Equipment status monitoring device and equipment status monitoring method

Abstract

To provide an equipment state monitoring device that is able to secure the capacity of a storage device even in a situation where an operating state of the equipment cannot be grasped.SOLUTION: An equipment state monitoring device 20 includes: signal collection means 22 that collects signals of measurement equipment installed in automatic operation equipment; and a storage device 24 that stores data of the signals collected by the signal collection means 22. The equipment state monitoring device 20 has: data evaluation means (signal intensity evaluation means 25) that evaluates whether each datum stored in the storage device 24 is an invalid datum or not; and data deletion means 27 that deletes the invalid datum from the data stored in the storage device 24. The equipment state monitoring device 20 includes a communication hub 31; and when communication via the communication hub 31 is interrupted, the data evaluation means evaluates whether intensity of each signal stored in the storage device 24 corresponds to the invalid datum or not.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a device state monitoring apparatus and a device state monitoring method applied to an automatic driving device.

Background Art

[0002] Among plant equipment that is automatically controlled for operation, there are facilities that are operated almost unmanned. In such cases, there is a high need for a measurement device that diagnoses the soundness of the equipment in place of an equipment inspector.

[0003] For example, in a general wind power plant, since the power generation operation is automatically controlled, it is rare for an equipment inspector who also serves as an operator to stay in the machine room to check the operation status of the equipment. In such a case, a measurement device for evaluating the soundness of the equipment may be installed, the state of the equipment during operation may be measured, and the measurement results may be transmitted to a monitoring station away from the system to monitor whether the operation is being performed normally.

[0004] In such a monitoring device, for example, the vibration of a rolling bearing that supports a rotating shaft is measured, the characteristic frequency components of the vibration generated by the rolling bearing are separated and extracted, and the soundness of the bearing can be evaluated by monitoring its change over time. In order to extract the characteristic frequency components contained in the vibration signal, signal acquisition needs to be performed continuously at a high speed, such as 10 kHz, for several seconds, and this cycle is often repeated at a preset time interval.

[0005] On the other hand, the target equipment is not always operating at full capacity. For example, a wind power plant may stop depending on the wind conditions, and the signal data acquired during this period becomes invalid. Since the size of the signal data is relatively large, invalid data may sometimes compress the storage area of the measurement device or the bandwidth of the network that transmits the signal. As a conventional technique for solving such problems, for example, the method disclosed in Patent Document 1 is known.

[0006] Patent Document 1 comprises a measurement unit, a trigger detection unit, and a control unit. The control unit switches the measurement unit from a non-measurement state to a measurement state and starts the measurement process when a predetermined trigger condition is met, among a plurality of trigger conditions set according to the magnitude of the trigger physical quantity detected by the trigger detection unit. Furthermore, it sets the priority of each trigger condition, and if a higher priority trigger condition is met during the execution of the measurement process, it stops the measurement process in progress and prioritizes other processes.

[0007] With the above configuration, the measurement unit can be kept in a non-measurement state during periods when the predetermined trigger conditions are not met, and when the predetermined trigger conditions are met, the measurement unit can be switched to a measurement state to perform measurement processing. This reduces the operating time of the measurement unit and saves energy. [Prior art documents] [Patent Documents]

[0008] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2014-203397 [Overview of the Initiative] [Problems that the invention aims to solve]

[0009] Incidentally, in some cases, measuring devices are installed on monitored equipment some time after it has been put into operation. This occurs when, through experience in operating the equipment, it becomes recognized that condition monitoring by measuring devices is necessary. In such cases, the measuring device may not be tightly coupled to the control system of the monitored equipment, and the operating status of the equipment may not be transmitted to the measuring device. In such cases, it is difficult to perform measurement control based on the operating status of the equipment, as in prior art. On the other hand, if the monitored equipment is located in a remote location, communication may be interrupted due to the harsh surrounding environment, and if the stored measurement data cannot be sent externally, the storage device will easily overflow. In such cases, managing and reducing the amount of stored data becomes even more critical.

[0010] The object of the present invention is to provide an equipment status monitoring device and an equipment status monitoring method that can secure storage capacity even when the measuring device is not directly connected to the control system of the equipment to be monitored and the operating status of the equipment cannot be grasped. [Means for solving the problem]

[0011] To solve the aforementioned problems, the present invention provides an equipment status monitoring device comprising: a signal acquisition means for acquiring signals from measuring instruments installed in an automated driving device; and a storage device for storing signal data acquired by the signal acquisition means, wherein the equipment status monitoring device comprises: a signal strength evaluation means for evaluating whether the data stored in the storage device is invalid data; and a data deletion means for deleting the invalid data from the data stored in the storage device. Furthermore, the device status monitoring device is equipped with a communication hub, and the data evaluation means evaluates whether the signal strength stored in the storage device is invalid data when communication via the communication hub is interrupted. This invention is characterized by the following embodiments. Other aspects of the present invention will be described in the embodiments described below. [Effects of the Invention]

[0012] According to the present invention, even when the measuring device is not directly connected to the control system of the equipment being monitored and the operating status of the equipment cannot be determined, the storage capacity can still be secured. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0013] [Figure 1] This is a configuration diagram of the equipment status monitoring device according to the first embodiment. [Figure 2] This is an explanatory diagram relating to the functions of the equipment status monitoring device according to the first embodiment. [Figure 3] This is a configuration diagram of the equipment status monitoring device according to the second embodiment. [Figure 4] This is an explanatory diagram relating to the functions of the equipment status monitoring device according to the second embodiment. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0014] Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In each figure, parts denoted by the same reference numerals indicate the same or corresponding parts.

[0015] <First Embodiment> Figure 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of an equipment condition monitoring device according to the first embodiment. This embodiment is suitable for monitoring the condition of mechanical elements such as bearings and gears associated with a rotating shaft system in plant machinery that is operated automatically, such as a wind power generation system.

[0016] The equipment status monitoring device 20 includes a signal sensor 21, a signal acquisition means 22, a timer 23, a storage device 24, a signal strength evaluation means 25 (data evaluation means), a threshold storage means 26, a data deletion means 27, and the like. The signal sensor 21 may be a vibration acceleration sensor, an AE sensor, or the like. AE (Acoustic Emission) is a phenomenon in which, when a material deforms or breaks, it releases the elastic energy it has stored inside as sound waves (elastic waves, AE waves). AE waves mainly have high frequency components in the ultrasonic range (tens of kHz to several MHz).

[0017] In Figure 1, the rolling bearing 12, which is the object of monitoring, rotatably supports the rotating shaft 11 and is held by the bearing casing 13. A signal sensor 21 is installed on the bearing casing 13 and is connected to a signal acquisition means 22. A timer 23 and a storage device 24 are connected to the signal acquisition means 22. Furthermore, a signal strength evaluation means 25 and a data deletion means 27 are connected to the storage device 24. A threshold value storage means 26 is connected to the signal strength evaluation means 25. The equipment status monitoring device 20 is connected to an external network 32 via a communication hub 31. Note that the communication hub 31 may be included in the equipment status monitoring device 20.

[0018] The rolling bearing 12 is composed of an outer ring 121, rolling elements 122 (e.g., balls, rollers), and an inner ring 123. The rotating shaft 11 is fitted into the inner ring 123, and the bearing casing 13 is fitted into the outer ring 121. The signal sensor 21 is installed on the outer surface of the bearing casing 13 via a sensor jig. The signal sensor 21 detects, as a signal, a shock wave generated when a defect occurs on the raceway surface of the outer ring 121 or the inner ring 123 and the rolling element 122 contacts the defect. Note that the rolling bearing 12 may be a needle bearing.

[0019] In the equipment condition monitoring device 20 configured as described above, the signal collection means 22 automatically acquires, with the signal sensor, vibration signals generated by the rolling bearing 12 at time intervals preset in the timer 23 and stores them in the storage device 24 as waveform data. Also, the signal collection means 22 periodically sends the waveform data to a monitoring station (not shown) connected to an external network 32 installed outside the wind turbine site via a communication hub 31 to provide information regarding the soundness of the bearing.

[0020] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram regarding the functions of the equipment condition monitoring device 20 according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 shows a set 40 of the collected waveform data and the intensity 41 of the signals of the collected waveform data. The set 40 of the collected waveform data is, for example, data obtained by acquiring waveform data for several seconds every minute. The intensity 41 of the signals of the collected waveform data is, for example, the effective value or the maximum value of the waveform data. In the case of a wind power generation facility, since the rotational speed of the rotating shaft 11 varies depending on the magnitude of the wind speed, the effective value of the waveform data changes significantly.

[0021] The set 40 of the collected waveform data is stored in the storage device 24 in the order in which the data was collected, and the intensity of the signal is evaluated by the signal intensity evaluation means 25 (data evaluation means). For example, high-level waveform data 42 with a high signal intensity is evaluated, and as corresponding information, the signal intensity 43 of the high-level waveform is generated. Similarly, when low-level waveform data 44 with a low signal intensity is evaluated, the signal intensity 45 of the low-level waveform is generated as corresponding information. Whether the signal intensity is high or low is determined based on the threshold value 46 stored in the threshold value storage means 26.

[0022] When the signal intensity is low, the data may have been acquired when the target equipment was stopped, or even when it was operating, but with a low load or rotational speed and without sufficient signal intensity for analysis. Such data is regarded as invalid data, and by using the data deletion means 27 to delete the invalid data, the capacity of the storage device 24 can be ensured, and the amount of data sent to the external network 32 can be reduced. When the low-level waveform data is deleted in the storage device 24, the set of the collected waveform data becomes discontinuous in time series. However, since each waveform data is provided with the time information at the time of acquisition, the timing of collection will not be unclear.

[0023] Signal data is automatically acquired even when, for example, the rotational speed of the target machine is insufficient or it has stopped. The signal data acquired in this way may not be suitable for analysis and evaluation, which can be determined by whether the effective value, maximum value of the signal data, or whether it contains the frequency components specific to the mechanical device being focused on. If these criteria are not met, the data is substantially invalid data for diagnosing the soundness of the mechanical device.

[0024] Power plants such as wind turbines are often located in remote areas and face harsh environmental conditions, which can sometimes cause communication with the external network 32 to be interrupted. In such cases, the collected waveform data needs to be stored in the storage device 24 until communication is restored. In these situations, selecting and deleting invalid data from the stored waveform data is important for obtaining operational data of equipment that operates automatically even when communication is interrupted.

[0025] <Second Embodiment> A second embodiment will be described using Figures 3 and 4. Figure 3 is a configuration diagram of the equipment status monitoring device according to the second embodiment. This embodiment is suitable when measuring and evaluating similar phenomena using multiple equipment status monitoring devices, for example, when monitoring multiple wind turbines in a wind turbine farm 50 using multiple equipment status monitoring devices.

[0026] In Figure 3, the wind turbine system 53 is equipped with an equipment status monitoring device 52 and a wind turbine communication hub 51, similarly the wind turbine system 56 is equipped with an equipment status monitoring device 55 and a wind turbine communication hub 54, and the wind turbine system 59 is equipped with an equipment status monitoring device 58 and a wind turbine communication hub 57, thus constituting the wind turbine farm 50.

[0027] The measurement control system 60 includes a server communication hub 61 and a measurement server 62, and the server communication hub 61 is connected to an external network 32. The measurement system is composed of the measurement server 62 and equipment status monitoring devices 52, 55, and 58. Specifically, within each wind turbine, the equipment status monitoring devices and the wind turbine communication hubs are connected to each other by communication lines, and the wind turbine communication hubs are connected to each other by a communication cable 63. Furthermore, the measurement server 62 is connected to the communication cable 63 via the server communication hub 61.

[0028] In the wind turbine farm 50 configured as described above, the equipment status monitoring devices 52, 55, and 58 of each wind turbine independently collect vibration signals and store them as waveform data in a storage device (not shown). The equipment status monitoring devices 52, 55, and 58 also periodically transfer the stored waveform data to the measurement server 62. The measurement server 62 analyzes the stored signals, estimates the health of each wind turbine from the waveform data, and transmits the evaluation results to a monitoring station connected to the external network 32.

[0029] Figure 4 is an explanatory diagram of the function of the equipment status monitoring device according to the second embodiment. Figure 4 shows the signal intensities 71, 72, and 73 of the waveform data collected from the wind turbine systems 53, 56, and 59. This is shown as an example where, in wind turbine system 53, the signal intensity 74 at a certain time is lower than the threshold 77, in wind turbine system 56, the signal intensity 75 at the same time is lower than the threshold 78, and in wind turbine system 59, the signal intensity 76 at the same time is greater than the threshold 79. Incidentally, the waveform data collected from wind turbine system 53 is signal intensity 71.

[0030] In the case of Figure 4, in the first embodiment, the signal strength evaluation means 25 of the equipment status monitoring device provided in the wind turbine system 53 (see Figure 1) determines that the data at signal strength 74 in the waveform data signal strength 71 is invalid data. The signal strength evaluation means 25 of the equipment status monitoring device provided in the wind turbine system 56 determines that the data at signal strength 75 in the waveform data signal strength 72 is invalid data. On the other hand, the signal strength evaluation means 25 of the equipment status monitoring device provided in the wind turbine system 59 determines that the data at signal strength 76 in the waveform data signal strength 73 is valid data.

[0031] In contrast, in the second embodiment, the signal strength evaluation means 25, for example, acquires data stored in the memory of a geographically close equipment status monitoring device, compares the signal strength of the acquired data with the signal strength of the data stored in its own memory, and evaluates whether the data is invalid or not.

[0032] In other words, the signal strength evaluation means 25 of the wind turbine system 59 acquires data from wind turbine systems 53 and 56, compares the signal strength of the acquired data with the signal strength of the data stored in its own memory device, and re-evaluates whether the data is invalid or not. The signal strength evaluation means 25 of the wind turbine system 59 determined that the data was invalid because the data from several adjacent wind turbine systems had been determined to be invalid (determined by majority vote).

[0033] In particular, during winter, when ice and snow accumulate on the wind turbine blades and fall off, the signal strength may be observed as high in the equipment condition monitoring devices 52, 55, and 58. On the other hand, since there is no significant difference in wind conditions among adjacent wind turbines, the accuracy of estimating the operating status can be improved by comparing it with the operating status of wind turbines that are geographically close. Alternatively, the signal strength evaluation means 25 of the wind turbine system 53 may acquire data from wind turbine systems 56 and 59, and if one of the data from an adjacent wind turbine system is determined to be valid, it may determine that the data stored in its own memory is valid. This makes it possible to acquire data that can evaluate the impact of events occurring at individual wind turbines on adjacent wind turbines. Such comprehensive processing may be performed by the measurement server 62. In addition, the threshold values ​​at each wind turbine may be rewritten by the wind turbine site, but this may also be achieved by the equipment condition monitoring devices of each wind turbine communicating with each other.

[0034] The equipment status monitoring device of this embodiment has the following features. (1) A device status monitoring device 20 comprising a signal acquisition means 22 for collecting signals from measuring instruments installed on an automated driving device, and a storage device 24 for storing signal data collected by the signal acquisition means 22, wherein the device status monitoring device 20 includes a data evaluation means for evaluating whether the data stored in the storage device 24 is invalid data, and a data deletion means 27 for deleting invalid data from the data stored in the storage device 24. This ensures that the capacity of the storage device 24 can be secured even when the signal acquisition means 22 is not directly connected to the control system of the monitored equipment and the operating status of the monitored equipment cannot be grasped.

[0035] (2)(1) The equipment status monitoring device 20 further has a threshold value storage means 26 for storing a threshold value used when evaluating signal strength, and the data evaluation means evaluates data stored in the storage device 24 as invalid data if the signal strength is less than the threshold value. As a result, the equipment status monitoring device 20 can delete invalid data based on the signal strength.

[0036] (3)(1) By deleting invalid data, a portion of the remaining data sequence becomes discontinuous.

[0037] (4)(1) The equipment status monitoring device 20 is equipped with a communication hub 31, and the data evaluation means evaluates whether the data stored in the storage device 24 is invalid data when communication via the communication hub 31 is interrupted. This allows invalid data to be selected and deleted from the stored waveform data, thereby ensuring the storage capacity of the storage device of the equipment that is automatically operated even when communication is interrupted.

[0038] In (5)(1), the data evaluation means acquires data stored in the memory of a separately provided equipment status monitoring device (for example, equipment status monitoring device 55), compares the signal strength of the acquired data with the signal strength of the data stored in its own memory, and detects invalid data. This ensures that the memory capacity of the memory of the automatically operated equipment is secured.

[0039] In (6)(5), the data evaluation means acquires wind condition information such as wind direction and wind speed corresponding to the time, and evaluates the data stored in the storage device based on the wind condition information. For example, since wind condition information for a wind turbine system can be easily input even with an add-on equipment status monitoring device, the data evaluation means can determine that data when there is no wind is invalid data.

[0040] In (7)(1), the data evaluation means does not use operational information of the monitored equipment when evaluating whether the data is invalid. Conventional equipment status monitoring devices can acquire operational information such as the operating speed and load factor of the target equipment from the wind turbine plant's control system and determine the timing for acquiring signal data such as vibration acceleration. On the other hand, in the equipment status monitoring device according to the present invention, the monitoring device may be installed some time after the plant has started operation. If the equipment status monitoring device cannot be directly connected to the plant's control system, it becomes difficult for the monitoring device to directly acquire operational information. For this reason, even when operational information cannot be acquired, the storage capacity of the storage device of the automatically operated equipment can be secured.

[0041] According to this embodiment, even if the equipment status monitoring device is not directly connected to the control system of the monitored equipment and the operating status of the equipment cannot be determined, invalid data will not put a strain on the capacity of the storage device or the bandwidth of the data transmission network.

[0042] In (8)(1), the data evaluation means evaluates whether the data stored in the storage device 24 is invalid data, but is not limited to this. That is, in (1), when evaluating whether the data is invalid data, the data evaluation means may also evaluate whether the data stored in the storage device 24 is valid data, and evaluate the data that was not evaluated as valid data as invalid data. This ensures that the capacity of the storage device 24 can be secured even when the signal acquisition means 22 is not directly connected to the control system of the monitored equipment and cannot grasp the operating status of the monitored equipment.

[0043] (9) A method for monitoring the status of an equipment status monitoring device 20, comprising a signal acquisition means 22 for acquiring signals from measuring instruments installed on an automated driving device, and a storage device 24 for storing signal data acquired by the signal acquisition means 22, wherein the equipment status monitoring device 20 evaluates whether the data stored in the storage device 24 is invalid data and deletes the invalid data from the data stored in the storage device 24. This ensures that the capacity of the storage device 24 is available even when the signal acquisition means 22 is not directly connected to the control system of the equipment to be monitored and the operating status of the equipment to be monitored cannot be determined. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0044] 11 Rotation axis 12 Rolling bearings 13. Bearing casing 20. Equipment status monitoring device 21 Signal Recovery 22 Signal acquisition means 23 Timer 24 Storage device 25. Signal strength evaluation means (data evaluation means) 26 Threshold storage means 27. Data Deletion Methods 31 Communication Hub 32 External Network 40. Collection of collected waveform data 41. Signal strength of the collected waveform data 42,44 Waveform data 43,45 Signal strength 46. ​​Threshold 50 Windmill Farm 51, 54, 57 Wind turbine communication hub 52, 55, 58 Equipment status monitoring device 53, 56, 59 Wind turbine systems 60 Measurement and Control System 61 Server Communication Hub 62 Measurement Server 63 Communication Cable 71, 72, 73 Signal strength of collected waveform data Signal strength 74, 75, 76 77, 78, 79 thresholds 121 Outer ring 122 Rolling element 123 Inner circle

Claims

1. A device status monitoring device comprising: a signal acquisition means for collecting signals from measuring instruments installed on an automated driving device; and a storage device for storing data of the signals collected by the signal acquisition means, The aforementioned equipment status monitoring device is A data evaluation means for evaluating whether the data stored in the aforementioned storage device is invalid data, The device includes a data deletion means for deleting invalid data from the data stored in the storage device, The aforementioned equipment status monitoring device is equipped with a communication hub, The data evaluation means evaluates whether the signal strength stored in the storage device is invalid data when communication via the communication hub is interrupted. A device for monitoring the condition of equipment, characterized by the following features.

2. A device status monitoring device according to claim 1, The aforementioned equipment status monitoring device further includes threshold storage means for storing threshold values ​​used when evaluating signal strength, The data evaluation means evaluates data stored in the memory device whose signal intensity is less than the threshold as invalid data. A device for monitoring the condition of equipment, characterized by the following features.

3. A device status monitoring device according to claim 1, By deleting the aforementioned invalid data, a portion of the remaining data sequence becomes discontinuous. A device for monitoring the condition of equipment, characterized by the following features.

4. A device status monitoring device comprising: a signal acquisition means for acquiring signals from measuring instruments installed on an automated driving device; and a storage device for storing data of the signals acquired by the signal acquisition means, The aforementioned equipment status monitoring device, A data evaluation means for evaluating whether the data stored in the aforementioned storage device is invalid data, The device includes a data deletion means for deleting invalid data from the data stored in the storage device, The data evaluation means acquires data stored in the memory of a separately provided equipment status monitoring device, compares the signal strength of the acquired data with the signal strength of the data stored in its own memory, and detects the invalid data. A device for monitoring the condition of equipment, characterized by the following features.

5. A device for monitoring the status of equipment according to claim 4, The data evaluation means acquires wind condition information corresponding to the time and evaluates the data stored in the storage device based on the wind condition information. A device for monitoring the condition of equipment, characterized by the following features.

6. A device status monitoring device according to claim 1, The data evaluation means does not use the operational information of the monitored equipment when evaluating whether the data is invalid. A device for monitoring the condition of equipment, characterized by the following features.

7. A device status monitoring device according to claim 1, The data evaluation means, when evaluating whether or not the data is invalid, evaluates whether or not the data stored in the storage device is valid data, and evaluates the data that was not evaluated as valid data as invalid data. A device for monitoring the condition of equipment, characterized by the following features.

8. A method for monitoring the status of an equipment status monitoring device, comprising: a signal acquisition means for collecting signals from measuring instruments installed on an automated driving device; and a storage device for storing data of the signals collected by the signal acquisition means, The aforementioned equipment status monitoring device is equipped with a communication hub, The aforementioned equipment status monitoring device, When evaluating whether the data stored in the storage device is invalid data, and deleting the invalid data from the data stored in the storage device, When communication via the communication hub is interrupted, the system evaluates whether the signal strength stored in the storage device is invalid data. A method for monitoring the status of equipment, characterized by the following features.

9. A method for monitoring the status of an equipment status monitoring device, comprising: a signal acquisition means for collecting signals from measuring instruments installed on an automated driving device; and a storage device for storing data of the signals collected by the signal acquisition means, The aforementioned equipment status monitoring device, When evaluating whether the data stored in the storage device is invalid data, and deleting the invalid data from the data stored in the storage device, The system acquires data stored in the memory of a separately provided equipment status monitoring device, compares the signal strength of the acquired data with the signal strength of the data stored in its own memory, and detects the invalid data. A method for monitoring the status of equipment, characterized by the following features.

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