Equipment diagnostic device, remote equipment monitoring method, remote equipment monitoring system, and equipment diagnostic program

Abstract

To provide information about faults of a ship electronic apparatus on a mobile body on the water, communicate with a remote apparatus monitoring center, and enable efficient trouble shooting of the faulty ship electronic apparatus.SOLUTION: An apparatus diagnostic device 103 is provided from a remote apparatus monitoring center 113 to monitor one or more ship electronic apparatuses 107 on a mobile body 101 that moves on the water. The apparatus diagnostic device 103 includes: a receiving unit 123 that receives one or more messages from the ship electronic apparatuses 107; a detection unit 125 that detects faults of the ship electronic apparatuses 107 based on the one or more messages; and a transmitting unit 127 that transmits fault detection information indicating diagnostic results of the faults to the remote apparatus monitoring center 113.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a diagnostic device for electronic devices, a remote device monitoring method, a remote device monitoring system, and a device diagnostic program, and more specifically to a device and method for determining a malfunction of a device in a mobile object such as a ship moving on water, and providing troubleshooting instructions from an equipment monitoring center installed on land or in a mobile object other than the ship. [Background technology]

[0002] The crew of a shipping company is specialized in ensuring the integrity, safety, and availability of the ship, and the ship is equipped with many electronic devices that ensure the safety and efficient operation of the ship, i.e., marine electronic equipment. The marine electronic equipment installed on a ship is generally used by replacing the necessary parts depending on the maintenance status of its performance and functionality.

[0003] When an abnormality occurs in a ship's electronic equipment, the crew reports the situation to the ship management company. The shipping company then provides the acquired information to the equipment monitoring center to obtain instructions for troubleshooting the equipment failure. The equipment monitoring center then provides appropriate instructions for troubleshooting to the ship.

[0004] However, communication between shipping companies and ships varies depending on the situation and is often complex and difficult. In many cases, due to the high workload of ship crews, equipment failures go unreported, and sometimes false alarms are sent to the equipment monitoring center, which can often result in the ship suddenly breaking down.

[0005] Also, if there is a problem with the ship's equipment and the crew does not want to be blamed for damaging the equipment, it is not entirely uncommon for the crew to be reluctant to announce the equipment failure until the ship has arrived in port.

[0006] Therefore, information obtained from the vessel may lack details related to the equipment failure. The lack of complete information related to the marine electronics failure can make it difficult to diagnose the exact cause of the marine electronics failure and provide corresponding guidance and instructions for troubleshooting the failure.

[0007] Currently, satellite communication links are used to provide real-time information related to marine electronic equipment on ships to remote equipment monitoring centers for remote equipment monitoring of equipment. However, while the data received by the remote equipment monitoring center may contain a large amount of information, not all of the data may be relevant to faults or diagnosis.

[0008] "Processing such large volumes of data requires expensive infrastructure and advanced processing power to sift through all the data, identify equipment data-related faults, and provide troubleshooting instructions. Furthermore, communication via satellite is typically expensive and not always suitable for transmitting large amounts of data. Therefore, a cost-effective system and architecture is needed that provides direct, two-way communication between the vessel and the equipment monitoring center to troubleshoot equipment faults effectively and in a timely manner." [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0009] [Patent Document 1] Special Publication No. 2014-203990 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0010] The present invention provides an equipment diagnostic device, a remote equipment monitoring method, a remote equipment monitoring system, and an equipment diagnostic program that remotely and appropriately diagnose and monitor the presence or absence of a fault in an electronic device mounted on a moving body such as a ship and the exact cause of the fault. [Means for solving the problem]

[0011] In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides an equipment diagnostic device, a remote equipment monitoring method, a remote equipment monitoring system, and an equipment diagnostic program that monitor one or more marine electronic devices installed on a ship by a remote equipment monitoring center connected to the target ship or the like via wireless communication such as satellite communication.

[0012] The device diagnostic device of the present invention includes a receiving unit configured to receive one or more messages from one or more electronic devices, the messages consisting of information about the messages, called identification data, including the method of sending the message, an identification number or device name for identifying the electronic device, etc., and alarm status data, information about the status of the electronic device itself, related to a malfunction or failure of the device (alarm) or indicating an alarm status by a measurement or reading (property) of the electronic device.

[0013] The equipment diagnostic device further includes a detection unit that detects a fault in one or more of the marine electronic devices based on the identification data and the alarm status data, and a transmission unit that is configured to transmit information related to the fault to a remote equipment monitoring center when a fault is detected.

[0014] In the telecommunications device of the present invention, the identification data and alarm status data may be based on 0183 messages defined and maintained by the National Marine Electronics Association (NMEA), which is a specification for data in sonars, sonars, anemometers, gyrocompasses, autopilots, GPS receivers, and other marine-related electronic devices.

[0015] In the device diagnostic device of the present invention, the detection unit may compare the message type of each message with a target message type, and if the message type matches the target message type, the detection unit may analyze the message, and if the message type does not match the target message type, the detection unit may ignore the message.

[0016] According to the remote communication device of the present invention, the message type can include at least one of a UNICAST message type or a MULTICAST message type, where the UNICAST message type is associated with one-to-one transmission from the ship's electronic equipment to the equipment diagnostic equipment, and the MULTICAST message type is associated with group communication in which data transmissions are sent simultaneously to the electronic equipment.

[0017] In the remote communication device of the present invention, the detector may identify NMEA 0183 messages encapsulated (using object-oriented programming) within one or more messages based on syntax analysis. That is, in object-oriented programming, a collection of related data and operations on them are organized into a single message unit as an object, and only the necessary information and procedures are provided to the outside world to identify the NMEA 0183 message.

[0018] Additionally, the detector can compare the NMEA 0183 message to a predetermined set of valid NMEA 0183 message types. If the NMEA 0183 message belongs to the predetermined set of valid NMEA 0183 message types, the detector continues parsing the NMEA 0183 message. If the NMEA 0183 message does not belong to the predetermined set of valid NMEA 0183 message types, the detector ignores the NMEA 0183 message.

[0019] In the device diagnostic device of the present invention, the detection unit can include a first trigger and a second trigger. The first trigger constantly operates as a background process to receive one or more messages containing alarm status data from one or more electronic devices. The first trigger can use the alarm status data to process the messages based on a comparison between a current alarm status (the alarm status at a first time point) and a previous alarm status (the alarm status at a second time point prior to the first time point).

[0020] The second trigger may run at scheduled intervals, which may be predefined by the user, and processes the message to check for changes in the alarm status data between the last scheduled timestamp and the current scheduled timestamp.

[0021] The detection unit transmits a message including information related to a fault in one or more electronic devices to a remote device monitoring center based on processing of the message by the first trigger and the second trigger, along with data identifying the electronic device that has been diagnosed with the fault.

[0022] According to the device diagnostic device of the present invention, the detector may store the current alarm status and previous alarm statuses for one or more messages in a database, and update the current alarm status each time one or more messages are received.

[0023] According to the device diagnostic apparatus of the present invention, the detector may store alarm state changes with a timestamp. The timestamp of the last alarm state is rewritten in the database. In the device diagnostic apparatus of the present invention, the transmitter transmits information to a remote device monitoring center using a satellite communication link.

[0024] The remote device monitoring method of the present invention includes: From the remote equipment monitoring centerOne or more messages are received from one or more electronic devices on a mobile object such as a ship. Each message encapsulates identification data for communication with the electronic devices, which includes information such as a message transmission method, an identification number or device name for identifying each electronic device, and alarm status data, which includes information about the status of the electronic device, such as a malfunction or failure (alarm) of the device or a measurement or reading (property) of the electronic device. Based on the combination of the identification data and the alarm status data, a failure of the electronic device is detected, and information related to the failure is transmitted to a remote device monitoring center.

[0025] According to another embodiment of the present invention, when detecting a fault in one or more electronic devices, the step of comparing each message type with a target message type is and Parse the message if the message type matches the target message type, ignore the message if it does not match.

[0026] According to another embodiment of the present invention, a remote equipment monitoring center for monitoring one or more electronic devices is located on land or on a vessel other than a target vessel, and monitors one or more electronic devices on the target vessel. The remote equipment monitoring center receives one or more messages by a remote receiving unit, the messages including information related to a malfunction of the electronic device, and the remote equipment monitoring center further includes a remote analyzing unit for analyzing the received messages.

[0027] In addition, the remote equipment monitoring center Reception The system may include a remote application unit configured to analyze one or more messages received and determine a malfunction of the electronic equipment based on the analysis, wherein the determination of a malfunction of the one or more vessel devices is performed by monitoring the electronic equipment on the target vessel, etc. from a remote equipment monitoring center located on land or on a vessel other than the target vessel.

[0028] According to the remote equipment monitoring method of the present invention, a remote equipment monitoring center remotely monitors one or more electronic devices installed on a ship or the like, and receives one or more messages from the electronic devices, each message containing information related to a failure of an electronic device installed on the ship, analyzes the messages, and determines troubleshooting information for remotely monitoring the electronic devices based on the analysis results.

[0029] In accordance with the present invention, a method for remote device monitoring is provided that uses a device diagnostic device to form a hybrid architecture for monitoring electronic devices in communication with the device diagnostic device, where the device diagnostic device determines a fault in the electronic devices based on analysis of one or more messages received from one or more electronic devices.

[0030] When a fault in the electronic device is determined, the equipment diagnostic device directly provides information regarding the corresponding electronic device fault to the remote equipment monitoring center using the first satellite communication link. In this manner, only relevant information related to the electronic device fault is provided to the remote equipment monitoring center, enabling the remote equipment monitoring center to diagnose the problem and provide troubleshooting procedures in a short time.

[0031] Additionally, device management (DM) and connectivity management (CM) services for the device WISE (DW) gateway are provided by the second satellite communication link. In this manner, the first satellite communication link is dedicated to remote equipment monitoring and troubleshooting of electronic device faults provided using an equipment diagnostic device, enabling rapid monitoring and troubleshooting of device faults without relying on the DM / CM services.

[0032] EndWhile the present invention addresses the problems described above, the above summary is illustrative only and is not intended to be limiting in any way. In addition to the exemplary aspects, embodiments, and features described above, further aspects, embodiments, and features will become apparent by reference to the drawings and the following detailed description.

[0033] The device diagnostic device, remote device monitoring method, and remote device monitoring program of the present invention provide a device and method for remote device monitoring and diagnosis of electronic devices. This device is primarily used for remote device monitoring of electronic devices installed on marine vehicles such as ships. The device diagnostic device of the present invention directly communicates with a remote device monitoring center to provide information on electronic device failures and obtain troubleshooting instructions for operating the failed electronic device, enabling efficient and effective troubleshooting of the failed electronic device. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0034] The present disclosure is illustrated by way of example and not by way of limitation in the figures of the accompanying drawings. [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic diagram showing the relationship between an equipment monitoring device and a remote equipment monitoring center for remote equipment monitoring of a ship according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a hybrid architecture implemented for remote equipment monitoring of a vessel according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3] 1 is a schematic diagram showing a block diagram of a device diagnostic device according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 4] FIG. 2 illustrates components of a DW core according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 5] 2 illustrates the different components that make up a remote equipment monitoring center according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 6] 3 illustrates method steps performed by a remote equipment monitoring center to provide troubleshooting instructions according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 7]1 illustrates method steps performed by a remote equipment monitoring center to provide notifications to vessel subscribers according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 8] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a block diagram of an IoT portal for remote equipment monitoring of a vessel according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 9] 1 is an exemplary schematic diagram of an equipment diagnostic device in communication with one or more marine electronic devices according to one embodiment of the present invention; FIG. [Figure 10] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of an initialization procedure of a device diagnostic device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 11] 4 illustrates an exemplary message received by an equipment diagnostic device from a device on board a vessel according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 12] 4 is a flowchart illustrating method steps performed by a first trigger according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 13] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating device fault diagnosis and fault detection information transmission performed by a first trigger according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 14] 10 is a flowchart illustrating method steps performed by a second trigger according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 15] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating device fault diagnosis and fault detection information transmission performed by a second trigger according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 16] 10 illustrates exemplary appliance alarm conditions used by a second trigger to determine an alarm condition according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 17] 10 shows an exemplary table illustrating the operation of a second trigger for a 20 minute alarm state change according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 18] 1 illustrates an exemplary table containing data processed by a trigger and recorded in a local database, according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 19] 4 shows an exemplary capture time chart when data from a marine electronic device is received by an equipment diagnostic device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 20] 4 illustrates an exemplary call flow for an initialization procedure according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 21] 4 illustrates the steps of executing a get status command according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 22] 10 illustrates the execution steps of a log list command according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 23] 4 illustrates the steps of executing a data download command according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 24] 4 illustrates the steps of executing an export settings command according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 25] 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating method steps for remote equipment monitoring of a vessel according to one embodiment of the present invention; DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0035] The following description sets forth numerous specific details to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. The systems and methods of the present invention are shown in block diagram form only to avoid obscuring the disclosure of the embodiments.

[0036] The appearances of the phrase "in one embodiment" in various places in this specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment, nor are separate or alternative embodiments mutually exclusive of other embodiments. Various features are described that may be requirements of some embodiments, but not all.

[0037] Certain embodiments of the present invention will now be described in more detail with reference to the drawings. The accompanying drawings illustrate some, but not all, embodiments of the present disclosure. Indeed, various embodiments of the present disclosure may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will satisfy applicable legal requirements. Like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout.

[0038] As used herein, the terms "data," "content," "information," and similar terms may be used interchangeably to refer to data that may be transmitted, received, and / or stored in accordance with embodiments of the present invention. Additionally, the terms "processor," "controller," and "processing circuitry" and similar terms may be used interchangeably to refer to a processor that may process information in accordance with embodiments of the present invention. Additionally, the terms "electronic device," "electronic device," and "device" may be used interchangeably to refer to an electronic device monitored by a system in accordance with embodiments of the present invention.

[0039] In the following description of the embodiments of the present invention, the target of remote device monitoring is marine electronic equipment installed on ships, etc., but it is not limited to ships, and can be applied to a wide range of moving objects on water, including oceans, lakes, and rivers, and can also be applied to fixed objects such as offshore objects.

[0040] As long as electronic devices are capable of communication, they may be instruments attached to engines or pumps, etc., or may include sonar, anemometers, gyrocompasses, automatic steering devices, GPS receivers, and other marine-related electronic devices that are envisioned by the 0183 message, but here they will be referred to as marine electronic devices.

[0041] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the relationship between an equipment monitoring device and a remote equipment monitoring center for remote equipment monitoring of a ship according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0042] One or more vessel electronic devices a-n are installed on the vessel 101, and these devices can communicate with a remote equipment monitoring center via a satellite communication link. The vessel electronic devices 107a-n are not limited to being installed on a single vessel, but may be installed on multiple vessels, such as another vessel 102.

[0043] For satellite communications, it is possible to appropriately select satellite communications via multiple communications satellites 301a-n, and by using, for example, the Iridium satellite communications system or Inmarsat, it is possible to select from multiple communications routes instead of just one. The communications between the device diagnostic device 103 and the remote device monitoring center 113 may be entirely satellite communications links, or may include a satellite communications link in part.

[0044] The hybrid architecture for the remote equipment monitoring system of the present invention uses an equipment diagnostic device to provide information related to the failure of one or more marine electronic devices on a vessel using a direct satellite communication link to a remote equipment monitoring center for remote equipment monitoring and diagnosis of one or more marine electronic devices.

[0045] The number of ship electronic devices to be monitored may be one or more, but it is common to have more than one, and the remote device monitoring device of the present invention will be more effective. In the following description of each embodiment of the present invention, it is assumed that the number of ship electronic devices may be one or more.

[0046] The equipment diagnostic device is installed on the vessel and communicates with one or more of the vessel's electronic equipment to determine any abnormalities in its function, and transmits information relating to any abnormalities associated with the vessel's electronic equipment directly to a remote equipment monitoring center via a satellite communication link.

[0047] The remote equipment monitoring system is installed on land or on another mobile body on water, such as a dedicated ship for remote monitoring, away from the ship, and is capable of sending and receiving data with the equipment diagnostic device via wireless communication such as a satellite communication link.

[0048] An equipment diagnostic device that interfaces with the database then obtains, via the satellite communication link, troubleshooting instructions related to the anomaly associated with the marine electronic equipment.

[0049] A hybrid architecture that provides direct communication between the equipment diagnostic device and the remote equipment monitoring system increases the efficiency of diagnosing the cause of anomalies in shipboard electronic devices due to the direct communication link. Direct communication provides information related to device faults in real time, reducing troubleshooting time. In other words, effective diagnosis through a direct communication link between the equipment diagnostic device and the remote equipment monitoring center reduces troubleshooting time when physical assistance is required to correct device issues at the port where the ship calls.

[0050] If marine electronics fail, the crew will be alerted with troubleshooting advice and finally, if boarding is required, the exact symptoms of the failure will be identified before boarding so that engineers can prepare and provide the correct spare parts.

[0051] With reference to Figure 2, the detailed configuration and operation of the hybrid architecture for remote equipment monitoring of ships is shown below.

[0052] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a hybrid architecture 100 implemented for remote equipment monitoring of a vessel, according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0053] The hybrid architecture 100 includes communication links between a vessel 101, a remote equipment monitoring center 113, and a so-called IoT (Internet of Things) portal 115. The remote equipment monitoring center 113 is here remotely located on land and monitors one or more marine electronic devices 107 in the vessel 101 at sea. The vessel 101 includes a gateway device 111, which is hardware (a smart device) that collects data from the marine electronic devices 107.

[0054] The gateway device 111 includes a DW gateway 121, which acts as a gateway device 111 to access these devices and acts as an intermediary protocol between the user and one or more of the ship electronic devices 107, so that the user is notified of failures in one or more of the ship electronic devices 107.

[0055] The DW Gateway 121 includes a DW Core 119, a sub-part of the DW Gateway 121 that acts as an intermediate protocol interface between any applications used to connect users to the DW Gateway 121 for monitoring ship electronics, meaning data coming from a selection of business applications.

[0056] The DW gateway 121 further includes a database 109 that communicates directly with the DW core 119. The DW core 119 includes a diagnostic function in the equipment diagnostic device 103 and a plug-in 105. The equipment diagnostic device 103 functions as an event trigger module with the minimum function of diagnosing the ship electronic equipment 107 and transmitting the information to the outside.

[0057] The hybrid architecture 100 allows the equipment diagnostic device 103 to directly transmit information regarding malfunctions in the vessel electronics 107 to the remote equipment monitoring center 113. The direct link between the equipment diagnostic device 103 and the remote equipment monitoring center 113 increases the portability of the system and simplifies the overall architecture because the hybrid architecture 100 eliminates intermediate protocol points of failure that could pose a risk when providing troubleshooting instructions.

[0058] Furthermore, the hybrid architecture 100 enhances the security of the entire remote equipment monitoring system by utilizing data protection and password policies, for example, while accessing information related to the vessel electronics 107, and ensures proper segregation of traffic between traffic data routed to the remote equipment monitoring center 113 via a first satellite communication link and traffic data routed to the IoT portal 115 via a second satellite communication link, where each gateway device 111 has a unique token (Think Key) registered for each satellite communication link, and typically the same token is used for authentication and management purposes.

[0059] The advantage of using two different satellite communication links to separate the data sent to the remote equipment monitoring center 113 and the data sent to the IoT portal 115 is that the hybrid architecture utilizes the strengths of each platform (113 and 115). That is, here, two portals are used to configure their own platforms, Azure® user interface and data analytics, respectively, for equipment management and connection management. The IoT portal 115 initiates remote access services directly to the ship's electronic equipment 107 via the gateway device 111. This is the reason for using two different communication satellite links: one for data transmission to the remote equipment monitoring center 113 (outgoing traffic), and the other for remote access services via TR-50 (inbound traffic) and VPN tunneling by the IoT portal 115. This controls the route of data sent via the DM core 119.

[0060] The satellite communications link may use any satellite operator's network, from Inmarsat FBB to VSAT, or may use Iridium Certus satellites.

[0061] The remote device monitoring center 113 provides a user interface, data analytics, and troubleshooting. The IoT portal 115 provides IoT portal data including device management (device management data) and connectivity management (connectivity data), and the remote device monitoring center 113 includes this IoT portal 115.

[0062] The DW core 119 may be software installed on a computer operable unit installed on the vessel 101. The equipment diagnostic device 103 receives one or more messages from the vessel electronics 107, which messages contain data combining identification data for communication with the vessel electronics 107 on the vessel 101 and alarm status data consisting of information about the state of the device, either regarding an equipment malfunction or failure (alarm) or regarding a measurement or reading of the device (property), the combination of the identification data and the alarm status data being based on NMEA 0183 messages.

[0063] More specifically, each message contains a combination of two different categories of data: the first, called identification data, which consists of information about the message, including how the message was sent, the name of the device, etc.

[0064] One is called alarm status data and consists of information about the state of a device, such as a malfunction or failure of the device (alarm) or a measurement or reading (property).

[0065] The equipment diagnostic device 103 detects a fault in the ship electronic device 107 based on the identification data and the alarm status data, and then transmits information related to the fault in the ship electronic device 107 to the remote equipment monitoring center 113. At this time, the information related to the fault in the ship electronic device 107 is transmitted using the first satellite communication link.

[0066] Furthermore, when the equipment diagnostic device 103 receives one or more messages from the vessel electronic device 107, it determines the type of the message to be analyzed and analyzes the message accordingly, where the message type includes at least one of a unicast message type and a multicast message type.

[0067] The unicast message type relates to one-to-one transmission from the ship electronics 107 to the ship diagnostic device 103, while the multicast message type relates to group communication where a data transmission is directed to a group of ship electronics 107 simultaneously.

[0068] The device diagnostic device 103 further identifies an encapsulated NMEA 0183 message in each of the one or more messages based on the parsing. The device diagnostic device 103 compares the NMEA 0183 message type to a predetermined set of valid NMEA 0183 message types.

[0069] If the NMEA0183 message type belongs to a predefined set of valid NMEA0183 message types, the device diagnostic device 103 continues parsing the NMEA0183 message. If the NMEA0183 message type does not belong to a predefined set of valid NMEA0183 types, the device diagnostic device 103 ignores the message.

[0070] A predefined set of valid NMEA 0183 message types includes alarm types, property types, and connection types. The equipment diagnostic device 103 executes a trigger upon receipt of an alarm type message to determine whether one or more of the vessel electronics 107 is faulty. The equipment diagnostic device 103 further identifies the faulty device by analyzing the message. The equipment diagnostic device 103 further determines whether to notify the remote equipment monitoring center 113 of an alarm condition associated with the vessel electronics 107.

[0071] The equipment diagnostic device 103 may be configured to compare the current alarm state (ON or OFF) of the marine electronics 107 with a previous alarm state of the equipment. That is, the first trigger may use the alarm state data to process a message based on a comparison between the current alarm state (the alarm state at a first time point) and the previous alarm state (the alarm state at a second time point prior to the first time point).

[0072] Then, if there is a change in the alarm status and the current alarm status indicates a device failure, the device diagnostic device 103 notifies the remote device monitoring center 113 of the alarm status associated with the failing device.

[0073] Additionally, the equipment diagnostic device 103 stores current alarm status and previous status for one or more messages in the database 109. During a time span in which the equipment diagnostic device 103 is disconnected from the remote equipment monitoring center 113, the database 109 can locally retain data until the equipment diagnostic device 103 regains connection to the remote equipment monitoring center 113. The database 109 may also store information such as the type of marine electronic equipment 107, the identification of the equipment, and the location of the equipment, which may be utilized by the equipment diagnostic device 103.

[0074] The equipment diagnostic device 103 may update the current and previous alarm conditions each time a message is received, and transmits information related to the device failure to the remote equipment monitoring center 113 via a first satellite communication link.

[0075] Here, the message structure corresponding to the message type is predefined. Therefore, when the device diagnostic device 103 receives, for example, a multicast type message, the device diagnostic device 103 analyzes the message according to the message structure predefined for the multicast type message. Similarly, the structure of a unicast type message is also predefined.

[0076] The plug-ins 105 extend the functionality of the DW core 119 and are used to communicate and interact with the ship electronics 107. The plug-ins 105 can receive one or more commands from a user, which can correspond to specific actions to be performed by the ship electronics 107. Accordingly, the plug-ins 105 can further send the commands to the ship electronics 107, process data returned by the ship electronics 107, and further provide corresponding results to the user who requested them.

[0077] The users may be crew members on board the vessel 101 or engineers operating at a remote equipment monitoring center 113. The plug-ins 105, DW core 119 and equipment diagnostic device 103 may each be implemented as hardware, software or a combination of both hardware and software in various embodiments without departing from the scope of the present invention.

[0078] The DW core 119 can be modified by developers according to user requirements to create user-specific components, parts, and plugins to communicate and interact with the marine electronics 107. Users include suppliers of the marine electronics 107 installed on the vessel 101, shipbuilding companies that supply the vessels, etc.

[0079] The DW Core 119 has direct access to one or more of the boat electronics 107 and acts as an intermediate protocol between the user, one or more triggers, and one or more of the boat electronics 107. In an alternative embodiment, the DW Core 119 acts as an intermediate protocol between other plug-ins and one or more of the boat electronics 107 that those plug-ins use to communicate with the boat electronics 107.

[0080] The DW Gateway 121 provides connectivity to the IoT Portal 115 for Device Management (DM) services and connectivity management services used to manage the connectivity of the device diagnostic device 103 to the remote device monitoring center 113 .

[0081] The second satellite communication link is used to separate traffic to the IoT portal 115 from traffic to the remote equipment monitoring center 113, increasing the efficiency of transmitting information related to malfunctions of the vessel electronics 107 to the remote equipment monitoring center 113.

[0082] The second satellite communications link is used by authorized personnel at the remote equipment monitoring center 113 to support the large scale equipment management and connectivity management requirements of multiple equipment diagnostic devices installed on multiple vessels for remote equipment monitoring of those vessels.

[0083] The connectivity management uses the TR-50 protocol to manage connectivity services. Furthermore, the user can activate software update packages through the device management (DM), add licenses to the DW Gateway 121, and obtain hardware information of the gateway device 111. The DW Gateway 121 receives corresponding data from the ship electronics 107 provided to the user.

[0084] The DW Gateway 121 and the IoT Portal 115 are connected to the DW Workbench 117. The DW Workbench 117 acts as a "client" for requests, such as accessing alarm status information using triggers, etc. The DW Workbench 117 provides a graphical user interface (GUI) to the user to execute specific trigger algorithms for the equipment diagnostic device 103, one or more procedures, and processes on one or more ship electronic devices 107. The DW Workbench 117 also provides configuration information to the plugins 105, and the plugins 105 interact with one or more ship electronic devices 107 by communicating with them.

[0085] Furthermore, the remote equipment monitoring center 113 is configured to receive information related to malfunctions of the vessel electronics 107 in the form of messages and analyzes the messages received from the vessel 101 .

[0086] Further, the remote equipment monitoring center 113 analyzes the message and determines a fault in the vessel electronics 107 identified by the equipment diagnostic device 103. Upon obtaining information related to the fault in the vessel electronics 107, the remote equipment monitoring center 113 retrieves troubleshooting instructions from a local database of the remote equipment monitoring center 113 and provides the troubleshooting instructions to the vessel 101 via the first satellite communication link (path).

[0087] In some cases, the remote equipment monitoring center 113 provides information related to malfunctions of the vessel electronics 107 to a diagnostic engineer. The remote equipment monitoring center 113 then enables the diagnostic engineer to provide troubleshooting instructions to one or more crew members of the vessel. The troubleshooting instructions are provided to the crew members on the vessel 101 using the first satellite communications link. In this manner, the remote equipment monitoring center 113, such as located on shore, monitors one or more vessel electronics 107 on the vessel 101 at sea.

[0088] FIG. 3 shows a block diagram illustrating an overview of the device diagnostic device 103, according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0089] The equipment diagnostic device 103 includes a receiver 123, a detector 125, and a transmitter 127. The receiver 123 is configured to receive one or more messages from one or more marine electronic devices 107, each message having combined identification data and alarm status data for communication with the marine electronic devices 107 on the vessel 101.

[0090] The detector 125 detects a fault in the marine electronics 107 based on the identification data and the alarm status data. To do so, the detector 125 is configured to compare each message type to a target message type, parse the message when the message type matches the target message type, and ignore the message when the message type does not match the target message type. The detector 125 analyzes the message to determine the occurrence of an alarm event indicative of a fault in the marine electronics 107. To accomplish this, the detector 125 executes a trigger.

[0091] The triggers executed by the detection unit 125 include a first trigger and a second trigger. The first trigger is configured to constantly run as a background process that receives one or more messages from one or more of the marine electronic devices 107. Each of the one or more messages includes alarm status data, and the first trigger uses the alarm status data to process the message based on a comparison of the current alarm status with a previous alarm status.

[0092] The detector 125 also stores the current and previous states of all alarms in the database 109 and updates the current and previous alarm states each time one or more messages are received.

[0093] The second trigger operates at scheduled time intervals and receives one or more messages from one or more marine electronics 107 (wherein the one or more marine electronics 107 are interchangeably referenced). The second trigger processes the messages and checks for any changes in alarm status data between the last (most recent) scheduled timestamp and the current scheduled timestamp.

[0094] Furthermore, the detection unit 125 outputs a message including information related to a failure of the vessel electronic device 107 based on the processing of the message by the first trigger and the second trigger.

[0095] The equipment diagnostic device 103 uses the transmitter 127 to transmit information related to the failure of the ship electronic device 107 to the remote equipment monitoring center 113. When the transmitter 127 outputs the information related to the failure, it transmits the information related to the failure of the ship electronic device 107 to the remote equipment monitoring center 113 using the first satellite communication link.

[0096] The equipment diagnostic device 103 uses the first trigger and the second trigger to determine relevant information related to the fault. The equipment diagnostic device 103 then transmits only the relevant information related to the equipment failure to the remote equipment monitoring center 113. These triggers may be one or more software processes, subroutines, functions, services, and algorithms that are executed upon receipt of one or more alarm-type messages. The triggers may be defined using plugins 105 that are part of the DW core 105.

[0097] The detailed function of the DW core 119 is described below with reference to FIG.

[0098] 4 illustrates components of the DW Core 119 according to one embodiment of the device diagnostic device of the present invention. As can be seen, the DW Core 119 includes two components: the plug-in 105 and the device diagnostic device 103.

[0099] In one embodiment of the present invention, the plug-in 105 uses one or more plug-ins to communicate with the marine electronics. The plug-in 105 communicates with the marine electronics 107 on the vessel 101 using four plug-ins. The four plug-ins implement four individual commands. The plug-in 105 uses the plug-ins to send the corresponding commands to the marine electronics 107 via the DW core 119.

[0100] Furthermore, the boat electronics 107 returns corresponding data to the plug-in 105. The plug-in 105 functions not only for communication with the boat electronics 107, but also for processing the data returned by the boat electronics 107. Since all communication between the plug-in 105 and the boat electronics 107 is performed over a network, a secure connection needs to be established between the plug-in 105 and the boat electronics 107.

[0101] FIG. 5 shows a different configuration of a remote device monitoring center 113 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The remote device monitoring center 113 includes a so-called Internet of Things (IoT) hub 129, an event hub 131, a function unit 133, a Cosmos database 135, a configuration management database (CMDB) 137, a web application 139, an application gateway 141, and an Azure (registered trademark) Data Lake Storage (ADLS) 143. Azure is a cloud service provided by Microsoft (registered trademark). The device diagnostic device of the present invention can be applied to any cloud service that has similar functions, not just Azure.

[0102] The IoT hub 129 receives information from the vessel 101 regarding malfunctions of the marine electronics 107. This information is used by the remote equipment monitoring center 113 to determine the cause of the equipment malfunction and to provide instructions for further troubleshooting the equipment malfunction. The IoT hub 129 is arranged to provide central management for one or more marine electronics 107 within the vessel 101.

[0103] The IoT Hub 129 has several functions such as device authentication or authorization, device provisioning, two-way communication with the DW Core 119, module registry, device binding, etc. The IoT Hub 129 routes data to the Event Hub 131. The IoT Hub 129 is configured as a remote receiver to receive one or more messages from the vessel 101. The messages contain information about a malfunction of the vessel electronics 107.

[0104] The event hub 131 may be configured to distribute data coming from the IoT hub 129 in the form of messages, etc. The IoT hub 129 has only a single event hub 131 endpoint connected to a function unit 133. The event hub 131 stores information related to the failure of the ship electronics 107 in Azure Data Lake Storage (ADLS) 143 and Azure Cosmos Database 135.

[0105] The function unit 133 processes data points from the event hub 131 and forwards them to the Cosmos database (a globally distributed multi-model database) 135. The function unit 133 acts as a remote analyzer and analyzes one or more messages received from the event hub 131, which in turn come from the IoT hub. The function unit 133 is implemented using NETCORE on the Microsoft Azure portal and is used as a serverless computing option. The Cosmos database 135 is a database based on the Azure platform, which is a globally distributed multi-model database service.

[0106] The function unit 133 processes data received from the event hub 131 and integrates various processes and systems to work with different systems for IoT operations. The function unit 133 also enables the construction of simple application interfaces and microservices. The function unit 133 can be used for stream analysis, which allows more functions to be implemented in the remote device monitoring center 113 and provides more options and forms.

[0107] Function unit 133 is further used in event-driven programming and can be triggered by http requests, timers, event hub inputs (triggering functions implemented in function unit 133), etc. Function unit 133 can also process inputs and save them to a storage device of the user's choice.

[0108] The function unit 133 provides the capability and functionality to manipulate input data and map it with data received from the application's Configuration Management Database (CMDB) 137, adding real-time functionality such as email alerts sent to users who have subscribed to high-risk alerts for their vessels. The Configuration Management Database (CMDB) refers to a database that provides integrated storage and management (configuration management) of information about all components of the information system.

[0109] It offers extremely fast query execution, multi-master replication across any Azure region, allowing for quick query execution to user locations, and is capable of handling Internet of Things (IoT) based scenarios that typically rely on telemetry in JSON documents.

[0110] The Cosmos database 135 can function as a primary data store for the web application 139. The web application 139 is a remote application configured to analyze and parse messages coming from the function unit 133. The Cosmos database 135 also stores "raw" data from the device diagnostic device 103, enabling richer analysis that captures deeper and more descriptive data points (pre-aggregated data points). The Cosmos database can run on the Azure platform and refers to a database service that employs, for example, NoSQL.

[0111] The remote equipment monitoring center 113 may also be based on the Azure platform and may include a configuration management database (CMDB) 137. The configuration management database (CMDB) 137 hosts the configuration management database (CMDB) of the web application 139. Additionally, it may host one or more user, customer, vessel, and equipment mappings and latest alerts to enable quick retrieval for presentation.

[0112] The web application 139 retrieves all information related to the failure of one or more of the vessel electronic devices 107, such as the type of parsed messages, from different databases as described above. The web application 139 then uses this information to identify possible causes of the failure of one or more of the vessel electronic devices 107.

[0113] Additionally, the web application 139 provides instructions for troubleshooting malfunctions in the marine electronics 107 via the first satellite communication link. In another embodiment, the web application 139 provides the retrieved information to an engineer who can then provide the crew of the vessel 101 with step-by-step instructions for troubleshooting malfunctions in one or more marine electronics 107.

[0114] The web application 139 can be hosted on Azure Web Apps, which allows for flexible web hosting of the portal. Azure Web Apps provides features such as auto-scaling of the web application 139. Using user-defined rules, the web application 139 can be scaled out and in based on incoming requests from portal users. Furthermore, newer versions of the application can coexist with older versions, allowing for seamless testing in production without disrupting normal operations. In other embodiments, CI / CD scenarios can be easily enabled using Azure Devops, Git, TFS, Github, etc.

[0115] In one embodiment, the remote device monitoring center 113 may also include Azure Application Insights, an Azure monitoring feature that allows for monitoring running applications. Azure Application Insights may include an extensible application performance management (APM) service for web development across multiple platforms.

[0116] Azure Application Insights enables features such as live web application monitoring, automatically detecting performance anomalies and providing powerful analytics to help diagnose problems, and can be used to understand what users are actually doing in web applications. Azure Application Insights has the potential to support a variety of programming technologies, including .NET, Node.js, Java EE, hosted on-premise, hybrid, and any public cloud.

[0117] The application gateway 141 provides a web application firewall (WAF) that provides centralized protection for web applications 139 from common exploits and vulnerabilities. It protects the web applications 139 from malicious attacks that exploit commonly known vulnerabilities. Some common attacks for which the application gateway 141 provides protection include SQL injection and cross-site scripting.

[0118] Azure Data Lake Storage (ADLS) 143 is a highly scalable data storage solution. It can store data in any format with no capacity limitations. This, combined with an architecture built for big data and advanced analytics scenarios, provides a high-performance service for processing large amounts of data, such as data coming from Ship 101. For that purpose, ADLS 143 can be used to store raw data points coming from Event Hub 131 and make this data available to services such as machine learning services.

[0119] In one embodiment, the remote equipment monitoring center 113 may further include one or more business intelligence tools, such as Power BI (a self-service and enterprise business intelligence offering from Microsoft), for reporting / dashboard presentation to engineers, which may be embedded in a web application 139 and obtain data from the ADLS 143.

[0120] The remote equipment monitoring center 113 can use business intelligence tools to provide engineers with a dashboard view of failures in one or more of the vessel's electronic equipment 107, allowing them to more easily understand the cause of the failure and provide effective troubleshooting instructions to the vessel's 101 crew.

[0121] FIG. 6 illustrates steps of a method 100e performed by a remote equipment monitoring center 113 to monitor and provide troubleshooting instructions to one or more marine electronic devices 107 on a vessel 101, according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0122] The method 100e begins in step 145 upon receiving one or more messages from the vessel 101, for example, an alarm-type message containing information regarding a malfunction of the vessel electronics 107.

[0123] In step 147, it is determined whether the alarm condition is on or off based on the received alarm condition. If the alarm condition is off, the method ends in step 149. If the alarm condition is on, the method proceeds to step 151.

[0124] In step 151, the message may be analyzed, for example, by searching for troubleshooting instructions in the configuration management database (CMDB) 137 based on the equipment model and alarm code received in the message.

[0125] The remote equipment monitoring center 113 can obtain the equipment model and alarm code directly from the vessel 101 via the first satellite communication link. Further, in step 153, troubleshooting information can be determined for the remote equipment monitoring of the vessel electronics (107) based on analysis of the messages. For example, it can be determined whether troubleshooting steps are found.

[0126] If the troubleshooting steps are not found in the database, an engineer at the remote equipment monitoring center 113 can be notified to provide the troubleshooting steps, in step 155. The engineer can determine the troubleshooting steps and provide them to the crew aboard the vessel 101 via the first satellite communication link. If the troubleshooting steps are found in the configuration management database (CMDB) 137, in step 157 the troubleshooting guide is displayed to the crew aboard the vessel 101 via the first satellite communication link.

[0127] 7 illustrates steps of a method 100f performed by a remote equipment monitoring center to provide notifications to vessel subscribers, according to one embodiment of the present invention. The method begins at step 159. In step 161, the method includes obtaining data from an event hub 131.

[0128] The data may include information related to a malfunction of the marine electronics 107 within the vessel 101. Serialization of the data may be performed in step 163. In step 165, it may be determined whether any events exist. If it is determined that no events exist, the method ends in step 167.

[0129] On the other hand, if an event does exist, the method proceeds to step 169. In step 169, the type of event can be determined. If the event type is "connected," then in step 171 the cached connectivity is updated and the method continues to read the next event. If the event type is "property," then in step 173 the cached property is updated and the method continues to read the next event.

[0130] Further, if the event type is an alarm, the method proceeds to step 175. In step 175, the cached alarm may be updated. Further, for the detected alarm event, it is determined whether the alarm event corresponds to a high-risk event in step 177. If the alarm event does not correspond to a high-risk event, the method may continue to read the next alarm event.

[0131] On the other hand, if the alarm event is a high-risk event, the method proceeds to step 179. In step 179, a notification related to the alarm event may be sent to subscribers of the vessel 101. The notification may be in the form of email, SMS, etc. Subscribers of the vessel 101 may include the owner of the vessel 101, the vessel manufacturer, etc. The method then continues to read the next event.

[0132] 8 is a schematic diagram illustrating a block diagram of an IoT Portal 115 for remote equipment monitoring of a vessel 101, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The IoT Portal 115 is used to provide device management and connectivity management via a second satellite communication link between the DW Gateway 121 and the IoT Portal 115.

[0133] The IoT portal 115 includes a Message Queue Telemetry Transport (MQTT) front-end 201, a connection manager 203, a device manager 205, an IoT management portal 207, and an IoT platform machine-to-machine (M2M) service application interface (API) 209. The IoT portal 115 communicates with the remote device monitoring center 113. The MQTT front-end 201 establishes communication between the IoT portal 115 and the gateway device 111 using the MQTT protocol.

[0134] MQTT is a very simple, lightweight publish / subscribe messaging protocol designed for constrained devices and networks with low bandwidth, high latency, or unreliability. Note that latency is the network time it takes for a requested resource (sending data, issuing a notification requesting processing) to reach its destination. Low latency is a good situation, meaning there is little or no latency, while high latency is a bad situation, meaning it takes a long time for the requested resource to reach its destination.

[0135] The design principles are to ensure reliability and some guarantee of delivery while minimizing network bandwidth and device resource requirements. These principles also make the protocol ideal for "machine-to-machine" (M2M) or "Internet of Things (IoT)" related applications, and for applications where bandwidth and power are at a premium. A fundamental advantage of the MQTT protocol is that it is lightweight, designed for devices with very low resource bandwidth. It is also the default standard for communication in the IoT world.

[0136] The MQTT protocol is also used by the connection manager 203 and the device manager 205 for large-scale connectivity and device management for multiple equipment diagnostic devices installed on multiple ships. Additionally, the IoT Management Portal 207 is a web-based application that can be used to view and manage all DW Gateways and connections connected to the IoT Portal 115. The IoT Management Portal 207 makes it easy to view and manage all DW Gateways connected to the IoT Portal 115. The IoT Management Portal 207 not only helps with device management, but also helps with user management, firmware updates, and all other batch-type processes that need to be performed on the equipment diagnostic devices.

[0137] Additionally, the IoT Platform M2M Services API 209 includes a set of APIs that are used to allow new devices, e.g., new gateway devices, to connect to the IoT Portal 115 and to allow mobile and desktop applications to interact with available data. Thus, the IoT Platform M2M Services API 209 is used by application programs to interface with the IoT Portal 115.

[0138] FIG. 9 is an exemplary schematic diagram of an equipment diagnostic device 103 in communication with marine electronic equipment 107a-107n, according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0139] The device diagnostic device 103 may function as a server that constantly monitors the network and waits for data from one or more boat electronic devices 107a-107n. When the device diagnostic device 103 receives one or more messages (data) from the boat electronic devices 107a-107n, the device diagnostic device 103 analyzes the data. In other words, the boat electronic devices 107 may transmit only the type of data that they collect, and the device diagnostic device 103 may analyze each message data block from each boat electronic device 107 accordingly. Thus, the device diagnostic device 103 may implement separate algorithms for each of the boat electronic devices 107a-107n.

[0140] The marine electronics 107a-107n may use the NMEA 0183 standard to communicate with the equipment diagnostics device 103. One or more messages may include an NMEA message, providing information related to the device failure, such as the name of the equipment in failure, an alarm condition, and a description of the alarm. The marine electronics 107a-107n may also be sensors responsible for measuring different types of data from other devices.

[0141] FIG. 10 is an exemplary schematic diagram illustrating an initialization procedure for the device diagnostic device 103, according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0142] In order for the device diagnostic device 103 to analyze messages based on their type, the user can set the type of message to be analyzed via the UI provided by the DW workbench 117. All message types are provided to the user in the form of a drop-down list.

[0143] In addition, the device diagnostic device 103 can be connected to a network through the network interface of the machine. A user can set the network interface, IP address and port number of the device diagnostic device 103 again through the UI (user interface) to listen to messages from the device.

[0144] Therefore, the initialization procedure includes setting five parameters for the equipment diagnostic device 103. As shown in Figure 10, the five parameters are an interface address (Interface) 301, a message type 303, a UDP transmission 305, a group address 307, and a port number (Port) 309. The initialization procedure must be completed before the equipment diagnostic device 103 can be deployed to receive one or more messages from one or more marine electronic devices 107. Only after the initialization procedure is completed can the equipment diagnostic device 103 communicate with the marine electronic devices 107.

[0145] Interface 301 includes an IP address that identifies the host (i.e., device diagnostic device 103), more specifically the host's network interface, and provides the host's location within the network, i.e., the ability to establish a connection to that host. Message type 303 defines the type of NMEA 0183 message.

[0146] By defining the NMEA 0183 message type, the equipment diagnostic device 103 can monitor the marine electronics 107 only for specific events. For example, by defining message type 303 as ALR, the equipment diagnostic device 103 can determine only alarm type messages.

[0147] Furthermore, the UDP transmission 305 is used to define the message type. When a message is received from the ship electronic device 107, the device diagnostic device 103 checks whether the type of the received message matches the defined UDP transmission type. The device diagnostic device 103 continues analyzing the received message only if the type of the received message matches the UDP transmission message type. The group address 307 is an IP multicast group address.

[0148] Additionally, the group address 307 is used by the device diagnostics 103 and the ship electronics 107 to send and receive multicast messages. The device diagnostics 103 uses the group address 307 as the IP destination address in its data packets. The ship electronics 107 uses this group address 307 to notify the network that it is interested in receiving packets from and sending packets to that group. Ports 309 are logical constructs that identify a particular process or type of network service.

[0149] After the initialization procedure is complete, the device diagnostic device 103 can receive one or more messages from the ship electronics device 107. Upon receiving a message, the device diagnostic device 103 parses the message based on a predefined structure. The predefined logical structure defines which parts or blocks of the message contain which information. This predefined structure is unique and does not change throughout the entire running process, allowing the device diagnostic device 103 to correctly parse each message.

[0150] The defined structure may vary depending on the type of message. A different type of message may be a warning type message that indicates to the equipment diagnostic device 103 a warning about a malfunction in the vessel electronics 107.

[0151] Other types of messages may include characteristic type messages that provide data related to the vessel's navigation (e.g., GPS, depth, speed, etc.) Additionally, a type of message may be a connection type message that provides information on whether the vessel 101 is connected or disconnected from the remote equipment monitoring center 113.

[0152] In one embodiment of the present invention, if a user wants to monitor the vessel 101 for faults in the vessel electronics 107 within the vessel 101, the user sets the message type 303 of the equipment diagnostic device 103 to "ALR" on the UI (user interface), as shown in FIG. 10. The equipment diagnostic device 103 is triggered when a message is received from any of the vessel electronics 107. The equipment diagnostic device 103 first determines the type of IP service to be used to send the message. The IP service type can be unicast or multicast.

[0153] To determine the type of IP service, the device diagnostic device 103 uses the following set of rules: 1. Check the beginning of the message a If the message starts with '$' or '!', parse the message using the UNICAST IP service b If the message starts with "UdPbC\0\s" (\0 is NULL), parse the message using the MULTIICAST IP service

[0154] If the message uses the UNICAST IP service, the device diagnostic device 103 is configured as follows. 1. Find the second '$' in the message, which indicates the start of the NMEA message to read. 2. Read the NMEA message and determine the message type (NMEA message index 3-6). 3. Compare the message type determined in step 1 with the target message type (e.g., "ALR"). a If it matches, continue, otherwise ignore the message and stop parsing. 4. Parse NMEA messages based on message type

[0155] If the message uses the MULTIICAST IP service, the device diagnostic device 103 is configured as follows. 1. Exclude the front of the message ("UdPbC\0\s:"). 2. Scan the message for "\s:" to find the end of the first message. If the a message is NULL, exit. b If "\s:" is not found, there is only one message. 3. Find your device name and ID a Read the next six characters after "UdPbC\0\s" to find the device name and ID. 4. Find the NMEA message. a Find the first '$' character, which indicates the start of an NMEA message. b. Read the NMEA message and determine the message type (NMEA message index 3-6). c Compare the message type with the target message type (e.g., "ALR"). d If there is a match, continue parsing the NMEA message based on the message type, otherwise ignore the message and stop parsing. 5. Move the message pointer to the end of the message (indicated by '\s:') and repeat step 2.

[0156] The rule set for parsing NMEA messages is as follows: 1. Check whether the first character of the message is '$' or '!'. a If not found, stop analysis. 2. Search for the '*' character to find and save the checksum. The checksum is indicated by two numbers following the '*', replacing the '*' with NULL. 3. Get Talker. A device that sends one or more messages to the equipment diagnostics unit 103. The name of the marine electronics device is determined by parsing the two characters after the '$' or '!' (index 1 and 2 in the NMEA message). 4. Move to the beginning of the parameter (index 6, after the '$' or '!' character that indicates the start of the NMEA message) 5. Read ',' or NULL If a',' is found, repeat step 4 to save the parameter and move on to the next parameter. If b NULL is encountered, the message is parsed and then the process ends.

[0157] In one embodiment of the present invention, the device diagnostics 103 may be initialized to receive messages of type "ALR."

[0158] FIG. 11 illustrates an exemplary message 300c received by the equipment diagnostic device 103 from a device on board the vessel, according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0159] Table 1 is an exemplary table containing parameters processed and stored by device diagnostics 103 for each received message, according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0160] [Table 1]

[0161] At this stage, the device diagnostic device 103 has already set the values ​​of parameters 1 to 5, 7 and 9 in Table 1 either during the initialization process using the UI (parameters 2, 3, 4, 7, 9) or during runtime (parameters 1 and 6). It should be noted that if parameter No. 8 is not true, the device diagnostic device 103 will parse the message.

[0162] Parsing of an NMEA message can be illustrated by way of example using the message shown in Figure 11. Message 300c includes several fields that indicate identification data and alarm status data.

[0163] The message 300c begins with "UdPbC.\s:". The device diagnostic device 103 sets parameter No. 7 to MULTICAST. The six characters after "UdPbC.\s:" are the device name and device ID (identity). According to the exemplary message 300c, the device name and its ID are "GP0001", where "GP" is the device name and "0001" is the identity.

[0164] Next, the equipment diagnostic device 103 searches message 300c for the start of an NMEA message. The start of an NMEA message is indicated by a "$." The first two characters after the "$" are the equipment name. In the example message 300c, the equipment name is "GP." The next three characters indicate the type of NMEA message. In the example shown, the NMEA message type is "ALR." The body of the NMEA message, i.e., the values ​​of the alarm event itself, are contained after the first comma and before the final "*" of the message. These values ​​are all separated by commas and begin with the time the event occurred, followed by the alarm number, the alarm condition, the alarm acknowledgement status, and a description of the alarm. Thus, one or more messages from the marine electronics 107 are parsed for a particular type of message based on predetermined rules.

[0165] In another embodiment, the equipment diagnostic device 103 executes a first trigger and a second trigger upon receiving, for example, an ALR-type message (as described above in FIG. 11 ) from the boat electronics 107. The first trigger is configured to constantly run as a background process receiving one or more messages from the boat electronics 107. Each message from the one or more messages includes alarm status data, and the first trigger uses the alarm status data to process the message based on a comparison of the current alarm status to a previous alarm status.

[0166] Additionally, the equipment diagnostic device 103 is configured to execute a second trigger, which operates at scheduled time intervals to receive messages from one or more of the marine electronic devices 107. The second trigger is configured to process the messages to check whether there is a change in alarm status data between a last (most recent) scheduled timestamp and a current scheduled timestamp. The detection unit 125 then transmits a message including information related to a malfunction of the marine electronic devices 107 to the remote equipment monitoring center 113 based on the processing of the messages by the first trigger and the second trigger.

[0167] Finally, the device diagnostic device 103 accesses the local database 109, specifically, the following three tables stored in the database 109: 1. Device Alarm Status Table, 2. Alarm Key, and 3. Device Alarm Status Request.

[0168] [Device Alarm Status Table] The Equipment Alarm Status Table contains information related to the vessel electronics 107 and the current and previous status of alarms received by the equipment diagnostic device 103. Details of the information contained in the Equipment Alarm Status Table are given below. This table has the following 10 fields:

[0169] [Table 2]

[0170] [Alarm Key Table] This table is used to map each alarm number to a specific alarm key. This table has three fields:

[0171] [Table 3]

[0172] [Device alarm status request table] This table has a column that holds the time when the last scheduled request in an alarm state was executed. This table has one field:

[0173] [Table 4]

[0174] Figure 12 is a flow chart illustrating the steps of a method 400a performed by a first trigger according to one embodiment of the present invention, and Figure 13 is a diagram illustrating the receipt of a message and the transmission of an alarm condition performed by a first trigger.

[0175] The device diagnostic device 103 continuously executes the first trigger as a background process to determine whether a warning message has been received. When the device diagnostic device 103 receives a warning message, the device diagnostic device 103 is triggered to execute the first trigger in step 401.

[0176] In step 403, the status of the received alarm, if any, may be retrieved (or selected) from the "Device Alarm Status Table." These records are associated with alarms received from devices and stored in database 109.

[0177] In step 405, based on the above records, when the device diagnostic device 103 receives an alert type message corresponding to the boat electronic device 107, it can determine whether the received alert message is the first. To do so, the device diagnostic device 103 checks multiple alarm status records corresponding to the boat electronic device 107 in the device alarm status table.

[0178] If the number of alarm status records is 0 (i.e., there is no record of an alarm status corresponding to the boat electronic device 107), the device diagnostic device 103 determines that the received alert message is the first alert-type message received corresponding to the boat electronic device 107. In this case, the method proceeds to step 407. In step 407, a new alarm status corresponding to the boat electronic device 107 can be inserted into the device alarm status table, and the method ends in step 415.

[0179] On the other hand, if the number of alarm conditions is greater than 0, the device diagnostic device 103 determines that there was a previous (or previous timestamp) alert-type message corresponding to one or more marine electronic devices. In this case, the method 400a proceeds to step 409.

[0180] In step 409, the current alarm state may be compared to previous alarm states from the instrument alarm state table. Additionally, in step 411, it may be determined whether one or more alarm states corresponding to the marine electronics 107 have changed. If it is determined that the alarm state has not changed, the process ends at 415.

[0181] On the other hand, if it is determined that the alarm status has changed, the alarm status in the device alarm status table may be updated in step 413 and the method ends in step 415 .

[0182] Figure 14 is a flow chart illustrating steps of a method 400b performed by a second trigger according to one embodiment of the present invention, and Figure 15 is a diagram illustrating the receipt of a message and the transmission of an alarm condition performed by a second trigger.

[0183] The second trigger operates at scheduled time intervals to receive one or more messages from the marine electronics 107. The second trigger processes the messages to check if there has been a change in alarm status data between the last (most recent) scheduled timestamp and the current scheduled timestamp.

[0184] Based on the processing of the message by the second trigger, the detection unit 125 further sends a message including information related to the malfunction of the vessel electronic equipment 107 to the remote equipment monitoring center 113. To that end, the second trigger begins execution in step 417.

[0185] In step 419, the time of the currently scheduled request may be obtained. In step 421, all records from the equipment alarm status request table are read to determine the last time a scheduled request was made for the second trigger. In step 423, it may be determined whether the received scheduled request is the first time a scheduled request has been received by the equipment diagnostic device 103 by checking whether a record exists in the equipment alarm status request table.

[0186] If the number of scheduled requests is 0, the device diagnostic device 103 determines that the received scheduled request is the first scheduled request it has received. In this case, the method proceeds to step 425.

[0187] The current scheduled request timestamp may be inserted into the equipment alarm status request table at step 425. Further, at step 427, the timestamp of the previously scheduled request is calculated by subtracting a predetermined amount of time from the timestamp of the currently scheduled request, and then the method proceeds to step 429.

[0188] On the other hand, if the number of scheduled requests is not zero, i.e., the currently scheduled request is not the first scheduled request, the method proceeds directly to step 429. In step 429, all alarms from the equipment alarm status table may be read.

[0189] In step 431, it may be determined whether the alarm event timestamp is later than the previously scheduled request timestamp. If the device diagnostic device 103 determines that the alarm event timestamp is not later than the previously scheduled request timestamp (i.e., before the previously scheduled request timestamp), the method 400b may continue reading the next alarm event (A in the flowchart).

[0190] On the other hand, if the device diagnostic device 103 determines that the alarm event timestamp is later than the previously scheduled request timestamp, the method 400b proceeds to step 433 (flowchart B), where it is determined whether the alarm event timestamp is earlier than the currently scheduled request timestamp.

[0191] If the device diagnostic device 103 determines that the alarm event timestamp is not earlier than the currently scheduled request timestamp, the method 400b continues with reading the next alarm event (A). On the other hand, if the device diagnostic device 103 determines that the alarm event timestamp is earlier than the currently scheduled request timestamp, the method proceeds to step 435.

[0192] Step 435 determines whether the alarm condition has changed. If the device diagnostic device 103 determines that the alarm condition has not changed, the method continues to read the next alarm event.

[0193] On the other hand, if the device diagnostic device 103 determines that the alarm state has changed, it proceeds to step 437. In step 437, an alarm message may be sent to the remote device monitoring center 113. In step 439, the device alarm state request table may be updated with the currently scheduled request timestamp, and the method ends in step 441.

[0194] FIG. 16 illustrates an exemplary appliance alarm status table 400c used by the second trigger to determine an alarm condition, according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0195] As shown in the figure, considering the instrument alarm status of EI0001 in the marine electronic equipment, the second trigger determines that the current alarm status for alarm No. 380 of EI0001 is V(OFF) and timestamp: 2020-02-27 11:37:01.974. However, the last change alarm condition for the same alarm No. 380 was confirmed at last change timestamp: 2020-02-27 11:36:58.000, so the last alarm condition is A(ON).

[0196] The second trigger further checks if the current alarm state is between the scheduled timestamp before issuing the alarm and the current scheduled timestamp. If this is true, it checks if the state of the alarm condition has changed during this period. If yes, the alarm is published (announced) and the last alarm condition field is set to A(ON).

[0197] Table 5 shows an exemplary table 400d illustrating the operation of the second trigger for a 20 minute alarm state change, according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0198] [Table 5]

[0199] For illustrative purposes, assume that the second trigger has a schedule interval of five minutes, and therefore every five minutes the second trigger checks for a change in alarm state between the current alarm state and the previous alarm state of a particular device in the marine electronics 107.

[0200] As can be seen from the table, in the first timestamp interval between 0 and 5 minutes, the current alarm state is 1 (i.e., the alarm state corresponding to the particular device is set or on) and the previous (or last) alarm state is 0 (i.e., the alarm state corresponding to the particular device was previously off). The second trigger determines the change in alarm state at the end of the 5 minute period, further determines that the current alarm state is 1, sets the last alarm state to 1, and issues an alarm to the remote device monitoring center 113.

[0201] In the second timestamp interval between 5 and 7 minutes, there is a change in alarm state, but this change in alarm state occurs before the next scheduled interval for the second trigger. Therefore, the device diagnostic device 103 waits for the next scheduled interval, which begins at 10 minutes.

[0202] At the third timestamp interval, between 7 and 10 minutes, the current alarm state is 1 and the previous alarm state is 0. At 10 minutes, the next trigger determines that there has been a change in the alarm state and the current state is 1. Therefore, the second trigger sets the last alarm condition to 1 and raises the alarm.

[0203] In the fourth timestamp interval between 10 and 15 minutes, there is no change between the current and previous alarm states, so the second trigger does not issue an alert state. Furthermore, in the fifth timestamp interval between 15 and 20 minutes, the current alarm state is 0 and the previous alarm state is 1. In this case, the second trigger 20 minutes later will determine that the current alarm state is 0 (OFF) and will issue an alert state.

[0204] FIG. 17 illustrates an exemplary capture timeline when data from one or more appliance electronic devices 107 is received by appliance diagnostic device 103, according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0205] The device diagnostic device 103 is initialized as described above with respect to FIG. 10 to receive data from the boat electronic devices 107. FIG. 17 shows the number of bytes of data received (Y-axis) during a time interval (X-axis). In this embodiment, it is assumed that data from only three boat electronic devices is received on UDP port number 60004. As can be seen from the time chart, the average transition byte rate from the three devices is approximately 9K bytes per second.

[0206] FIG. 18 illustrates an exemplary table 400f containing data processed by a trigger and recorded in a local database, according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0207] As can be seen from the figure, the device diagnostic device 103 records 26 rows of ALR logs in the device status table stored in the database 109. The device status table stores information such as the alarm number, alarm status, alarm confirmation status, last alarm condition, timestamp, last change timestamp, log, and description.

[0208] FIG. 19 illustrates an exemplary capture time chart when an equipment diagnostic device 103 emits data to a remote equipment monitoring center 113 according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0209] As can be seen, the necessary information is ultimately emitted only once, when a change in state occurs between the previous scheduled timestamp and the current scheduled timestamp.

[0210] FIG. 20 illustrates an exemplary call flow for an initialization procedure according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0211] The initialization procedure includes the steps of creating a socket, authentication, proposal, and command transmission. In step 501, a connection with the ship's electronic equipment 107 is established. In the socket creation, a socket is created to be used for communication between the plug-in and the ship's electronic equipment 107. The socket here refers to a special gateway that connects the world of programs and the world of TCP / IP, allowing programs to use TCP / IP when the Socket Internet uses a communication protocol called TCP / IP.

[0212] To do this, the plugin is provided with an Internet Protocol (IP) address and port number associated with the vessel electronics 107. The IP address and port number may be predefined for the plugin. In other embodiments, a user may provide the IP address and port number in real time via one of the graphical user interfaces (GUIs) of the DW workbench 117.

[0213] To create a socket, a request to establish a connection with the device may be sent by the plug-in in step 501. In step 503, an acknowledgment to the connection request from the device is received by the plug-in and the socket is created.

[0214] After the socket has been successfully created, the next step is the authentication step. During authentication, in step 505, the username and password in the "authenticate" request are sent by the plugin to the ship electronics 107. If these two values ​​are correct, an affirmative response of the "authenticate - OK" message is received by the plugin in step 507. If the authentication is successful, the next step is executed; otherwise, the ship electronics 107 "drops" the connection.

[0215] The username and password can be statically predefined in the plug-in's programming code, or in other embodiments, the user can provide these two values ​​in real time via one of the DW workbench 117's graphical user interfaces (GUIs).

[0216] After successful authentication, the next step is the proposal (or negotiation) step. During the proposal, the plugin decides whether to use encryption. If the plugin decides to use encryption, the plugin then decides the type of encryption to use for communication with the vessel electronics 107.

[0217] In step 509, the plugin may send the encryption determined at the time of proposal to use for communication with the boat electronics 107. Additionally, if the device supports encryption, an acknowledgment of a "Proposal OK" message from the boat electronics 107 may be received by the plugin in step 511.

[0218] In the next step 513, the plugin sends to the boat electronics 107 the command numbers of the actions to be performed on the boat electronics 107. As can be seen in Figure 18, commands are sent by the plugin to the boat electronics 107 and in step 515 responses corresponding to one or more commands are received by the plugin.

[0219] Details of each command are explained below with reference to Figures 21-24 and Table 6.

[0220] Table 6 is an exemplary table showing commands associated with a plug-in along with their corresponding command numbers and descriptions according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0221] [Table 6]

[0222] A command number corresponding to each command is predefined and provided to the plug-in and the ship electronics 107. Based on the received command number, the ship electronics 107 will send different results.

[0223] 21-24 provide a detailed view of the use of each command, according to some embodiments.

[0224] FIG. 21 illustrates the steps for executing a get status command according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0225] In step 517, the plug-in 105 sends a status acquisition command to the ship electronics 107. The status acquisition command is used to acquire the status of the ship electronics 107. Upon receiving the command, the ship electronics 107 determines the command number corresponding to the status acquisition command, and in step 519, the status of the ship electronics 107 is received by the plug-in 105. The status of the ship electronics 107 may be a JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) formatted string.

[0226] 22 illustrates the steps for executing a log list command, according to one embodiment of the present invention. In step 521, the log list command is sent by the plug-in 105 to the boat electronics 107 to retrieve logs associated with the boat electronics 107. In response, in step 523, log list data from the boat electronics 107 may be received by the plug-in 105. The log list data includes the name of a tar.gz file. This file contains logs associated with the boat electronics 107 and can be used as a parameter for the data download command.

[0227] 23 illustrates the steps for executing a data download command, according to one embodiment of the present invention. The plug-in 105 sends the data download command to the vessel electronics 107. The data download command is used to execute a log list command on the vessel electronics 107. In addition, the data download command stores a tar.gz file containing logs related to the vessel electronics in the database 109.

[0228] As can be seen in Figure 24, in step 525, a Data Downloading command is sent by the plug-in 105 to the marine electronics 107. In response, in step 527, Data Downloading data including the name of the tar.gz and the contents of the tar.gz may be received by the plug-in 105. Additionally, in step 529, the plug-in 105 may save the tar.gz on the hard disk.

[0229] FIG. 24 illustrates the steps for executing an export settings command according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0230] The export settings command is used to obtain settings associated with the boat electronics 107 and store the settings. In step 531, the plug-in 105 sends an export settings command to the boat electronics 107. In response, in step 533, the core plug-in 105 receives export settings data associated with the boat electronics 107. The data includes another tar.gz file containing configuration information associated with the boat electronics 107. In addition, in step 535, the plug-in 105 may save the tar.gz file to a hard disk.

[0231] FIG. 25 is a schematic diagram illustrating steps of a method 600 for remote equipment monitoring of a vessel, according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0232] In step 601, messages from the ship electronics 107 are received by the equipment diagnostic device 103. Each message includes identification data for identifying one or more ship electronics 107 on the ship 101 and alarm status data for communication between the equipment diagnostic device 103 and the ship electronics 107. Furthermore, each message includes an NMEA0183 message indicating a fault in the ship electronics 107 on the ship 101. Furthermore, each message can be analyzed to obtain the identification data and alarm status data.

[0233] In step 603, a fault in the marine electronics 107 may be determined based on the identification data and the alarm status data. Message 300c shown in Figure 11 is an example message that includes multiple fields specifying the identification data and the alarm status data.

[0234] To that end, the method 600 executes a first trigger and a second trigger. The first trigger constantly operates as a background process to receive one or more messages from the marine electronics 107. Each message from the one or more messages includes alarm status data. The first trigger further processes the message based on a comparison of the current alarm status to a previous alarm status using the alarm status data. The second trigger operates at scheduled time intervals to receive messages from the marine electronics 107. The second trigger processes the messages and checks for changes in the alarm status data between the last (most recent) scheduled timestamp and the current scheduled timestamp.

[0235] In step 605, based on processing the message with the first trigger and the second trigger, a message including information related to a failure of the marine electronics 107 is sent to the remote equipment monitoring center 113. Thus, the method 600 only sends relevant information to the remote equipment monitoring center 113 when one or more marine electronics 107 failures occur, thereby ensuring efficient use of resources.

[0236] Thus, one embodiment of the present invention may provide remote equipment monitoring of marine electronics 107 on a vessel using an equipment diagnostic device 103. The equipment diagnostic device 103 is in communication with the marine electronics 107 and is further directly connected to a remote equipment monitoring center 113 via a first satellite communication link. The direct communication provides accurate real-time information related to a marine electronics 107 fault on the vessel 101, thereby enabling the remote equipment monitoring center to effectively determine the cause of the marine electronics fault and provide corresponding accurate troubleshooting instructions accordingly. Furthermore, the direct communication eliminates potential points of failure, which reduces the time required to troubleshoot one or more marine electronics 107 faults. Thus, one embodiment provides an improved method for remote equipment monitoring of one or more devices on a vessel.

[0237] The above-described embodiments are described herein for purposes of illustration and are subject to many variations. Various omissions and substitutions of equivalents are contemplated, intended to cover any application or implementation without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention. Furthermore, it will be understood that the terminology used herein is for purposes of description and should not be considered limiting. Headings used in this description are for convenience only and have no legal or limiting effect.

[0238] As used in this specification and claims, the word "for example," and the verbs "comprise," "have," "include," and other verb forms thereof, when used in conjunction with a list of one or more components or other items, respectively, should be construed as open-ended, meaning that the list should not be viewed as excluding other additional components or items. Other terms should be construed using their broadest reasonable meaning unless used in a context requiring a different interpretation.

[0239] The proposed hybrid architecture for the remote equipment monitoring and support system provides shipowners and ship management companies with direct access and control of all types of electronic equipment on board their vessels. The hybrid architecture allows the remote equipment monitoring and support system to collect important data about the vessel via smart devices deployed on board. The data is then transferred and stored in a cloud database and made available through a web portal.

[0240] The status of the electronic equipment on board the ship is constantly monitored at a remote equipment monitoring center on land, and if an abnormality occurs, the cause of the failure is promptly analyzed and repairs are arranged.The hybrid architecture is based on the Internet of Things (IoT), which connects the electronic equipment on board the ship to smart devices, and a web portal and smart devices that enable remote equipment monitoring of the electronic equipment.

[0241] However, to perform efficient remote equipment monitoring of electronic devices and obtain accurate troubleshooting instructions in a shorter time when requested from the remote equipment monitoring center, smart devices need to communicate directly with the remote equipment monitoring center. Furthermore, smart devices need to be able to transmit only relevant information to the remote equipment monitoring center. This allows the bandwidth provided for satellite communication between the smart devices and the remote equipment monitoring center to be effectively utilized for timely troubleshooting.

[0242] Many modifications and other embodiments of the inventions described herein will come to mind to one skilled in the art to which these inventions pertain having the benefit of the teachings presented in the foregoing descriptions and the associated drawings. It is to be understood, therefore, that the inventions are not to be limited to the specific embodiments disclosed, and that modifications and other embodiments are intended to be included within the scope of the appended claims.

[0243] Furthermore, while the foregoing description and associated drawings describe one embodiment of the present invention with reference to particular exemplary combinations of elements and / or functions, it should be understood that different combinations of elements and / or functions may be provided in alternative embodiments without departing from the scope of the appended claims. In this regard, for example, it is contemplated that different combinations of elements and / or functions, tools, software, and services than those described above may also be set forth in some of the appended claims. Although specific terms are employed herein, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation. [Explanation of symbols]

[0244] 100 Hybrid Architecture 101 Ship (mobile object) 103 Equipment diagnostic equipment 105 Plugins 107 Marine electronic equipment (electronic equipment) 107a―107n Marine electronic equipment 109 Database 111 Gateway Device 113 Remote Equipment Monitoring Center 115 IoT Portal 117 DW Workbench 119 DW Core 121 DW Gateway 123 Receiving unit 125 Detector 127 Transmitter 129 IoT Hub 131 Event Hub 133 Function section 135 Cosmos Database 137 Configuration Management Database (CMDB) 141 Application Gateway 201 MQTT frontend 203 Connectivity Management Department 205 Device Management Department 207 IoT Management Portal 209 IoT Platform M2M Service API 301a-n communication satellite

Claims

1. An equipment diagnostic device that diagnoses one or more electronic devices mounted on a mobile object, a receiving unit configured to receive one or more messages from the electronic device, the messages including identification data for identifying the electronic device and alarm status data indicating an alarm status of the electronic device; a detection unit that detects a failure of the electronic device based on a comparison between an alarm state at a first time point indicated by the alarm state data and an alarm state at a second time point prior to the first time point, and outputs failure detection information; a transmitting unit that, upon output of the fault detection information, transmits the fault detection information together with identification data of the electronic device in which a fault has been detected to a remote device monitoring center; Equipped with the transmitter further transmits the fault detection information to the remote equipment monitoring center using a satellite communication link; The transmitting unit further comprises: device management data for managing a connection between the electronic device and the receiving unit; connectivity data that manages a connection between the transmitter and the satellite communication link; transmitting IoT portal data including the remote device monitoring center; Equipment diagnostic equipment.

2. The device diagnostic device according to claim 1, The receiving unit receives the message through a background process. Equipment diagnostic equipment.

3. An equipment diagnostic device that diagnoses one or more electronic devices mounted on a mobile object, a receiving unit configured to receive, at predetermined time intervals from the electronic device, one or more messages including identification data for identifying the electronic device and alarm status data indicating an alarm status of the electronic device; a detection unit that detects, based on the message, whether there is a change in the alarm status data between a first timestamp and a second timestamp that is earlier than the time indicated by the first timestamp, among the timestamps that indicate the time points of reception determined based on the time interval, and outputs fault detection information; a transmitting unit that, upon output of the fault detection information, transmits the fault detection information together with identification data of the electronic device in which a fault has been detected to a remote device monitoring center; Equipped with the transmitter further transmits the fault detection information to the remote equipment monitoring center using a satellite communication link; The transmitting unit further comprises: device management data for managing a connection between the electronic device and the receiving unit; connectivity data that manages a connection between the transmitter and the satellite communication link; transmitting IoT portal data including the remote device monitoring center; Equipment diagnostic equipment.

4. The device diagnostic device according to claim 3, When the detection unit detects the change, storing the alarm status of the first timestamp and the alarm status of the second timestamp in a database; updating the alarm status of the first timestamp and the alarm status of the second timestamp sequentially each time the message is received; Equipment diagnostic equipment.

5. The device diagnostic device according to claim 4, the detector further stores a timestamp corresponding to the change in alarm state in a database. Equipment diagnostic equipment.

6. An equipment diagnostic device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, The transmission unit transmitting the fault detection information to the remote equipment monitoring center over a first satellite communications link; transmitting the IoT portal data to the remote device monitoring center via a second satellite communication link different from the first satellite communication link; Equipment diagnostic equipment.

7. An equipment diagnostic device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, The device diagnostic device, wherein the moving body is a ship that moves on water.

8. An equipment diagnostic device that diagnoses one or more electronic devices mounted on a mobile object, a receiving unit configured to receive one or more messages from the electronic device, the messages including identification data for identifying the electronic device and alarm status data indicating an alarm status of the electronic device; a detection unit that detects a failure of the electronic device based on a comparison between an alarm state at a first time point indicated by the alarm state data and an alarm state at a second time point prior to the first time point, and outputs failure detection information; a transmitting unit that, upon output of the fault detection information, transmits the fault detection information together with identification data of the electronic device in which a fault has been detected to a remote device monitoring center; Equipped with The message type of the message is: a UNICAST message type associated with one-to-one data transmission from the electronic device to the device diagnostic device; or MULTICAST message type associated with group communications in which a data transmission is simultaneously addressed to a group of said plurality of electronic devices. At least one of the following is included: The detection unit further comparing the message type of each message with the type of a target message; Parsing the message if the message type matches a target message type; If the message type does not match the target message type, ignore the message. Equipment diagnostic equipment.

9. An equipment diagnostic device that diagnoses one or more electronic devices mounted on a mobile object, a receiving unit configured to receive, at predetermined time intervals from the electronic device, one or more messages including identification data for identifying the electronic device and alarm status data indicating an alarm status of the electronic device; a detection unit that detects, based on the message, whether there is a change in the alarm status data between a first timestamp and a second timestamp that is earlier than the time indicated by the first timestamp, among the timestamps that indicate the time points of reception determined based on the time interval, and outputs fault detection information; a transmitting unit that, upon output of the fault detection information, transmits the fault detection information together with identification data of the electronic device in which a fault has been detected to a remote device monitoring center; Equipped with The message type of the message is: a UNICAST message type associated with one-to-one data transmission from the electronic device to the device diagnostic device; or MULTICAST message type associated with group communications in which a data transmission is simultaneously addressed to a group of said plurality of electronic devices. At least one of the following is included: The detection unit further comparing the message type of each message with the type of a target message; Parsing the message if the message type matches a target message type; If the message type does not match the target message type, ignore the message. Equipment diagnostic equipment.

10. An equipment diagnostic device according to claim 8 or claim 9, The message is based on the National Marine Electronics Association (NMEA) 0183 message. Equipment diagnostic equipment.

11. An equipment diagnostic device according to claim 10, The detection unit identifying and extracting an NMEA0183 message encapsulated in each of said messages based on said analysis; comparing said NMEA0183 message to a predefined valid NMEA0183 message type; If said NMEA0183 message belongs to a predefined set of valid NMEA0183 message types, continue parsing the NMEA0183 message; Stop parsing the NMEA0183 message if said NMEA0183 message type does not belong to a predefined set of valid NMEA0183 message types; Equipment diagnostic equipment.

12. A remote device monitoring system that remotely monitors one or more electronic devices mounted on a mobile object, a remote receiving unit that receives the fault detection information transmitted from the device diagnostic device according to any one of claims 1 to 11; a remote analysis unit that analyzes the messages to determine troubleshooting information for the electronic device and remotely monitors the electronic device; A remote equipment monitoring system comprising:

13. The remote device monitoring system according to claim 12, further comprising: a configuration management database in which models of the electronic devices and alarm codes that identify failures corresponding to the models are stored; the remote analyzer searches for troubleshooting instructions in the configuration management database based on the model and alarm code of the electronic device indicated in the message to determine troubleshooting information for the electronic device; Remote equipment monitoring system.

14. A remote device monitoring method for remotely monitoring one or more electronic devices mounted on a mobile object, comprising: receiving, in a background process, one or more messages from the electronic device, the messages including identification data identifying the electronic device and alarm status data indicating an alarm status of the electronic device; detecting a fault in the electronic device based on a comparison between the alarm state at a first time point indicated by the alarm state data and the alarm state at a second time point prior to the first time point, and outputting fault detection information; Upon output of the fault detection information, the fault detection information is transmitted to a remote equipment monitoring center together with identification data of the electronic device in which a fault has been detected; a remote device monitoring center that transmits and receives data to and from the mobile device via wireless communication receives the fault detection information; analyzing the message to determine troubleshooting information for the electronic device; A remote device monitoring method, comprising: transmitting the fault detection information and the identification data to the remote equipment monitoring center using a first satellite communications link; moreover, device management data for managing a connection between the electronic device and a receiving unit for receiving the one or more messages; connectivity data for managing a connection between a transmitter that transmits the fault detection information and a satellite communication link; transmitting IoT portal data including the IoT portal data to the remote device monitoring center via a second satellite communication link different from the first satellite communication link; Remote equipment monitoring method.

15. The remote device monitoring method according to claim 14, comprising: determining troubleshooting information for the electronic device by searching for troubleshooting instructions in the configuration management database by comparing the model of the electronic device and an alarm code identifying a fault corresponding to the model stored in a configuration management database with the model and alarm code of the electronic device indicated by the message; Remote equipment monitoring method.

16. A remote device monitoring method for diagnosing one or more electronic devices mounted on a mobile object, comprising: receiving, at scheduled time intervals, one or more messages from the electronic device, the messages including identification data identifying the electronic device and alarm status data indicating an alarm status of the electronic device; detecting, based on the message, whether there is a change in the alarm status data between a first timestamp and a second timestamp that is earlier than the timestamp indicated by the first timestamp, among the timestamps that indicate the time points of reception determined based on the time interval, and outputting fault detection information; When the fault detection information is output, a message including the fault detection information is transmitted to a remote device monitoring center; a remote device monitoring center that transmits and receives data to and from the mobile device via wireless communication receives the fault detection information; analyzing the message to determine troubleshooting information for the electronic device; A remote device monitoring method, comprising: transmitting the fault detection information and the identification data to the remote equipment monitoring center using a first satellite communications link; moreover, device management data for managing a connection between the electronic device and a receiving unit for receiving the one or more messages; connectivity data for managing a connection between a transmitter that transmits the fault detection information and a satellite communication link; transmitting IoT portal data including the IoT portal data to the remote device monitoring center via a second satellite communication link different from the first satellite communication link; Remote equipment monitoring method.

17. The remote device monitoring method according to claim 16, comprising: When the change is detected, storing the alarm status of the first timestamp and the alarm status of the second timestamp in a database; updating the alarm status of the first timestamp and the alarm status of the second timestamp sequentially each time the message is received; Remote equipment monitoring method.

18. A remote device monitoring method for remotely monitoring one or more electronic devices mounted on a mobile object, comprising: receiving, in a background process, one or more messages from the electronic device, the messages including identification data identifying the electronic device and alarm status data indicating an alarm status of the electronic device; detecting a fault in the electronic device based on a comparison between the alarm state at a first time point indicated by the alarm state data and the alarm state at a second time point prior to the first time point, and outputting fault detection information; Upon output of the fault detection information, the fault detection information is transmitted to a remote equipment monitoring center together with identification data of the electronic device in which a fault has been detected; a remote device monitoring center that transmits and receives data to and from the mobile device via wireless communication receives the fault detection information; analyzing the message to determine troubleshooting information for the electronic device; A remote device monitoring method, comprising: the moving body is a ship moving on water, The message type of the message is: a UNICAST message type associated with one-to-one data transmission from the electronic device to a device diagnostic device that diagnoses the electronic device; or MULTICAST message type associated with group communications in which a data transmission is simultaneously addressed to a group of said plurality of electronic devices. At least one of the following is included: comparing the message type of each message with the type of a target message; Parsing the message if the message type matches a target message type; If the message type does not match the target message type, ignore the message. Remote equipment monitoring method.

19. A remote device monitoring method for diagnosing one or more electronic devices mounted on a mobile object, comprising: receiving, at scheduled time intervals, one or more messages from the electronic device, the messages including identification data identifying the electronic device and alarm status data indicating an alarm status of the electronic device; detecting, based on the message, whether there is a change in the alarm status data between a first timestamp and a second timestamp that is earlier than the timestamp indicated by the first timestamp, among the timestamps that indicate the time points of reception determined based on the time interval, and outputting fault detection information; When the fault detection information is output, a message including the fault detection information is transmitted to a remote device monitoring center; a remote device monitoring center that transmits and receives data to and from the mobile device via wireless communication receives the fault detection information; analyzing the message to determine troubleshooting information for the electronic device; A remote device monitoring method, comprising: the moving body is a ship moving on water, The message type of the message is: a UNICAST message type associated with one-to-one data transmission from the electronic device to a device diagnostic device that diagnoses the electronic device; or MULTICAST message type associated with group communications in which a data transmission is simultaneously addressed to a group of said plurality of electronic devices. At least one of the following is included: comparing the message type of each message with the type of a target message; Parsing the message if the message type matches a target message type; If the message type does not match the target message type, ignore the message. Remote equipment monitoring method.

20. A remote device monitoring method according to claim 18 or claim 19, comprising: The message is based on the National Marine Electrics Association (NMEA) 0183 message, identifying and extracting an NMEA0183 message encapsulated in each of said messages based on said analysis; comparing said NMEA0183 message to a predefined valid NMEA0183 message type; If said NMEA0183 message belongs to a predefined set of valid NMEA0183 message types, continue parsing the NMEA0183 message; Stop parsing the NMEA0183 message if said NMEA0183 message type does not belong to a predefined set of valid NMEA0183 message types; Remote equipment monitoring method.

21. A device diagnostic program that causes a computer to execute a program for diagnosing one or more electronic devices mounted on a moving object, receiving, by a background process, one or more messages from an electronic device, the messages including identification data identifying the electronic device and alarm status data indicating an alarm status of the electronic device; detecting a fault in the electronic device based on a comparison between the alarm state at a first time point indicated by the alarm state data and the alarm state at a second time point prior to the first time point, and outputting fault detection information; When the fault detection information is output, the fault detection information is transmitted to a remote device monitoring center together with identification data of the electronic device in which a fault has been detected. A device diagnostic program, transmitting the fault detection information and the identification data to the remote equipment monitoring center using a first satellite communications link; moreover, device management data for managing a connection between the electronic device and a receiving unit for receiving the one or more messages; connectivity data for managing a connection between a transmitter that transmits the fault detection information and a satellite communication link; transmitting IoT portal data including the IoT portal data to the remote device monitoring center via a second satellite communication link different from the first satellite communication link; Equipment diagnostic program.

22. An equipment diagnostic program that causes a computer to execute a program that diagnoses one or more electronic devices mounted on a mobile body, receiving, at scheduled time intervals, from the electronic device, one or more messages including identification data identifying the electronic device and alarm status data indicating an alarm status of the electronic device; detecting, based on the message, whether there is a change in the alarm status data between a first timestamp and a second timestamp that is earlier than the time indicated by the first timestamp, among the timestamps that indicate the time points of reception determined based on the time interval, and outputting fault detection information; When the fault detection information is output, a message including the fault detection information is transmitted to a remote device monitoring center. A device diagnostic program, transmitting the fault detection information and the identification data to the remote equipment monitoring center using a first satellite communications link; moreover, device management data for managing a connection between the electronic device and a receiving unit for receiving the one or more messages; connectivity data for managing a connection between a transmitter that transmits the fault detection information and a satellite communication link; transmitting IoT portal data including the IoT portal data to the remote device monitoring center via a second satellite communication link different from the first satellite communication link; Equipment diagnostic program.

23. An equipment diagnostic program that causes a computer to execute a program that diagnoses one or more electronic devices mounted on a mobile object, receiving, by a background process, one or more messages from an electronic device, the messages including identification data identifying the electronic device and alarm status data indicating an alarm status of the electronic device; detecting a fault in the electronic device based on a comparison between the alarm state at a first time point indicated by the alarm state data and the alarm state at a second time point prior to the first time point, and outputting fault detection information; When the fault detection information is output, the fault detection information is transmitted to a remote device monitoring center together with identification data of the electronic device in which a fault has been detected. A device diagnostic program, the moving body is a ship moving on water, The message type of the message is: a UNICAST message type associated with one-to-one data transmission from the electronic device to a device diagnostic device that diagnoses the electronic device; or MULTICAST message type associated with group communications in which a data transmission is simultaneously addressed to a group of said plurality of electronic devices. At least one of the following is included: comparing the message type of each of said messages with the type of a target message; If the message type matches a target message type, parsing the message; If the message type does not match the target message type, then the message is ignored. Equipment diagnostic program.

24. An equipment diagnostic program that causes a computer to execute a program that diagnoses one or more electronic devices mounted on a mobile body, receiving, at scheduled time intervals, from the electronic device, one or more messages including identification data identifying the electronic device and alarm status data indicating an alarm status of the electronic device; detecting, based on the message, whether there is a change in the alarm status data between a first timestamp and a second timestamp that is earlier than the time indicated by the first timestamp, among the timestamps that indicate the time points of reception determined based on the time interval, and outputting fault detection information; When the fault detection information is output, a message including the fault detection information is transmitted to a remote device monitoring center. A device diagnostic program, the moving body is a ship moving on water, The message type of the message is: a UNICAST message type associated with one-to-one data transmission from the electronic device to a device diagnostic device that diagnoses the electronic device; or MULTICAST message type associated with group communications in which a data transmission is simultaneously addressed to a group of said plurality of electronic devices. At least one of the following is included: comparing the message type of each of said messages with the type of a target message; If the message type matches a target message type, parsing the message; If the message type does not match the target message type, then the message is ignored. Equipment diagnostic program.

Images