JPH04205591A - Working time monitoring device for industrial machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To monitor the working status of an industrial machine at hour/minute units by discriminating the working state of the industrial machine based on a working signal to discriminate the working state of the industrial machine, storing the discriminated result of it in a memory means as working discriminating information and transmitting the working discriminating information within the memory means corresponding to a requirement from a working time summing-up circuit. CONSTITUTION:When an industrial machine works, a working state is discriminated based on a working signal ES from a working signal generating means 3 and the result of it is stored in a memory means 6 in time series as working discriminating information. When the working time of the industrial machine is summed up after a constant period passes, a working time summing-up circuit 2 is connected to a monitor circuit 1 through a communication cable and the period to be monitored of the working time is inputted by an input means. Accordingly, stored data within the memory means 6 are transmitted to the working time summing-up circuit 2 through a communication cable. Thus, since an arithmetic processing circuit 13 of the working time summing-up circuit 2 sums up the working time within the period set by the input means based on the information from the monitor circuit 1, a working status is monitored at the hour/minute units.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a device for monitoring the operating time of industrial machinery such as various vehicles and construction machinery.

(Prior Art) Construction machines such as bulldozers are typically owned by leasing companies and leased to users for a predetermined fee, and conventionally, the lease fee has been calculated on a daily basis.

Therefore, even if the leased construction machine cannot be used for the entire day due to reasons related to the construction process, the same fee as if the construction machine were operated all day was charged.

On the other hand, from the user's perspective, there is a request that it is reasonable to pay fees according to the time the construction machine is actually operated, and from the leasing company's perspective, this request is also considered reasonable. It is becoming. However, it is not realistic to rely entirely on user reports to determine the actual usage time of construction machinery.

Therefore, there is a demand among leasing companies to monitor the actual operating status of construction machinery on an hourly and minute-by-minute basis.

Furthermore, in order to properly maintain the construction machinery, it is meaningful to manage the operation history of the construction machinery.

However, no device for monitoring the operating status of construction machinery on an hourly or minute basis has been known so far.

(Problems to be Solved) The purpose of the present invention is to be able to monitor the operating status of industrial machinery in units of hours and minutes, and to easily perform aggregation of monitored operating time, calculation of operating rate, and other data processing. The purpose is to provide a device that can do this.

(Means for Solving the Problems) The operating time monitoring device for industrial machinery according to the present invention comprises an operating time monitoring circuit (1) installed in a casing (33) that can be attached to the industrial machine, and the monitoring circuit (1). an operating time aggregation circuit (2) that aggregates the operating time of the industrial machine based on information from 1); and communication for detachably connecting the operating time aggregation circuit (2) to the monitor circuit (1). A cable (41) is provided. The monitor circuit (1) includes an operation signal generating means for generating an operation signal WS for determining whether or not an industrial machine is in operation, and means for determining the operation state of the industrial machine based on the operation signal WS. a memory means for storing the determination result as operation determination information; and a communication means for transmitting the operation determination information in the memory means to the operation time aggregation circuit (2) in response to a request from the operation time aggregation circuit (2). It is equipped with. Further, the operating time aggregation circuit (2) includes an input means for setting a period for which the operating time is to be aggregated, and a period set by the input means based on operation determination information from the monitor circuit (1). and an arithmetic processing circuit (13) that calculates and outputs the operating time within the range.

Further, the operating time monitoring device for industrial machinery according to the present invention includes:
It consists of a monitor circuit (1) attached to an industrial machine to monitor the operating time of the industrial machine, and an operating time totaling circuit (2) connected to the monitor circuit (1) to total the operating time. The monitor circuit (1) includes an operation signal generating means for generating an operation signal WS to be used for determining whether or not the industrial machine is in operation, and a means for sampling the operation signal WS at a constant period, and detecting the sampling time. sampling counting means for repeatedly counting the number of times the operating signal indicates the operating state at a constant period T; and a measured count value NA from the sampling counting means.
and a preset reference count value NR, and when the measured count value NA exceeds the reference count value NR, it is determined that the count period T is in operation, and operation determination information RW representing this is generated. a memory means for storing the operation determination information RW; and a memory means for transmitting the operation determination information in the memory means to the operation time aggregation circuit (2) in response to a request from the operation time aggregation circuit (2). It is equipped with a means of communication.

The operation signal generating means can be composed of an 0L10FF signal generating section connected to the electrical system of the power generator of the industrial machine and/or a vibration sensor (47) installed in the industrial machine.

In addition, the vibration sensor (47) detects a container (35) to be installed integrally with the industrial machine, a liquid (53) contained in the container (35), and a liquid level in the container (35). It can be composed of a light emitting element (36) that emits light toward the target, and a light receiving element (37) that detects the light transmitted through the liquid (53). In this case, the high frequency component appearing in the detection signal of the light receiving element (37) When the value exceeds a predetermined level, it can be determined that the system is in operation.

(Function) In the industrial machine operating time monitoring device according to the present invention, the casing (33) is attached to the industrial machine itself,
The monitor circuit (1) is connected to, for example, an electrical system of a power generation section of an industrial machine, and the connection section constitutes an operation signal generation means.

When the industrial machine is in operation, the operating state is determined based on the movement signal WS from the operating signal generating means, and the result is stored and accumulated in the memory means in chronological order as operation determination information.

When calculating the operating hours of industrial machinery after a certain period of time,
An operating time totaling circuit (2) is connected to the monitor circuit (1) via a communication cable (41), and a period for which operating time is to be monitored is inputted using an input means. As a result, the communication means of the monitor circuit (1) operates, and the data stored in the memory means (operation determination information) is transferred to the communication cable (
41) and is sent to the operating time totaling circuit (2). As a result, the arithmetic processing circuit (13) of the operating time aggregation circuit (2)
calculates the operating time within the period set by the input means based on the information from the monitor circuit (1). The tallied results are displayed on a display, for example, or printed out by a printer.

Further, in the monitor circuit (1) of the operating time monitoring device for industrial machinery according to the present invention, the operating signal WS from the operating signal generating means is sampled at a constant cycle, and the operating signal at the time of sampling represents the operating state. The number of times that the data is displayed is repeatedly counted every fixed period T. The measured count value NA of each cycle is compared with a preset reference count value NR, and when the measured count value NA exceeds the reference count value NR, it is determined that the count cycle T is in operation, and this is indicated. Operation determination information RW is generated. The information RW is stored and accumulated in the memory means.

After that, in response to a request from the operating time aggregation circuit (2),
The operation judgment information in the memory means is stored in the operation time aggregation circuit (2)
The operating time is totaled based on the information.

When the operation signal generation means is constituted by an ON/OFF signal generation section, when the power generation device is energized,
An operating signal is generated indicating the operating state. Further, when the operation signal generating means is configured by a vibration sensor (47),
When the industrial machine starts up and the vibrations of the power generator are transmitted to the vibration sensor (47), an operating signal indicating the operating state is generated.

The vibration sensor (47) is connected to a container containing a liquid (53) (
35) When the industrial machine is configured with a light emitting element (36) and a light receiving element (37), when the industrial machine is started, the surface of the liquid (53) violently waves due to vibrations from the power generating part, causing light to pass through the liquid surface. is diffused, and a high frequency component exceeding a predetermined level appears in the detection signal of the light receiving element (37). Therefore, the operating state is determined by detecting the high frequency component.

(Effects of the Invention) According to the operating time monitoring device for industrial machinery according to the present invention, the operating status of industrial machinery can be monitored in chronological order by making the operating judgment by the monitor circuit in units of hours and minutes. By adding various calculation functions to the operating time aggregation circuit, it is possible to aggregate the monitored operating time,
Operation rate calculations and other data processing can be easily performed.

(Examples) Examples are provided to explain the present invention, and should not be construed as limiting the invention described in the claims or reducing its scope.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the main configuration of the operating time monitoring device. In the monitor circuit (1) to be installed in the industrial machine itself, the operating signal WS from the operating signal generator (3) is sampled and counted. It is supplied to the circuit (4). The circuit (4) samples the operating signal WS at a fixed period S, and repeatedly counts at a fixed period T the number of times the operating signal represents the operating state at the time of sampling.

The sampling/counting circuit (4) has the constant period S.
A sampling signal generation circuit (9) that outputs a sampling signal SS is connected thereto. Furthermore, an oscillation circuit (8) is connected to the circuit (9) for supplying a reference clock CLK.

The measured count value NA from the sampling and counting circuit (4) is supplied to a comparator circuit (5), which circuit (5)
The measured count value NA and the operating time aggregation circuit (2
) compared with the reference count value NR sent from
When the measured count value NA exceeds the reference count value NR, the operation judgment information RW representing this is stored in the memory circuit (6).
Output to. The memory circuit (6) stores the operation determination information R.
W is stored and accumulated in chronological order over a predetermined period. or,
The monitor circuit (1) is equipped with an interface (7) for communicating with the operating time totaling circuit (2).

Further, a power supply circuit (10) to which a voltage of 12V or 24V is applied is connected to the monitor circuit (1), and a backup power supply (11) is further connected to the power supply circuit (10).

The operating time aggregation circuit (2) has the same configuration as a general information processing circuit as shown in FIG. Based on the operation determination information from (1), an arithmetic processing circuit (13) that performs arithmetic processing such as aggregating the operating time within the period input from the input keyboard (14) and a procedure for the arithmetic processing are registered. ROM (
16) and RA for storing reference counts etc. described later.
M (15), and a communication interface (12) for mutual communication with the monitor circuit (1). An output device (17), such as a printer, for outputting the calculation results is connected to the operating time totaling circuit (2).

FIG. 3 shows the operating signal generating section (3) when the operating time monitoring device according to the present invention is installed in an industrial machine (18) equipped with a diesel engine as a power generating device.
It shows the specific configuration of As is well known, 12v or 24v
The battery (19) of the V is connected to a starter (21) via a starter switch (20), an alternator (22), and an ignition device (2) via an ignition switch (23).
4) is connected. The operation signal generator (3) connects a step-down circuit (25) to the midpoint between the ignition switch (23) and the ignition device (24), steps down the voltage of the battery (19) to 5V, and outputs the ON10 FF signal. Creating. Further, the power supply voltage of the battery (19) is supplied to the power supply circuit (lO) shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 shows an example in which the monitor circuit (1) is configured using a microcomputer, including the sampling/counting circuit (4), the sampling signal generation circuit (9), and
The oscillation circuit (8) and the comparison circuit (5) are constructed by software of a one-chip microcomputer (26). A memory (27) backed up by a NiCd battery (28) is connected to the microcomputer (26), corresponding to the memory circuit (6) in FIG.

In addition, a crystal oscillator (3) is installed corresponding to the oscillation circuit (8) in Figure 1.
0) is connected to supply an IHz clock signal to the microcomputer (26). Furthermore, a microcomputer (26 months) is connected to a counter (29) backed up by a NiCd battery (31),
This counts the power outage time during a power outage. Furthermore, the power supply voltage from the battery (19) is transmitted to the microcomputer (26) via a voltage detection circuit (32).
The power supply voltage is monitored by the voltage detection circuit (32). The ON10FF signal is directly supplied to the microcomputer (26) as an operating signal.

The monitor circuit (1) is installed in a small sealed casing (33) and wired to a printed circuit board (34) as shown in FIG. A power cord (38) and an ON/OFF signal cord (39) are connected to the casing (33).

On the other hand, the operating time totaling circuit (2) is a portable notebook-type small information processing device (hereinafter referred to as an electronic notebook) as shown in FIG.
43)).

The electronic notebook (43) is equipped with an operation key panel (45) and a display section (44) for inputting data, and an IC card (
46) is loaded. The printed circuit board (34) inside the casing (33) and the electronic notebook (43) are connected by a connector (
40) and (42) are connected by a communication cable (41).

When monitoring operating time, use the casing (see Figure 5).
33) is fixed to the industrial machine, and the power cord (38) and ON/OFF signal cord (39) are connected as shown in FIG. When the ignition switch (23) is turned on or off and the operating signal changes as shown in FIG. 6(a), for example,
Using the sampling signal with a period of 5=18 seconds shown in FIG. 5(b), sampling is repeated with T=30 minutes as one cycle, and the number of times the sampling signal is turned on is counted. Then, at the timing shown in FIG. 4C, the measured count value NA in each cycle and a predetermined reference count value NR (for example, 50 times) are compared and determined.

When the measured count value NA exceeds the predetermined reference count value NR, the operating status during 30 minutes of the relevant cycle is determined to be the operating status, and the result is “0” as shown in (d) of the same figure.
It is output as operation determination information RW of "1".

The operation judgment information RW every 30 minutes is stored in the memory (27) in Figure 4.
The information is written sequentially to 90 days' worth of information.

After that, when the information accumulated in the monitor circuit (1) is sent to the operating time aggregation circuit (2) and the operating time is aggregated, the information accumulated in the monitor circuit (1) is sent to the electronic notebook ( 43) and operate the operation key panel (45).
Execute data reception processing by operating. As a result, a reception start command is sent as serial data SI to the microcomputer (26) via the communication cable (41). In response, the information in the monitor circuit (1) is transferred as serial data SO to the RAM (15) of the operating time totaling circuit (2) via the communication cable (41) and stored therein.

Furthermore, when the ID number, start time, and end time of the industrial machine to be counted are entered by operating the operation key panel (45), the display section (44) will display the screen shown in Fig. 10 (a).
) The aggregation period is displayed, and by switching the screen, the operating hours and daily total for each date and the total operating time for the aggregation period are sequentially displayed as shown in (b), (c), and (d) in the figure. be done.

In the embodiment, the monitor circuit (1) side does not have time information, and the clock function built in the operating time totaling circuit (2) is used to compare the operating judgment information sent from the monitor circuit (1) with the time. A correspondence is made.

If a printer (not shown) is connected to the electronic notebook (43) and a print command is input as shown in Fig. 11(a), the image shown in Fig. 11(b) is
) It is possible to print operating hours, daily totals, total values, etc. Furthermore, by inputting the aggregation start time and number of days as shown in FIG. 12(a), it is also possible to print the raw data of the operation determination information as shown in FIG. 12(b). Note that the symbol "E" in the figure means that the backup power supply has been discharged.

FIG. 7 shows another example of the configuration of the operating signal generator (3). The operation signal generating section (3) has a vibration sensor (47) installed inside a casing (33) as shown in FIG. An operating signal is output when the ON/OFF signal is ON.

The vibration sensor (47) is placed in a transparent container (35) as shown in Figure 8.
A liquid (53) such as alcohol is placed in the container (35).
) is a light emitting element (36) at the top and a light receiving element (37) at the bottom.
This is what was installed. When the diesel engine of the industrial machine (18) starts, vibrations occur and the liquid level of the liquid (53) violently waves. As a result, when the light from the light-emitting element (36) enters the liquid (53), it is diffused along with the wave motion of the liquid surface, and the light signal detected by the light-receiving element (37) includes A component with a frequency higher than the natural frequency of the liquid (53) appears (Fig. 9 (
a)).

Therefore, the optical signal from the light receiving element (37) is connected to the HP F (49) as shown in FIG.
Figure (b)) is extracted, and the component is supplied to the waveform processing circuit (50) to perform waveform processing such as rectification and integration (Figure (C)).
. Furthermore, the waveform-processed signal is sent to the shaping circuit (51) in Fig. 7.
and binarizes it at a predetermined threshold level (FIG. 9(d)).

The above binary signal and ON/OFF signal are connected to an AND circuit (5
2), and supplies the output signal of the AND circuit (52) as an operating signal to the sampling/counting circuit (4) or the microcomputer (26).

The vibration sensor (47) shown in FIG. 8 can achieve higher reliability even in harsh usage environments than conventional, well-known general vibration sensors, and is suitable for the operating time monitoring device according to the present invention. It is.

In addition, depending on the type of industrial machine, usage conditions, purpose of monitoring, etc., an OR circuit may be inserted in place of the AND circuit (52) in Fig. 7, or the above binary signal may be used as an independent operating signal. It is also possible to do so.

According to the above operating time monitoring device, it is possible not only to monitor the operating time in hours and minutes, but also to connect the electronic notebook (43) containing operating judgment information to a personal computer, etc. It is also possible to perform various types of data processing on the system, making it possible to manage operating time with great versatility.

Further, by changing the setting of the reference count value NR, the operation determination criterion, which is set in units of 30 minutes, can be made to correspond to the individual and specific circumstances of the industrial machine.

For example, if the warm-up time required for the engine as a power generator is 6 minutes, the standard count value is set to 20 minutes.
By setting the number of times, if the vehicle stops before the warm-up operation is completed, it is possible to exclude the operating time during that period from being subject to charge calculation.

The above description of the embodiments is for illustrating the present invention, and should not be construed to limit or reduce the scope of the invention described in the claims.

Further, it goes without saying that the configuration of each part of the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, and various modifications can be made within the technical scope of the claims.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an operating time monitoring device for industrial machinery according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an operating time totaling circuit, and FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an operating signal generator. Figure 4 is a block diagram showing an example of a monitor circuit configured by a microcomputer, Figure 5 is a perspective view showing a state where the casing and electronic notebook are connected via a communication cable, and Figure 6 is a timing chart explaining the operation of the monitor circuit. , FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing another example of the configuration of the operating signal generator, FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the schematic configuration of the vibration sensor, FIG. 9 is a waveform diagram explaining the circuit operation of FIG. 7, and FIG. Figures 1 through 12 are diagrams showing examples of display and printing of an electronic notebook. (1)...Monitor circuit (2)...Operating time totaling circuit (3)...Operating signal generator (18)...Industrial machinery (43)...Electronic notebook (47)... Vibration sensor? and!

Claims (4)

[Claims] (1) An operating time monitor circuit (1) installed in a casing (33) that can be attached to an industrial machine, and an operating time aggregation circuit that aggregates the operating time of the industrial machine based on information from the monitor circuit (1). (2) and the monitor circuit (
1), and a communication cable (41) for detachably connecting an operating time aggregation circuit (2) to the monitor circuit (1), and the monitor circuit (1) is a target for determining whether or not the industrial machine is in an operating state. an operation signal generating means for generating an operation signal WS, a means for determining the operating state of the industrial machine based on the operation signal WS, a memory means for storing the determination result as operation determination information, an operation time aggregation circuit ( 2) communication means for transmitting operation determination information in the memory means to an operating time aggregation circuit (2) in response to a request from the operating time aggregation circuit (2); an input means for setting a period, and an arithmetic processing circuit (13) that calculates and outputs the operating time within the period set by the input means based on the operation determination information from the monitor circuit (1).
) and an operating time monitoring device for industrial machinery. (2) Consisting of a circuit (1) that is attached to an industrial machine to monitor the operating time of the industrial machine, and an operating time aggregation circuit (2) that is connected to the monitor circuit (1) and aggregates the operating time, The monitor circuit (1) includes an operation signal generating means for generating an operation signal WS to be used for determining whether or not the industrial machine is in operation, and a means for sampling the operation signal WS at a constant period, and detecting the operation state at the time of sampling. sampling and counting means for repeatedly counting the number of times the signal indicates the operating state at a constant period T; and a measured count value NA from the sampling and counting means.
and a preset reference count value NR, and when the measured count value NA exceeds the reference count value NR, it is determined that the count period T is in operation, and operation determination information RW representing this is generated. a memory means for storing the operation determination information RW; and a memory means for transmitting the operation determination information in the memory means to the operation time aggregation circuit (2) in response to a request from the operation time aggregation circuit (2). An operating time monitoring device for industrial machinery, comprising a communication means. (3) The operation signal generating means is composed of an ON/OFF signal generating section connected to the electrical system of the power generator of the industrial machine and/or a vibration sensor (47) to be installed in the industrial machine. The operating time monitoring device for industrial machinery according to claim 1. (4) The vibration sensor (47) detects a container (35) to be installed integrally in the industrial machine, a liquid (53) contained in the container (35), and a liquid level in the container (35). It is composed of a light-emitting element (36) that emits light toward the liquid (53), and a light-receiving element (37) that detects the light that has passed through the liquid (53).
3. The operating state is determined when the high frequency component appearing in the detection signal of the light receiving element (37) exceeds a predetermined level.
The operating time monitoring device for industrial machinery described in .