddle removal vehicle AVk leaves the airport hangar and arrives at the location of, for example, a puddle Wp on landing strip 7a in accordance with the puddle location information contained in the work content (puddle removal work) instructed by the computer system ACsh, it operates the water intake means 960 and the water discharge means 970 to suck up the water from the puddle Wp on landing strip 7a and discharge it toward an area of ​​the green zone (landing strip 7a or taxiway green zone 7d) where there is no water, thereby spreading the water in the puddle on landing strip 7a so as to promote its evaporation. Furthermore, when a puddle removal vehicle AVk arrives at the location of a puddle, for example, in the green taxiway zone 7d in accordance with the puddle location information contained in the work content (puddle removal work) instructed by the computer system ACsh, it will, like the puddle removal vehicle AVk that arrives at the location of a puddle in the landing strip 7a, suck up the water from the puddle Wp and spray it toward an area of ​​the green strip (landing strip 7a or green taxiway zone 7d) where there is no water, thereby spreading the water in the puddle in the green taxiway zone 7d so as to promote its evaporation.

[0239] In this way, in this embodiment 7, a puddle removal vehicle AVk is provided to the airport to remove water from puddles that have formed in the green areas (landing strip 7a and taxiway green areas 7d) located around the aircraft runways of airport facilities due to sudden heavy rain, etc., thereby preventing an increase in pests that serve as food for birds due to puddles forming in the airport's green areas due to sudden heavy rain, etc., and reducing bird strikes caused by birds flying into the airport.

[0240] In the above embodiment 7, the information indicating the location of puddles in the green belt is information received from an orbiting satellite by the computer system ACsk of the business establishment 9000b, but the information indicating the location of puddles in the green belt may also be obtained by a detection vehicle that detects the location of puddles in the green belt.

[0241] In this way, when information indicating the location of puddles is obtained using a detection vehicle that detects the location of puddles in green belt areas, the maintenance management system 900b of the business establishment 9000b needs to be equipped with a puddle detection vehicle in addition to the puddle removal vehicle AVk. The puddle detection vehicle can be realized by providing a water detection sensor that detects water accumulated on the ground, instead of or in addition to at least one of the sensors 41 to 46 of the sensor unit 40 of the vehicle V described in embodiment 1. By running a detection vehicle equipped with such a water detection sensor along a predetermined route in the green belt areas, the location of puddles can be identified. Here, the information indicating the location of puddles is work information that can be used for the maintenance and management of airport facilities.

[0242] Furthermore, in each of the above-described embodiments, the maintenance management of airport facilities is performed using a maintenance management system owned by a business that provides maintenance management services for airport facilities, but the computer system and vehicle functions that make up the maintenance management system of each of the above-described embodiments may be installed in existing machinery owned by the airport facility. In this case, the existing machinery owned by the airport facility can be effectively utilized, which makes it possible to reduce some of the facility maintenance management costs at the airport.

[0243] As described above, the present invention has been illustrated using preferred embodiments of the present invention, but the present invention should not be interpreted as being limited to these embodiments. It is understood that the scope of the present invention should be interpreted only by the claims. It is understood that a person skilled in the art can implement an equivalent scope based on the description of the present invention and common technical knowledge from the description of specific preferred embodiments of the present invention. [Industrial Applicability]

[0244] The present invention is useful in providing a method and system that can improve the efficiency of airport facility maintenance and management work, thereby reducing the costs required for airport facility maintenance and management. [Explanation of symbols]

[0245] 1 Runway 1 1a Landing Zone 1 1b First Apron 1c 1st taxiway 2 Runway 2 2a LZ 2 2b Second Apron 2c 2nd taxiway Dp Data processing section 10a~10g, 910, 910k Work control unit 11, 11a~11g, 911, 911k Memory 20 Drive unit 30 Drive control unit 40 Sensor section 41 Temperature Sensor 42 Humidity sensor 43 Wind direction sensor 44 Soil moisture sensor 45 Soil pH sensor 46 Chlorophyll Sensor 50 Work equipment 50a Coloring means 50b Reaping means 80 Coupler 100, 200, 300, 400, 500 Maintenance Management System 901a, 902a Vehicle body 901b Snow removal structure 902b Snow removal equipment 960 Water intake means 970 Water spraying means 1000, 2000, 3000, 4000, 5000, 9000a, 9000b Office A. Towed vehicle A1~A5 Airports AVh1 Side snow removal vehicle AVh2 rotary snowplow AVk Puddle Treatment Vehicle ACsh, ACsk, Cs, Csa, Csb, Csc, Csf Computer Systems Db1 to Db3 databases L Ground plane P1 and P2 routes Sp1, Sp2 detection start point U1 1st Unit U2 2nd Unit V Vehicle (detection vehicle) V0 Towing vehicle Va, Vf, Vg Work Vehicles Vb, Vc detection work vehicle Wp puddle

Claims

[Claim 1] A system or method.

Images