Data processing: measuring – calibrating – or testing – Measurement system – Remote supervisory monitoring
Reexamination Certificate
2001-02-27
2003-12-16
Hoff, Marc S. (Department: 2857)
Data processing: measuring, calibrating, or testing
Measurement system
Remote supervisory monitoring
C376S215000, C700S287000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06665635
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a method for providing thermal power plant maintenance services and, more particularly, to a thermal power plant maintenance service provision method adaptable for use in routine inspection procedures and/or upon occurrence of abnormality or aberrant phenomena.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In thermal power stations or plants, in cases where certain abnormalities occur during routine inspection and/or in the in-use state or alternatively monitoring is especially required in specific events such as upon start-up/shut-down of a unit, some works should be required including but not limited to control system adjustment, searching for a cause(s) of abnormality, making up a countermeasure, and preparation of a search report. Traditionally, in regard to such maintenance services, an engineer working for a manufacturer, who has received a request from a client (thermal power plant), goes to the power plant for complete such tasks in situ.
The prior art suffers from a problem as to the difficulty of expediting the cause research procedure for obstruction recovery when abnormalities occur during operation due to the fact that a time is taken for the maker's engineer to actually arrive at the power station. Another problem faced with the prior art is that the engineer's working at the real cite accompanies extra costs including a visiting expense, resulting in an increase in inspection costs as a whole.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved thermal power plant maintenance service providing method capable of offering prompt and adequate maintenance serviceabilities during routine inspection and upon occurrence of abnormalities at a thermal power station while reducing costs required therefor.
To attain the foregoing object, the present invention provides a thermal power plant maintenance service provision method adaptable for use with a system including a remote maintenance device for execution of functions similar to those offered by a maintenance tool, the method including the step of permitting a maintenance service providing person to makes use of the remote maintenance device as linked to the maintenance tool via communications lines for bidirectionally transferring plant data and data as to a present state of a controlling controller between the maintenance tool and the remote maintenance device to thereby provide thermal power plant maintenance services.
As explained above, according to the present invention, it becomes possible, by comprising remote maintenance apparatus for execution of similar functions to those offered by the maintenance tool while at the same time letting the maintenance service provider employ the remote maintenance apparatus as linked via communications lines to the maintenance tool in the power station, to remotely provide any required maintenance services including but not limited to test data summary and evaluation results during routine inspection procedures and/or search and investigation results in abnormality occurrence events, which in turn makes it possible to provide prompt and proper maintenance services at low costs in routine inspection events and/or abnormality occurrence events, thus enabling improvement in quality of maintenance services.
REFERENCES:
patent: 5122976 (1992-06-01), Bellows et al.
patent: 5311562 (1994-05-01), Palusamy et al.
patent: 5657245 (1997-08-01), Hecht et al.
patent: 6499114 (2002-12-01), Almstead et al.
patent: 6524245 (2003-02-01), Rock et al.
patent: 91113945.9 (1991-08-01), None
Kimura Tooru
Maruyama Yoshio
Shimizu Satoru
Charioui Mohamed
Hoff Marc S.
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