System for servicing and maintaining heat supply equipment

Details System for servicing and maintaining heat supply equipment System for servicing and maintaining heat supply equipment

2001-09-13

2003-09-30

Tanner, Harry B. (Department: 3749)

Automatic temperature and humidity regulation

Thermostatic

With indicator or alarm

C236S051000, C062S126000, C165S011200

Reexamination Certificate

active

06626366

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a system for servicing and maintaining heat supply equipment such as boilers through use of communication lines, and more particularly relates to a system for servicing and maintaining heat supply equipment, which is established at least between one or more equipment sites that conclude a servicing and maintenance contract and a management station for maintaining and managing heat supply equipment in the area that the equipment sites are located.
In recent years, with development of electronic techniques and communication techniques, automatic control of heat supply equipment is implemented by a servicing and maintenance system incorporating micro computers and modems therein and using communication lines. More particularly, the heat supply equipment is equipped with various sensors that detect operating states of the heat supply equipment, as well as with a control unit that selects operating conditions of the heat supply equipment based on signals from these various sensors. A management unit of a remote management station and the control unit of the heat supply equipment are connected to a communication line through a modem that performs automatic transmittance and reception of data. This enables the heat supply equipment to report the operating states thereof to the management station in real time, and enables the management station to perform servicing and management based on the reported operating states.
The heat supply equipment is serviced and maintained by the above-stated servicing and maintenance system. Accordingly, if abnormal stop of the heat supply equipment occurs, the abnormal stop is reported to the management unit of the remote management station through a communication line. In the management station, upon reception of the report on the abnormal stop, a data analyst collects information on the reported abnormal stop through use of the management unit, analyzes the cause thereof, and sends recovery information based on an analysis result to an equipment site on which the heat supply equipment is installed. In some cases, the management station dispatches a maintenance man to the equipment site and performs maintenance service such as repair works where necessary.
In the above described prior art, however, there has been a danger that the analysis result would depend on the level of skill regarding cause analysis of the data analyst (because the analysis result includes determination of the data analyst). There has also been a danger that the skill level of the data analyst could disturb prompt measurement to be taken.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, the present invention is to be made with consideration of the above-described circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a system for servicing and maintaining heat supply equipment, which ensures reliable analysis and high efficiency.
In order to accomplish the above object, a system for servicing and maintaining heat supply equipment according to a first aspect of the present invention has the following basic structure as shown in FIG.
1
. The system for servicing and maintaining heat supply equipment is established at least between one or more equipment sites
2
that have heat supply equipment
1
and conclude a servicing and maintenance contract regarding the heat supply equipment
1
, and a management station
3
that performs servicing and maintenance of the heat supply equipment
1
in an area in which the equipment sites
2
are located, the system being established through use of a communication line
4
, the heat supply equipment
1
comprising: a control unit
5
to be attached to the heat supply equipment
1
; and an equipment-side modem
6
for mediating the control unit
5
and the communication line
4
, the management station
3
comprising: a management unit
7
for managing the heat supply equipment
1
; and a station-side modem
8
for mediating the management unit
7
and the communication line
4
, wherein upon reception of abnormality occurrence data sent from the control unit
5
, the management unit
7
further receives detailed information data on an abnormality of the heat supply equipment
1
from the control unit
5
, analyses by itself the received detailed information data, and creates recovery data for recovering the heat supply equipment
1
from the abnormality.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided the system for servicing and maintaining heat supply equipment as defined in the first aspect of the present invention, wherein the recovery data is data regarding recovery instruction information for instructing procedures of recovering the heat supply equipment
1
, and the control unit
5
, upon reception of the recovery data regarding the recovery instruction information from the management unit
7
, displays the recovery instruction information based on the recovery data on a display section
9
provided in the control unit
5
.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided the system for servicing and maintaining heat supply equipment as defined in the first aspect of the present invention, wherein the recovery data is data regarding recovery instruction information for instructing procedures of recovering the heat supply equipment
1
, and the management unit
7
sends the recovery data regarding the recovery instruction information to a portable terminal
12
carried by a maintenance man
11
by wireless communication means
10
.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the system for servicing and maintaining heat supply equipment as defined in the third aspect of the present invention, wherein the management unit
7
collects location information transmitted by the portable terminal
12
and determines the maintenance man
11
who can recover the heat supply equipment
1
fastest.
According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the system for servicing and maintaining heat supply equipment as defined in the first aspect of the present invention, wherein the recovery data is data regarding change in setting values and the like of the heat supply equipment
1
, and the control unit
5
, upon reception of the recovery data regarding the change in setting values and the like, changes setting values and the like of the heat supply equipment
1
based on the recovery data.
According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the system for servicing and maintaining heat supply equipment as defined in the first aspect of the present invention, wherein the management unit
7
stores readable data on a maintenance manual.
According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided the system for servicing and maintaining heat supply equipment as defined in the first aspect of the present invention, wherein the management unit
7
has a function to transfer the received abnormality occurrence data to a management center supervising a plurality of management stations including the management station
3
through the communication line
4
.
According to the first aspect of the present invention, when an abnormality occurs in the heat supply equipment
1
, the management unit
7
automatically analyzes detailed information data sent from the control unit
5
, and creates recovery data for recovering the heat supply equipment
1
from the abnormality.
According to the second aspect of the present invention, the control unit
5
receives data regarding recovery instruction information for instructing procedures of recovering the heat supply equipment
1
, and displays the data on the display section
9
. The display section
9
displays the recovery instruction information for instructing the procedures of recovering the heat supply equipment
1
.
According to the third aspect of the present invention, the management unit
7
sends data regarding recovery instruction information for instructing procedures of recovering the heat supply equipment
1
to the portable te

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