Abnormality Sign Notifying System for Robots

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing abnormality notification systems for industrial devices fail to notify anomalies at appropriate timings due to the lack of consideration for usage environments and modes, leading to potential 'overlooking' or 'overdetection' of issues.

Innovation Solution

An abnormality sign notifying system that acquires operation state data and stores historical abnormality data associated with environmental and usage mode information, allowing for the selection of relevant data to set appropriate notification timings based on correlations and thresholds, thereby preventing premature or missed notifications.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Device complexity

If previously stored data is used to diagnose abnormality signs, then the diagnostic process can be simplified, but the notification timing becomes inaccurate because usage environment and usage mode are not considered

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvediagnostic process complexityVSAvoidnotification timing accuracy

Core Design Contradiction:

Device complexityVSMeasurement precision

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies local quality by creating separate abnormality data sets tailored to specific usage environments (e.g., high temperature, high humidity) and usage modes (e.g., continuous operation, intermittent operation). Instead of using a single generic diagnostic model, the system selects and applies the appropriate diagnostic criteria based on the local conditions of the target device, thereby achieving accurate notification timing while maintaining diagnostic simplicity.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

Solution Approach 2:

The system dynamically adapts the diagnostic process by automatically selecting the appropriate abnormality data set based on the detected usage environment and usage mode. This dynamic selection ensures that the diagnostic criteria always match the current operational context, resolving the contradiction between simplified processing and accurate timing by making the diagnostic approach flexible rather than static.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

2Device complexity

If a single abnormality data set is used for all devices, then data management is simplified, but notification accuracy deteriorates because different usage environments cause different degradation progress levels

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvedata management complexityVSAvoidnotification accuracy

Core Design Contradiction:

Device complexityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments the abnormality data into multiple distinct data sets, each corresponding to a specific usage environment (e.g., high temperature, high humidity) or usage mode (e.g., continuous operation, intermittent operation). This segmentation allows the system to manage data in organized, context-specific groups rather than a single monolithic data set, improving notification accuracy while maintaining manageable data organization through systematic categorization.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The system changes the parameter of data selection by adjusting which abnormality data set is active based on the detected usage environment and usage mode. Instead of using a fixed single data set, the system dynamically changes the data parameters to match operational conditions, ensuring that degradation thresholds and notification criteria are appropriate for the specific context, thereby improving reliability without excessive complexity.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #35Parameter changes

3Ease of operation

If abnormality notification is performed without considering usage mode, then the notification process is simplified, but the timing of notification becomes inappropriate leading to overlooking or overdetection

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvenotification process simplicityVSAvoidnotification timing precision

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSMeasurement precision

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies preliminary action by pre-establishing multiple abnormality data sets that are specifically configured for different usage modes (e.g., continuous operation, intermittent operation, high-speed operation). Before performing the actual diagnostic notification, the system pre-selects the appropriate data set based on the detected usage mode, ensuring that the notification timing criteria are already optimized for the specific operational context. This preliminary preparation maintains operational simplicity while achieving precise notification timing.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Data Source

PatentUS11340140B2Abnormality sign notifying system, abnormality sign notifying method, and program

Publication Date: 2022.05.24 TOYOTA JIDOSHA KK

AI summary

A data storage unit 212 stores a plurality of pieces of abnormality data corresponding to operation state data of at least a robot in which an abnormality occurred in the past in association with environmental information and usage mode information. An abnormality data selection unit 218 narrows down the plurality of pieces of abnormality data stored in the data storage unit 212 to one or more pieces of the abnormality data based on the environmental information of a target robot and usage mode information of the target robot to select the abnormality data. A timing setting unit 220 sets a timing for notifying the abnormality sign based on the selected abnormality data and the operation state data corresponding to the selected abnormality data of the target robot. A notifying unit 126 notifies the abnormality sign related to the target robot at the timing set by the timing setting unit 220.