Patent Publication Number: US-2011067895-A1

Title: Tool, information processing unit, terminal unit, and management system

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present invention relates to a tool, and particularly to a tool which determines maintenance time of the tool by detecting the current-carrying time of the tool or the number of actual driving of the tool, and notifies, when it has been determined that maintenance is necessary, a user about its fact. 
     The invention relates to an information processing unit, and particularly to an information processing unit which receives by a light receiving part a light emission signal based on maintenance information which is emitted from a light emitting part of a tool, and displays the maintenance information in a display part. 
     The invention relates further to a terminal unit and a management system, and particularly to a terminal unit and a management system in which specific information of a tool is stored in a storage part of the tool, and the specific information is read out from the storage part of the tool by means of the terminal unit and displayed in a display part. Further, herein, the specific information of the tool is read out from the tool and stored in a database of an information processing unit. 
     BACKGROUND ART 
     In structural, exterior, and interior works of home building, a pneumatic tool and a power tool which supply continuously a fastener such as a screw and a nail are being utilized widely. Though parts constituting these tools have the predetermined durability, with increase in the number of actual driving of the fastener and passage of current-carrying time of a motor, a tip portion of a driver becomes worn, or impact absorption effect of a bumper which absorbs impact of a driver piston lowers. Therefore, for example, when the number of actual driving of the tool comes to hundreds of thousands of times, maintenance work such as overhaul is performed, and broken parts are replaced. Further, oil filling is regularly performed thereby to prevent burning of an air motor. 
     In order to know the maintenance time of the tool, it is necessary to grasp the number of actual driving of the tool or the current-carrying time of the motor. As a tool capable of grasping the actual driving number, there has been proposed a tool including a nearby sensor which detects the reciprocation of a driver, and a counting circuit which counts the actual driving number of the tool based on detection signals detected by the nearby sensor. The actual driving number of the tool counted by the counting circuit is displayed in a liquid crystal display device (refer to Patent Document 1). A user, by reading out the actual driving number displayed in the liquid crystal display device, can determine whether the tool is into maintenance time or not. 
     PRIOR ART DOCUMENT 
     Patent Document  
     Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. H09-174460 
     However, the tool disclosed in the above Patent Document 1 has the following problem. Since the actual driving number of the tool is only displayed in the liquid-crystal display device, whether the tool is into the maintenance time or not must be determined by the user himself. Therefore, the user himself must grasp the actual driving number which requires maintenance, and he may erroneously determine the maintenance time. Further, the user may forget the maintenance time due to his forgetfulness. Passing of the tool maintenance time affects also other parts. Therefore, the broken portion increases, and the additional cost for replacement of parts is required. 
     Further, the tool disclosed in the above Patent Document 1 has also the following problems. 
     (1) According to the above tool, though the actual driving number of the tool can be acquired, specific information of the tool such as a manufacture serial number cannot be obtained. Generally, a tool manufacture serial number is shown by putting a sticker on which the manufacture serial number has been given on a surface of the tool, or by directly marking the manufacture serial number on the tool surface. However, in the course of using the tool, the sticker may tear off or the mark may disappear. In such the case, in the above tool, the manufacture serial number cannot be obtained, so that it is difficult to manage the tool in association with purchase information stored in a customer database. 
     (2) In case that the above tool is repaired, since repair information of the parts replaced in repair remains in only a repair center, a sales person, in order to acquire the repair information of the tool, must inquire of the repair center the repair information, so that there is a problem that it takes some time to acquire the repair information. This affects also sales promotion. 
     SUMMARY OF INVENTION 
     The invention provides a tool which notifies exactly and surely a user about maintenance time, and an information processing unit which acquires readily maintenance information from the tool. 
     Further, the invention provides a tool, a terminal unit, and a management system which can acquire and manage specific information of the tool readily. 
     A tool according to the invention is characterized by including a detection means which detects maintenance information used in determination of maintenance time of a tool body, a control means which determines, based on a comparison result between the maintenance information detected by the detection means and basic maintenance information set in advance, whether the tool body is into the maintenance time or not, and a notice means which notifies the user that the tool body is into the maintenance time in case that the control means has determined that the tool body is into the maintenance time. 
     In the tool of the invention, the detection means detects the maintenance information of the tool body. The maintenance information includes, in case that the tool body is a pneumatic tool, for example, the number of actual driving; and in case that the tool body is a power tool, for example, the number of actual driving, current-carrying time of a motor, and the number of battery replacement. The detected maintenance information is supplied to the control means. 
     The control means compares the maintenance information with the basic maintenance information (threshold) stored in a storage part in advance. The basic maintenance information includes, for example, the actual driving number which becomes the criterion when warning of the part-replacement time based on durability of the tool is given, and the oil-filling number which requires oil filling. The control means determines based on the comparison result whether the tool body is into the maintenance time or not. For example, in case that the maintenance information is at least the basic maintenance information or over the basic maintenance information, the control means determines that the maintenance is required. The information based on this determination result is supplied to the notice means. 
     The notice means, based on the determination result by the control means, notifies the user that the tool body is into the maintenance time. For example, in case that the notice means is constituted by a light emitting part, this light emitting part is subjected to blinking light-emission thereby to notify the user about its fact. Further, in case that the notice means is constituted by a speaker, the user is notified about the fact by voice or buzzer sound. Hereby, the user can grasp the part-replacement time of the tool or the oil filling time thereof by the notice of the notice means before each part of the tool enters the endurance time. 
     Here, the maintenance in the invention includes the entire work of maintenance, check, management, and repair of a tool, such as overhaul performed when the tool reaches the specified actual driving number or the specified current-carrying time, or an oil-filling work of an air motor. 
     An information processing unit according to the invention including a detection means which detects maintenance information used in determination of maintenance time of a tool body, a tool control means which determines, based on a comparison result between the maintenance information detected by the detection means and basic maintenance information set in advance, whether the tool body is into the maintenance time or not, and a notice means of notifying, in case that the tool control means has determined that the tool body is into the maintenance time, a user that the tool body is into the maintenance time, in which the notice means acquires the maintenance information from a tool constituted by a light emitting means which emits the maintenance information as a light emission signal, is characterized by including a light receiving means which receives the light emission signal emitted from the light emitting means, an information processing control means which decodes the light emission signal received by the light receiving signal and generates an image signal based on the maintenance information, and a display means which displays on a screen the maintenance information based on the image signal generated by the information processing control means. 
     A tool according to the invention, in which specific information of a tool body is managed by an information processing unit, includes a communication part which performs communication with the information processing unit, a control part which obtains the specific information of the tool body inputted through the communication part from the information processing unit, and a storage part which stores the specific information of the tool body obtained by the control part; and is characterized in that the specific information is read out by the information processing unit through the communication part from the storage part of the tool body. 
     In the invention, the specific information of the tool inputted from the information processing unit is stored in the storage part of the tool. The specific information of the tool includes, for example, a customer number of a customer who owns the tool, a customer name, a purchase date of the tool, repair information of the tool, and usage information of the tool. The specific information stored in the storage part of the tool, for example, by causing a reading unit such as the information processing unit to read out the specific information from the storage part of the tool through the communication part of the tool, can be displayed on, for example, a screen of a display part. 
     A terminal unit according to the invention, which is a terminal unit for managing specific information of a tool, is characterized by including a first communication part for performing communication with the tool, a control part which reads out the specific information through the first communication part from a storage part of the tool, and a display part which displays the specific information read out by the control part. 
     In the invention, the specific information of the tool is read out through the first communication part of the terminal unit from the storage part of the tool, and displaced in the display part. Therefore, in standard of a data transmission path of an information processing unit such as a general personal computer, it was difficult to connect the information processing unit to a tool (control substrate of a tool). However, according to the terminal unit of the invention, it is possible to connect the terminal unit directly to the tool. Further, by providing a second communication part, it is possible to connect the information processing unit through the terminal unit to the tool. Namely, the terminal unit can function also as a relay device. 
     A management system according to the invention, in which specific information of a tool is managed by an information processing unit, is characterized in that: a tool includes a communication part which performs communication with an information processing unit and another information processing unit, a control part which obtains the specific information of the tool inputted through the communication part from the information processing unit and/or another information processing unit, and a storage part which stores the specific information of the tool obtained by the control part; and the information processing unit includes a communication part which performs communication with the tool, a control part which reads out the specific information of the tool through the communication part from the storage part of the tool, and a storage part having a database which stores the specific information of the tool read out by the control part. 
     In the invention, the specific information of the tool inputted from the information processing unit is stored in the storage part of the tool. The specific information of the tool includes, for example, a customer number of a customer who owns the tool, a customer name, a purchase date of the tool, repair information of the tool, and usage information of the tool. The specific information stored in the storage part of the tool can be displayed on, for example, a screen of a display part, for example, by causing a reading unit such as the information processing unit to read out the specific information from the storage part of the tool through the communication part. 
     In the database of the information processing unit, the specific information of the tool read out through the communication part from the storage part of the tool is stored. The specific information stored in the database can be displayed, for example, in a display part provided for the information processing unit. Hereby, an administrator can obtain the specific information of the tool from the database displayed on the screen of the display part. 
     Other features and advantage of the invention will be appear in description of embodiments and attached claims. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
       [ FIG. 1 ] It is a diagram showing the configuration of a pneumatic tool according to a first embodiment of the invention. 
       [ FIG. 2 ] It is a perspective view showing the configuration of a control substrate. 
       [ FIG. 3 ] It is a diagram showing the block configuration of the pneumatic tool. 
       [ FIG. 4 ] It is a first flowchart showing an example of the operation of the pneumatic tool. 
       [ FIG. 5 ] It is a second flowchart showing an example of the operation of the pneumatic tool. 
       [ FIG. 6 ] It is a third flowchart showing an example of the operation of the pneumatic tool. 
       [ FIG. 7 ] It is a diagram showing the configuration of an information processing unit according to a second embodiment of the invention. 
       [ FIG. 8 ] It is a diagram showing the block configuration of the information processing unit. 
       [ FIG. 9 ]  FIGS. 9(A) to 9(D)  are diagrams showing the configuration of blinking signals emitted from a light emitting part. 
       [ FIG. 10 ]  FIGS. 10(A) and 10(B)  are diagrams showing a using example of the information processing unit. 
       [ FIG. 11 ] It is a diagram showing the configuration of a pneumatic tool according to a third embodiment of the invention. 
       [ FIG. 12 ] It is a first flowchart showing an example of the operation of a power tool. 
       [ FIG. 13 ] It is a second flowchart showing an example of the operation of the power tool. 
       [ FIG. 14 ] It is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of time measuring processing of a motor. 
       [ FIG. 15 ] It is a diagram showing a configuration example of a management system according to a fourth embodiment of the invention. 
       [ FIG. 16 ] It is a diagram showing a configuration example of a pneumatic tool according to a fourth embodiment. 
       [ FIG. 17 ] It is a perspective view showing a configuration example of a control substrate according to the fourth embodiment. 
       [ FIG. 18 ] It is a diagram showing a block configuration example of the pneumatic tool according to the fourth embodiment. 
       [ FIG. 19 ] It is a diagram showing a configuration example of a terminal unit according to the fourth embodiment. 
       [ FIG. 20 ] It is a diagram showing a block configuration example of the terminal unit according to the fourth embodiment. 
       [ FIG. 21 ] It is a diagram showing a block configuration example of an information processing unit according to the fourth embodiment. 
       [ FIG. 22 ] It is a diagram showing a configuration example of a database according to the fourth embodiment. 
       [ FIG. 23 ] It is a diagram showing a configuration example of connection among the control substrate, the terminal unit and the information processing unit according to the fourth embodiment. 
       [ FIG. 24 ] It is a flowchart showing an operational example of the management system according to the fourth embodiment. 
       [ FIG. 25 ] It is a flowchart showing an operational example of a control part in the pneumatic tool according to the fourth embodiment. 
       [ FIG. 26 ] It is a diagram showing a block configuration example of a power tool according to a fifth embodiment. 
     
    
    
     MODE FOR CARRYING OUT INVENTION 
     Embodiments of the invention will be described below with reference to  FIGS. 1 to 26   
     Embodiment 1 
     &lt;Configuration of Pneumatic Tool&gt; 
       FIG. 1  is a diagram showing a configuration example of a pneumatic tool  10 A according to a first embodiment of the invention. The pneumatic tool  10 A includes a tool body  12  and a control substrate  50 A. The tool body  12  includes a not-shown driving mechanism, a nose part  24 , a contact part  26 , and a not-shown screw-fastening mechanism. The driving mechanism includes a driving cylinder, a driving piston provided slidably in the driving cylinder, and a driver bit coupled integrally to the driving piston. As shown in  FIG. 1 , when a trigger  16  is operated, compressed air is supplied into the driving cylinder from an air chamber  20  which stores the compressed air therein, and the driver bit performs a driving operation. The air chamber  20  is formed inside a grip part  18 . 
     The nose part  24  has an ejection port for ejecting a screw (fastener) to a member to be screwed. A contact part  26  functions a safety unit. The contact part  26  is arranged slidably at the nose part  24 , and urged so as to protrude to the screw driving side. The contact part  26  is so constituted that the configuration of the trigger  16  becomes effective only when the contact part  26  is pressed against the member to be screwed. 
     The screw-fastening mechanism causes the driver bit to perform the fastening operation by means of power of an air motor. Namely, almost simultaneously with the operation start of the driving mechanism, a part of the compressed air which has flown from the air chamber  20  shown in  FIG. 1  is supplied to an air motor  22  thereby to rotate the driver bit around its axis. Then, by the rotating driver bit, a screw positioned in the ejection port is fastened into a not-shown member to be screwed (for example, plasterboard). 
     The tool body  12  includes a housing box  32 . The housing box  32  accommodates therein a control substrate  50 A which controls the maintenance time (part-replacing time) of the tool body  12 . The housing box  32  is provided at a space portion between a front upper portion of a magazine  30  and a front lower portion of the air motor  22 . 
       FIG. 2  shows a configuration example of the control substrate  50 A. The control substrate  50 A, as shown in  FIG. 2 , includes a substrate body  52 , a memory part  48 , a control part (tool control means)  54 , plural interfaces (outlet, hereinafter described as I/F)  68 , a cell  66 , a sensor part  64 , and a light emitting part  62 . An information processing unit  100  which is connected to the I/F  68  of the control substrate  50 A will be described later. 
     The substrate body  52  is a substrate made of a polyimide material, on which a not-shown wiring pattern has been formed. The substrate body  52  is arranged inside the housing box  32  (refer to  FIG. 1 ) of the tool body  12 . The I/F&#39;s  68  are provided at respective corner portions of a main surface  52   a  of the substrate body  52 . The control part  54  is constituted by a microcomputer, which counts the number of actual driving of the tool body  12  and determines the maintenance time of the tool body  12 . 
     The memory part  48  is an example of a storage means, which is composed of a nonvolatile semiconductor memory (for example, flash memory). In the memory part  48 , maintenance information of the tool body  12  is stored. The maintenance information includes data such as the accumulative actual-driving number of the pneumatic tool  10 A, the basic actual driving number which becomes the criterion when warning of the maintenance time is given, the basic oil-filling number which becomes the criterion when warning of the oil-filling time is given, a manufacture serial number of the pneumatic tool  10 A, and a manufacturing date and time. The memory part  48  may be integrally built in the control part  54 . 
     The cell  66  has the shape of a button and is arranged inside the tool body  12  (refer to  FIG. 1 ). To the cell  66 , one end of a lead wire  66   a  is connected, and the other end of the lead wire  66   a  is connected through the I/F  68  to the substrate body  52 . The cell  66 , only when actual driving of the tool body  12  has been detected by the sensor part  64 , supplies electric power to the control part  54 . Hereby, consumption of the cell  66  is reduced, and the replacing number of the cell  66  can be reduced. By using the cell  66 , weight-reduction of the pneumatic tool  10 A can be realized. 
     The sensor part  64  is an example of a detection means, which is composed of, for example, an impact sensor or an acceleration sensor. To the sensor part  64 , one end of a lead wire  64   a  is connected, and the other end of the lead wire  64   a  is connected through the I/F  68  to the substrate body  52 . The sensor part  64  is accommodated in the housing box  32  so that its flat portion  64   b  becomes vertical to a driving direction D (refer to  FIG. 1 ) of the tool body  12 . Hereby, the sensor part  64  can detect accurately the actual driving of the tool body  12 . Instead of using the above-mentioned sensor part  64 , attaching a sensor (switch) to the trigger  16 , the contact part  26  shown in  FIG. 1 , or a not-shown feed part may be adopted to detect the actual driving number of the tool body  12 . 
     The light emitting part  62 , which is an example of a notice means and a light emitting means, is composed of, for example, LED. The light emitting part  62  is attached in the lower position of the grip part  18  of the tool body  12  (on the upper surface portion of the air motor  22 ) (refer to  FIG. 1 ). To the light emitting part  62 , one end of a lead wire  62   a  is connected, and the other end of the lead wire  62   a  is connected through the I/F  68  to the substrate body  52 . Hereby, even in case that the pneumatic tool  10 A is used slantingly in any direction of a ceiling surface, a floor surface, and a mirror surface, the user can recognize visually light emission of the light emitting part  62  with ease. The light emitting part  62  can be attached also to another position than the above-mentioned position as long as the user can recognize visually the light emission in that position. 
     Next, the block configuration of the pneumatic tool  10 A including the control substrate  50 A will be described.  FIG. 3  shows the block diagram of the pneumatic tool  10 A. The sensor part  64  of the pneumatic tool  10 A, as shown in  FIG. 3 , detects the impact or the acceleration when the tool body  12  has performed the actual driving to generate detection signals, and supplies the generated detection signals to the control part  54  and the cell  66  respectively. The cell  66  generates the electric power based on the supplied detection signals and supplies the electric power to the control part  54 . 
     The control part  54  is composed of a Central Processing Unit (CPU)  56 , a Read Only Memory (ROM)  58  and a Random Access Memory (RAM)  60 . The ROM stores various programs for determining the maintenance time of the tool body  12 , and data necessary for processing. The RAM  60  is used mainly as an operation area of various processing. For example, the RAM  60  stores and holds temporarily the data obtained when the CPU  56  performs various processing. The CPU  56  executes the programs stored in the ROM  58  and performs control such as maintenance warning of the tool body  12  and management. 
     The control part  54 , after being actuated by the electric power supplied from the cell  66 , determines whether the detection signal supplied from the sensor part  64  indicates actual driving or non-actual driving. As a determining method, for example, a threshold (voltage value) is stored previously in the ROM  58 ; and in case that the detection signal is equal to or larger than the threshold upon comparison between this threshold and a value (voltage value) of the detection signal, it is determined that the detection signal indicates the actual driving. The determination may be performed based on length of continuous time of the detection signal. The control part  54  counts the detection signals judged to be actual driving; and in case that the counted accumulative actual-driving number exceeds the predetermined basic maintenance number, the control part  54  generates a control signal for causing the light emitting part  62  to emit the light and supplies the control signal to the light emitting part  62 . 
     The light emitting part  62 , based on the control signal supplied from the control part  54 , emits the light at the predetermined pattern, and warns the user that the tool body  12  is into the maintenance time. At this time, for example, in case that the light emitting part  62  warns the user of the oil-filling time, a blinking pattern may be made quick; and in case that the light emitting part  62  warns the user of the maintenance time such as overhaul, a blinking pattern may be made slower than the blinking pattern of the oil-filling time. Hereby, the user can recognize readily what the warning indicates. The warning means, in place of the light emitting part  62 , may be a speaker which outputs a voice or a buzzer sound. 
     In case that the maintenance information such as the actual driving number stored in the memory part  48  of the control substrate  50 A is read out by an information processing unit  100  described later, the control part  54  reads out the maintenance information stored in the memory part  48 , generates a transmission signal based on the read-out maintenance information, and supplies the transmission signal to the light emitting part  62 . 
     The light emitting part  62  converts the transmission signal supplied from the control part  54  into a blinking signal (light emission signal) using infrared rays and transmits (emits) the converted blinking signal. As the blinking signal, for example, a signal modulated by carrier frequency is used. 
     &lt;Operation of Pneumatic Tool&gt; 
     Next, an example of the operation of the control part  54  in case that warning of the maintenance time of the pneumatic tool  10 A is given will be described.  FIG. 4  is a flowchart showing the operation of the control part  54  in case that warning of the maintenance time of the pneumatic tool  10 A is given. 
     In a step S 10 , the control part  54  detects a detection signal supplied from the sensor part  64 . The control part  54  determines from a waveform of the detection signal supplied from the sensor part  64  whether the detection signal indicates actual driving or non-actual driving (idle driving). In the embodiment, the detection signal supplied from the sensor part  64  is taken as the actual driving. After detection of the detection signal, the control part  54  proceeds to a step S 20 . 
     In the step S 20 , the control part  54  updates the actual driving number stored previously in the memory part  48 . The control part  54 , when the detection signal has been supplied from the sensor part  64 , reads out the actual driving number from the memory part  48 , and adds +1 (increment) to the read-out actual driving number to update the actual driving number. The updated actual driving number is stored again in the memory part  48  as the accumulative actual driving number. The control part  54 , after updating the actual driving number, proceeds to a step S 30 . 
     In the step S 30 , the control part  54  compares the accumulative actual driving number with the previously set oil-filling number (basic maintenance information), and determines whether the accumulative actual driving number exceeds the oil-filling number or not. The control part  54  reads out the updated accumulative actual driving number and the previously stored oil-filling number (threshold) from the memory part  48 , and compares the accumulative actual driving number with the oil-filling number. In case that the oil-filling number is set, for example, to 2000 fasteners, the control part  54  determines whether the updated accumulative actual driving number exceeds 2000 fasteners or not. The control part  54 , in case that it has determined that the updated accumulative actual driving number exceeds 2000 fasteners, proceeds to a step S 32  shown in  FIG. 5 , and in case that it has determined that the updated accumulative actual driving number is below the oil-filling number, proceeds to a step S 40 . 
       FIG. 5  is a flowchart showing the operation of the control part  54  in case that warning of the oil-filling time is given. In the step S 32 , the control part  54  performs warning processing of warning the user that the oil filling operation is required. In the warning processing, the control part  54  supplies a control signal for light emission and blink to the light emitting part  62  and blinks the light emitting part  62  at the predetermined pattern. The time for which the light emitting part  62  is blinked can arbitrarily set. 
     In a step S 34 , the control part  54  compares “the accumulative actual driving number” with “the number of oil filling+ten times”, and determines whether “the accumulative actual driving number” exceeds “the number of oil filling+10 times” or not. Hereby, for only the time of “+10 times” since the accumulative actual driving number came to “the number of oil filling”, the light emitting part  62  blinks. Therefore, the user can notice surely the warning by the light emitting part  62  for this time. For example, in case that the number of oil filling is set to 2000 times, for the time till the accumulative actual driving number comes to 2010 times from 2000 times, the light emitting part  62  blinks. The accumulative actual driving number to be added is not limited to “+10 times”. For example, in case that the number of times larger than “+10 times” is added, for a long time since the accumulative actual driving number came to the specified oil-filling number, it is possible to alarm the user that the oil-filling operation is necessary. In case that it has determined that “the accumulative actual driving number” exceeds “the number of oil filling+10 times”, the control part  54  proceeds to a step S 36 . On the other hand, the control part  54 , in case that it has determined that “the accumulative actual driving number” is below “the number of oil filling+10 times”, returns to the step S 10  and detects again a detection signal. 
     In the step S 36 , the control part  54  updates a numerical value of the oil-filling number. The control part  54  reads out the oil-filling number from the memory part  48 , and in case that the oil-filling number is set to, for example, 2000 times, the control part  54  sets newly the oil-filling number to 4000 times which is double, and stores the updated oil-filling number in the memory part  48 . Hereby, when the accumulative actual driving number comes to 4000 times, the light emitting part  62  blinks again. The oil-filling number to be set newly may be set in consideration of aged deterioration so that the oil-filling number interval becomes short with increase of the accumulative actual driving number. The control part  54 , after updating the numerical value of the oil-filling number, proceeds to a step S 38 . 
     In the step S 38 , the control part  54  performs warning release processing. In the warning release processing, the control part  54 , after blinking the light emitting part  62  for only the predetermined time, stops the blinking light emission of the light emitting part  62 . After the light emission has stopped, the control part  54  returns to the step S 10 . 
     Turning to  FIG. 4 , in a step S 40 , the control part  54  compares the accumulative actual driving number with the previously set maintenance number (basic maintenance information), and determines whether the accumulative actual driving number exceeds the maintenance number or not. For example, in case the maintenance number is set to 200,000 times, the control part  54  determines whether the updated accumulative actual driving number exceeds 200,000 times or not. In case that the accumulative actual driving number has exceeded 200,000 times, the control part  54  proceeds to a step S 42  shown in  FIG. 6 . On the other hand, in case that the accumulative actual driving number is below 200,000 times, the control part  54  returns to the step S 10 , and detects again a detection signal. 
       FIG. 6  is a flowchart showing the operation of the control part  54  in case that warning of the maintenance time is given. The operation common to that in  FIG. 5  will be described with simplification. In the step S 42 , the control part  54  performs warning processing of warning the user that the overhaul operation is required. In the warning processing, the control part  54  supplies a control signal for light emission and blink to the light emitting part  62  and blinks the light emitting part  62  at the predetermined pattern. 
     In a step S 44 , the control part  54  compares “the accumulative actual driving number” with “the maintenance number+ten times”, and determines whether “the accumulative actual driving number” exceeds “the maintenance number+10 times” or not. Hereby, for only time of “+10 times” since the accumulative actual driving number came to “the maintenance number”, the light emitting part  62  blinks. Therefore, the user can notice surely the warning by the light emitting part  62  for this time. For example, in case that the maintenance number is set to 200,000 times, for time till the accumulative actual driving number comes to 200010 times from 200,000 times, the light emitting part  62  blinks. The control part  54 , in case that it has determined that “the accumulative actual driving number” exceeded “the maintenance number+10 times”, proceeds to a step S 46 . On the other hand, the control part  54 , in case that it has determined that “the accumulative actual driving number” is below “the maintenance number+10 times”, returns to the step S 10  and detects again a detection signal. 
     In the step S 46 , the control part  54  updates a numerical value of the maintenance number. The control part  54  reads out the maintenance number from the memory part  48 ; and in case that the maintenance number is set to, for example, 200,000 times, the control part  54  sets newly the maintenance number to 400,000 times which is double, and stores the updated maintenance number in the memory part  48 . Hereby, when the accumulative actual driving number comes to 400,000 times, the light emitting part  62  blinks again. The control part  54 , after updating the numerical value of the maintenance number, proceeds to a step S 48 . 
     In the step S 48 , the control part  54  performs warning release processing. In the warning release processing, the control part  54 , after blinking the light emitting part  62  for only the predetermined time, stops the blink of the light emitting part  62 . Upon completion of the warning release processing, the control part  54  returns to the step S 10  and detects a detection signal again. By such the operation of the control part  54 , the light emitting part  62  is blinked to give the warning when the accumulative actual driving number has come to the specified oil-filling number or maintenance number. Therefore, the user can grasp accurately the maintenance time. 
     As described above, according to the embodiment, when the accumulative actual number of the pneumatic tool  10 A has come to the previously set maintenance number or oil-filling time, the light emitting part  62  performs blinking light-emission, whereby it is warned that the pneumatic tool  10 A is into the maintenance time. Therefore, the user can grasp surely and accurately the maintenance time of the tool. Hereby, passing of the maintenance time can be prevented, and expansion of the parts-broken portion can be prevented by repairing the parts in advance. In result, the additional cost of the repair can be reduced. 
     Embodiment 2 
     Next, the configuration of an information processing unit  100  for reading out, from the control substrate  50 A of the above-mentioned pneumatic tool  10 A, the actual driving number of the pneumatic tool  10 A will be described. The configuration of the pneumatic tool  10 A which has been described in the above-mentioned first embodiment is omitted. 
     &lt;Configuration of Information Processing Unit&gt; 
     The configuration of the information processing unit  100  for reading out, from the control substrate  50 A of the pneumatic tool  10 A, the actual driving number of the pneumatic tool  10 A will be described.  FIG. 7  is a perspective view showing a configuration example of the information processing unit  100 . The information processing unit  100  includes a unit body  102  and a receiver  120 . The unit body  102  and the receiver  120  are electrically interconnected through a cable  126 . 
     The unit body  102  has a housing formed in the shape of a flat rectangular parallelepiped. On a housing surface, a display part  104  and an operational part  118  are provided. The display part  104  is composed of, for example, a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) or an Electro Luminescence (EL), and displays, on a screen, specific information of the pneumatic tool  10 A read out from the control substrate  50 A, such as the actual driving number of the pneumatic tool  10 A, a manufacture serial number, and a purchase date and time. 
     The operational part  118  includes a power button  106  which switches on/off a power source of the unit body  102 , a left-movement button  108  which moves a cursor in a left direction, a right-movement button  110  which moves a cursor in a right direction, a line-feed button  112  which moves a cursor on the screen to a new line, and a selection button  114  which selects a command. As an input unit, a touch panel in which a display part  104  and an operational part  118  are integrally combined may be used. 
     The receiver  120  has a light receiving part  124  and a cover member  122 . The light receiving part  124  is composed of, for example, a photodiode. To a back end portion of the light receiving part  124 , one end of the cable  126  is connected, and the other end of the cable  126  is detachably connected to the unit body  102  through a connector  128 . 
     The cover member  122  is used for removing influences by ambient light, and formed of such material as to prevent a signal from the outside from entering the receiver  120 . The cover member  122  is formed nearly in the shape of a bowl, and is attached to a base end portion of the light receiving part  124  so as to surround the peripheral portion of the light receiving part  124 . 
     Next, the block configuration of the information processing unit  100  will be described.  FIG. 8  shows the block configuration of the information processing unit  100 . To a bus  144 , the operational part  118 , a not-shown signal processing part  140 , a control part (information processing control means)  130  and the display part  104  are connected respectively. 
     The operational part  118  generates an operational signal based on user&#39;s button operation, and supplies the generated operational signal to the control part  130 . In the operational part  118 , for example, a command for displaying all the maintenance information stored in the pneumatic tool  10 A, a command for displaying a part of the maintenance information, for example, only the actual driving number, and a command for switching on/off the power source of the information processing unit  100  are inputted by the user. 
     The light receiving part  124  receives a blinking signal (refer to  FIG. 3 ) emitted from the light emitting part  62  on the pneumatic tool  10 A side, and converts the received blinking signal into an electric signal. The light receiving part  124  subjects the electric signal converted from the blinking signal to amplification processing, and supplies the amplified signal to the control part  130 . 
     The configuration of the blinking signal emitted from the light emitting part  62  will be described.  FIG. 9(A)  shows a configuration example of the blinking signal.  FIG. 9(B)  shows a configuration example of a start signal.  FIG. 9(C)  shows a configuration example of a data code.  FIG. 9(D)  shows a configuration example of an end signal. 
     The blinking signal, as shown in  FIG. 9(A) , includes a start signal, a data code, a checksum, and an end signal. The start signal is a marker indicating the start of the blinking signal. The start signal is greatly different from the data code in signal waveform, and constituted so as to be capable of being readily identified as a start signal. In the start signal, as shown in  FIG. 9(B) , the duty factor is set to 2:1. For example, the duty factor is set so that in a period of 8 ms, an ON-state continues, and thereafter in a period of 4 ms, an OFF-state continues. 
     The data code includes data such as the actual driving number of the pneumatic tool  10 A, and is composed of data of the first byte to the n-1th byte. In the data code, as shown in  FIG. 9(C) , in case of a “0” bit, the duty factor of ON/OFF is set to 1:1; and in case of a “1” bit, the duty factor of ON/OFF is set to 1:3. 
     The checksum is algorithm used in error detection of the data code, and is composed of a lower byte of the sum of the first byte to the n-1th byte. 
     The end signal is a marker indicating the end of the blinking signal. The end signal is greatly different from the data code in signal waveform, and constituted so as to be capable of being readily identified as an end signal. In the end signal, as shown in  FIG. 9(D) , the duty factor is set to 1:16 or more. For example, the duty factor is set so that in a period of 1 ms, an ON-state continues, and thereafter in a period of 16 ms or more, an OFF-state continues. 
     Turning to  FIG. 8 , the control part  130  includes a CPU  132 , a ROM  134 , and a RAM  136 . The control part  130  extracts a carrier frequency component of the blinking signal supplied from the light receiving part  124  to perform decoding processing, and generates an image signal based on the maintenance information. The control part  130  supplies the generated image signal to the display part  104 . 
     The control part  130  generates a control signal based on the operation signal supplied from the operational part  118 , and supplies the generated control signal to the display part  104  to perform various processing. For example, by controlling power ON/OFF of the information processing unit  100 , the control part  130  controls display of the maintenance information to be displayed on the screen of the display part  104 . 
     The display part  104  displays on the screen an image based on the image signal supplied from the CPU  132  of the control part  130 . On the screen of the display part  104 , the maintenance information of the pneumatic tool  10 A such as the accumulative actual driving number and a manufacture serial number read out from the memory part  48  of the tool body  12  is displayed. 
     &lt;Usage Example of Information Processing Unit&gt; 
     Next, a usage example of the information processing unit  100  will be described.  FIG. 10(A)  shows a usage example of the information processing unit  100 .  FIG. 10(B)  is an enlarged view of a main part S in  FIG. 10(A) . 
     As shown in  FIGS. 10(A) and 10(B) , in case that the accumulative actual driving number is read out from the pneumatic tool  10 A, firstly, the power button  106  of the unit body  102  is pushed to switch on the power supply of the information processing unit  100  (refer to  FIG. 8 ). Next, the cover member  122  of the receiver  120  is pressed against (or brought close to) the tool body  12  so as to surround the light emitting part  62  of the tool body  12 . After the cover member  122  of the receiver  120  has been pressed against the tool body  12 , a not-shown switch provided on the tool body  12  side is pushed on to blink the light emitting part  62  of the tool body  12 . Alternatively, the light emitting part  62  is blinked by an operation which cannot occur in the usual actual driving. For example, a fastener such as a screw or a nail is removed, the impact waveform in idle driving is recognized in the memory part  48  or the ROM  58 , and in case that the idle driving has been continuously produced several times, the light emitting part  62  is blinked. By such the operation, the accumulative actual driving number of the pneumatic tool  10 A is read out from the tool body  12 , and displayed in the display part  104  of the information processing unit  100 . 
     Heretofore, in case that the actual driving number and the like are read out from the pneumatic tool  10 A, since these information is stored in the storage unit of the tool body  12 , a method of confirming the information has been very difficult. Therefore, a method of connecting a jig through a wire to the substrate of the tool body  12  and acquiring the information from the substrate has been also proposed. However, in this case, since the body tool  12  must be disassembled to take out the substrate and then the wire of the jig must be connected to a connector on the substrate, the working is inefficient. 
     To the contrary, according to the embodiment, by utilizing the light emitting part  62  for giving a warning of the maintenance time of the tool body  12 , the maintenance information such as the actual driving number is emitted. Therefore, it is not necessary to disassemble the tool body  12  to take out the control substrate  50 A, and the working efficiency can be greatly improved. Hereby, for example, in sales activities of selling a tool to a customer, by bringing the information processing unit  100  to the customer and reading out the maintenance information such as the actual driving number from customer&#39;s tool, the tool-parts replacing time can be determined there, which can promote sales of tools. 
     Embodiment 3 
     Next, a case where a power tool  10 B is used in place of the above-mentioned pneumatic tool  10 A will be described. Components common to the pneumatic tool  10 A, the control substrate  50 A and the like which have been described in the first embodiment are denoted by the same symbols, and detailed description of them are omitted. 
     &lt;Configuration of Power Tool&gt; 
       FIG. 11  shows the block configuration of the power tool  10 B according to a third embodiment. The power tool  10 B includes a control substrate  50 B, a cell  66 , a light emitting part  62 , a sensor part  64 , a motor  70 , and a battery  72 . The control substrate  50 B includes a control part  54  configured by a CPU  56 , a ROM  58  and a RAM  60 ; a memory part  48 ; a timer part  142 ; and plural I/F&#39;s  68 . 
     The memory part  48  is composed of a nonvolatile semiconductor memory. In the memory part  48 , data such as the maintenance time, the number of actual driving, and the number of oil filling are stored. The data becomes a criterion for giving warning for the motor current-carrying time of the power tool  10 B and for the maintenance time of the power tool  10 B. 
     The motor  70  is connected through the I/F  68  to the control part  54 . The motor  70  supplies the control part  54  a drive signal generated when rotational drive of the motor  70  is started by the trigger operation. The motor  70  supplies the control part  54  a stop signal generated when the rotational drive of the motor  70  is stopped. The motor  54  supplies the timer part  142  control signals respectively based on the drive signal and the stop signal supplied from the motor  70 . 
     The timer part  142  counts the motor current-carrying time based on the control signals supplied from the control part  54 . The counted motor current-carrying time is added to the motor current-carrying time already stored in the memory part  48 , and stored again in the memory part  48 . Namely, in the memory part  48 , the accumulative motor current-carrying time is stored. 
     The battery  72  is connected through the I/F  68  to the control part  54  and the motor  70 . The control part  54  counts the replacement number of the battery  72  with the operation in the attachment time of the battery  72  to the power tool  10 B or in the detachment time of the battery  72  from the power tool  10 B as a trigger. 
     The motor  70  is incorporated in the inside of a not-shown housing of the power tool  10 B. When the trigger is pulled, the motor  70  is actuated, and a driver bit is rotated by the motor  70  through a rotational drive transmitting part, whereby the screw fastening operation is performed. 
     &lt;Operation of Power Tool&gt; 
     Next, an example of the operation in case that warning for the maintenance time of the power tool  10 B is given will be described.  FIG. 12  is a flowchart showing the operation of the power tool  10 B. 
     In a step  100 , the control part  54  detects the ON-operation of the motor. The control part  54  detects the ON-state of the motor based on the drive signal supplied from the motor  70 , and supplies a control signal based on the drive of the motor  70  to the timer part  142 . In a step S 110 , the timer part  142 , based on the control signal supplied from the control part  54 , starts to count the motor current-carrying time and the control part  54  proceeds to a step S 120 . 
     In the step S 120 , the control part  54  detects a detection signal based on actual driving of the power tool  10 B which has been supplied from the sensor part  64 , and proceeds to a step S 130 . In the step S 130 , the control part  54  updates the actual driving number previously stored in the memory part  48 . Upon completion of the update of the actual driving number, the control part proceeds to a step S 140 . In the step S 140 , the control part  54  updates the motor current-carrying time. The detailed operation of this processing will be described later. 
     In a step S 150 , the control part  54  compares the accumulative actual driving number with the previously set oil-filling number, and determines whether the accumulative actual driving number exceeds the oil-filling number or not. In case that the control part  54  had determined that the accumulative actual driving number exceeds the oil-filling number, the control part  54  performs processing in the steps S 32  to S 38  shown in  FIG. 5 . On the other hand, in case that the control part  54  had determined that the accumulative actual driving number is below the oil-filling number, the control part  54  proceeds to a step S 160 . 
     In the step S 160 , the control part  54  compares the accumulative actual driving number with the previously set maintenance number, and determines whether the accumulative actual driving number exceeds the oil-filling number or not. In case that the accumulative actual driving number has exceeded the maintenance number, the control part  54  performs processing in the steps S 42  to S 48  shown in  FIG. 6 . On the other hand, in case that the accumulative actual driving number is below the maintenance number, the control part  54  proceeds to a step S 170 . 
     In the step S 170 , the control part  54  compares the motor current-carrying time with the previously set maintenance time, and determines whether the motor current-carrying time exceeds the maintenance time or not. The control part  54  reads out the updated motor current-carrying time and the previously stored maintenance time (threshold) from the memory part  48 , and compares the motor current-carrying time with the maintenance time. The control part  54 , in case that it has determined that the motor current-carrying time exceeds the maintenance time, proceeds to a step S 172  shown in  FIG. 13 , and, in case that it has determined that the motor current-carrying time is below the maintenance time, returns to the step S 100 . 
       FIG. 13  is a flowchart showing the operation of the power tool  10 B in case that warning of the maintenance time is given. In the step S 172 , the control part  54 , in case that it has determined that the motor current-carrying time exceeds the maintenance time, performs warning processing of warning the user that the maintenance operation is required. In the warning processing, the control part  54  supplies a control signal for light emission and blink to the light emitting part  62  and blinks the light emitting part  62  at the predetermined pattern. 
     In a step S 174 , the control part  54  compares “the motor current-carrying time” with “the maintenance time+ten times”, and determines whether “the motor current-carrying time” exceeds “the maintenance time+10 times” or not. Hereby, for only the time of “+10 times” since the motor current-carrying time came to “the maintenance time”, the light emitting part  62  blinks. Therefore, the user can notice surely the warning by the light emitting part  62  for this time. The control part  54 , in case that it has determined that “the motor current-carrying time” exceeds “the maintenance time+10 times”, proceeds to a step S 176 . On the other hand, the control part  54 , in case that it has determined that “the motor current-carrying time” is below “the maintenance time+10 times”, returns to the step S 100 . 
     In the step S 176 , the control part  54  updates a numerical value of the maintenance time. The control part  54 , after updating the numerical value of the maintenance time, proceeds to a step S 178 . 
     In the step S 178 , the control part  54  performs warning release processing. In the warning release processing, the control part  54 , after blinking the light emitting part  62  for only the predetermined time, stops the blink of the light emitting part  62 . Upon completion of the warning release processing, the control part  54  returns to the step S 100 . By such the operation of the control part  54 , the light emitting part  62  is blinked to give the warning when the motor current-carrying time has come to the specified maintenance time. Therefore, the user can grasp accurately the maintenance time. 
       FIG. 14  is a flowchart showing the detailed operations in the above-mentioned steps S 110  and S 140 . In a step S 200 , the timer part  142 , when detecting power-application to the motor, adds a motor current-carrying time M_time. In a step S 210 , the control part  54  determines whether or not the added motor current-carrying time M_time passes the predetermined update time, that is,  60  seconds in this example. 
     In a step S 220 , the control part  54 , in case that it has determined that the motor current-carrying time M_time passes the predetermined update time, reads out a motor total current-carrying time Total_M_time from the memory part  48 . The control part  54  makes an addition to the motor total current-carrying time Total_M time in a step S 230 , and updates the motor total current-carrying time Total_M_time stored in the memory part  48  in a step S 240 . 
     As described above, according to the third embodiment, similarly to the case in the first embodiment, when the accumulative actual number of the power tool  10 B has come to the previously set maintenance number or oil-filling time, or when the motor current-carrying time has come to the maintenance time, the light emitting part  62  performs blinking light-emission, whereby it is warned that the power tool  10 B is into the maintenance time. Therefore, the user can grasp surely and accurately the maintenance time of the tool. Hereby, passing of the maintenance time can be prevented, and expansion of the parts broken portion can be prevented by repairing the parts in advance. 
     Embodiment 4 
     &lt;Configuration of Management System&gt; 
       FIG. 15  shows the configuration of a management system  300  according to fourth embodiment of the invention. The management system  300  manages specific information of a pneumatic tool  10 C by terminal units  152 ,  156 ,  162  and  192 , and host devices  158 ,  164  and  194  respectively set in a factory  150 , a store  154 , a sales center  160  and a repair center  190 . 
     The terminal units  152 ,  156 ,  162  and  192  read out specific information from a control substrate  50 C of the pneumatic tool  10 C and display its information. Alternatively, the terminal units  152 ,  156 ,  162  and  192  write specific information into the control substrate  50 C of the pneumatic tool  10 C by the input operation. The terminal units  152 ,  156 ,  162  and  192  function also as relay terminals when communication is performed between the pneumatic tool  10 C and the host devices  158 ,  164  and  194 . 
     The host devices  158 ,  164  and  194 , which show an example of an information processing unit, read out specific information from the pneumatic tool  10 C thereby to store its information in databases  159 ,  165  and  195 , or write specific information into the pneumatic tool  10 C. 
     In the factory  150 , the terminal unit  152  is installed. The terminal unit  152  stores, in the control substrate  50 C (storage part) of the pneumatic tool  10 C, a specific manufacture serial number assigned to the pneumatic tool  10 C manufactured in the factory. 
     In the store  154 , the terminal unit  156  and the host device  158  are installed. The terminal unit  156  stores a purchase date of the pneumatic tool  10 C and the like in the control substrate  50 C of the pneumatic tool  10 C. The host device  158 , which is connected to the terminal unit  156 , stores the specific information such as the purchase date supplied form the terminal unit  156  in the database  159 . 
     In the sales center  160 , the terminal unit  162  and the host device  164  are installed. In the terminal unit  162 , specific information relating to the pneumatic tool  10 C such as customer information acquired by a sales person is inputted. The host device  164 , which is connected to the terminal unit  162 , stores the specific information such as the customer information transmitted from the terminal unit  162  in the database  165 . 
     In the repair center  190 , the terminal unit  192  and the host device  194  are installed. The terminal unit  192  reads out, from the control substrate  50 C of the pneumatic tool  10 C delivered from the customer, usage information of the pneumatic tool  10 C and stores the read-out usage information in a storage part (refer to  FIG. 17 ). The terminal unit  192  stores repair information when the pneumatic tool  10 C has been repaired in the control substrate  50 C of the pneumatic tool  10 C. The host device  194 , which is connected to the terminal unit  192 , stores the specific information of the pneumatic tool  10 C such as the usage information transmitted from the terminal unit  192  in the database  195 . 
     The host device  164  of the sales center  160  and the host device  194  of the repair center  190  are interconnected through a network  220 , and they enable bidirectional communication of data such as the specific information stored in each database  165 ,  195 . 
     The terminal units  152 ,  156 ,  162  and  192  have respectively the same configuration, and the host devices  158 ,  164  and  194  have also the same configuration respectively. Therefore, in the following example, only the terminal unit  162  and the host device  164  in the sales center  160  will be described. 
     Since the pneumatic tool  10 C used in the management system  300  has the same configuration as the configuration of the pneumatic tool  10 C in the first embodiment, the description of the pneumatic tool  10 C is omitted. Further, since the control substrate  50 C provided for the pneumatic tool  10 C used in the fourth embodiment has also the same configuration as the configuration of the control substrate  50 A in the first embodiment, the description of the control substrate  50 C is omitted. 
     Next, the block configuration of the pneumatic tool  10 C provided with the control substrate  50 C will be described.  FIG. 18  shows the block configuration of the pneumatic tool  10 C. To a communication part  69 , the terminal unit  162  is connected. Since other configuration is the same as that of the pneumatic tool  10 C in the first embodiment, its description is omitted. 
     &lt;Configuration of Terminal Unit&gt; 
     Next, the configuration of the terminal unit  162  for reading out, from the control substrate  50 C of the above-mentioned pneumatic tool  10 C, specific information of the pneumatic tool  10 C will be described.  FIG. 19  is a perspective view showing a configuration example of the terminal unit  162 . Since the terminal unit  162  has the similar configuration to the configuration of the information processing unit  100  in the first embodiment, the description of common members is omitted. 
     Into a not-shown upper outlet of a unit body  102  of the terminal unit  162 , a connector  128  on one end side of a cable  126  is inserted, and a connector  127  on the other end thereof is connected to a communication part  69  of the not-shown control substrate  50 C. 
     Next, the block configuration of the terminal unit  162  will be described. FIG.  20  shows the block configuration of the terminal unit  162 . To a bus  137 , a control part  130 , an operational part  118 , a display part  104 , and communication parts  138  and  139  are connected respectively. To the communication part  139 , which is an example of a first communication part, the pneumatic tool  10 C is connected through the cable  126  (refer to  FIG. 23 ). To the communication part  138 , which is an example of a second communication part, the host device  164  is connected through a cable  230  (refer to  FIG. 23 ). 
     The operational part  118 , which is an input unit for inputting the specific information relating to the pneumatic tool  10 C, generates an operational signal based on the specific information inputted by user&#39;s operation, and supplies the generated operational signal to the control part  130 . 
     The control part  130  is composed of a CPU  132 , a ROM  134 , and a RAM  136 . The control part  130  supplies the specific information based on the operation signal supplied from the operational part  118  through the communication part  139  to a memory part  48  of the pneumatic tool  10 C. Further, the control part  130 , by an instruction from the operational part  118 , reads out the specific information from the memory part  48  of the pneumatic tool  10 C through the communication part  139 , and generates an image signal based on the read-out specific information to supply the image signal to the display part  104 . Further, the control part  130  supplies the specific information read out through the communication part  139  from the memory part  48  of the pneumatic tool  10 C through the communication part  138  to the host device  164 . 
     The display part  104  displays on a screen an image based on the image signal supplied from the control part  130 . On the screen, for example, the specific information of the pneumatic tool  10 C such as the accumulative actual driving number and a manufacture serial number is displayed. 
     &lt;Configuration of Host Device&gt; 
     Next, the block configuration of the host device  164  will be described.  FIG. 21  shows an example of the block configuration of the host device  164 . Since other host devices; the host device  158  in the store  154  and the host device  194  in the repair center  190  have the same configuration as the configuration of the host device  164  in the sales center  160 , the description of them is omitted. 
     The host device  164  is composed of, for example, a personal computer, and includes an operational part  178 , a display part  180 , a control part  166 , a storage part  182 , a communication part  174 , and a communication interface (communication I/F)  176 . 
     The operational part  178 , which is an input unit for inputting the specific information relating to the pneumatic tool  10 C, is composed of, for example, a mouse and a keyboard. The operational part  178  generates an operational signal based on the specific information inputted by user&#39;s operation, and supplies the generated operational signal to the control part  166 . 
     The display part  180  is composed of, for example, a liquid crystal display or an organic EL display. The display part  180  displays the database  165  read out from the storage part  182  by an instruction from the control part  166 , or displays various information such as image data transmitted through the network  220 . 
     The control part  166  is composed of a CPU  168 , a ROM  170  and a RAM  172 . The ROM  170  stores a program used by the CPU  168  and an arithmetic parameter. The RAM  172  stores and holds temporarily the data obtained when the CPU performs various processing, and is mainly used as a working area of the various processing. The CPU  168  executes the program stored in the ROM  170 . 
     The control part  166  supplies the specific information inputted by the operational part  178  through the communication part  174  and the terminal unit  162  to the memory part  48  of the pneumatic tool  10 C. Further, the control part  166  reads out the specific information through the communication part  174  from the memory part  48  of the pneumatic tool  10 C based on the operation signal from the operational part  178 , and supplies the read-out specific information to the memory part  182 . 
     The storage part  182  is composed of a semiconductor memory such as a Hard Disc Drive (HDD) or a flash memory, and includes the database  165  which stores therein the specific information of the pneumatic tool  10 C. The storage part  182  stores in the database  165 , by an instruction of the control part  80 , the specific information of the pneumatic tool  10 C read out from the memory part  48  of the pneumatic tool  10 C or from another host device  194 , and updates the specific information stored in the database  165  every time specific information is supplied. The configuration of the database  165  will be described later. 
     The communication part  174 , which is used for connecting, for example, the terminal unit  162  or another external peripheral equipment to the host device  164 , includes a connection terminal such as USB or IEEE1394. The communication part  174  may be configured by wireless communication such as Bluetooth® and 802.11 a/b/g. 
     The communication interface (communication I/F)  176  is composed of a communication device for connecting to the network  220 . The communication I/F  176  performs transmission and reception of various data such as the specific information of the pneumatic tool  10 C with, for example, the host device  194  in the repair center  190 . This communication I/F  176  corresponds to wire communication such as Ethernet® and wireless communication such as 802.11 a/b/g. 
       FIG. 22  is an example of the configuration of the database  165  stored in the host device  164 . In the database  165 , information such as a customer number  400 , a customer name  402 , a manufacture serial number  404 , a purchase date  406 , repair information  408  and tool usage information  416  are stored in connection with, for example, the customer number  400 . The repair information  408  includes a repair date  410 , repair contents  412  and a replacement part  414 . The tool usage information  416  includes the actual driving number  418 , motor current-carrying time  420  and the battery replacing number  422 . 
     The customer number  400  is a specific identification number assigned to a user who has purchased the pneumatic tool  10 C. The customer name  402  is a name of the user who has purchased the pneumatic tool  10 C. The manufacture serial number  404  is a specific identification number assigned to the purchased pneumatic tool  10 C. The purchase date  406  is the date when the user has purchased the pneumatic tool  10 C. 
     The repair date  410  is the date when the pneumatic tool  10 C has been delivered to the repair center  190  and repaired there. The repair contents  412  are processing contents in repair of the broken portion of the pneumatic tool  10 C. The replacement part  414  is a name of a part replaced in the repair. The actual driving number  418  is the accumulative actual driving number at which the pneumatic tool  10 C has actually driven fastener. The motor current-carrying time  420  is the time for which the motor is driving. The battery replacement number  422  is the number at which the battery has been replaced due to a breakdown. 
     &lt;Example of Connection Among Control Substrate, Terminal Unit and Host Device&gt; 
     Next, connection among the control substrate  50 C of the above-mentioned pneumatic tool  10 C, the terminal unit  162  and the host device  164  will be described.  FIG. 23  explains an example of configuration in connection among the control substrate  50 C of the pneumatic tool  10 C, the terminal unit  162  and the host device  164 . In  FIG. 23 , the tool body  12  of the pneumatic tool  10 C is omitted. 
     The terminal unit  162  is electrically connected to the control substrate  50 C of the pneumatic tool  10 C through the cable. The connector  127  on one end side of the cable  126  is connected to the communication part  69  of the control substrate  50 C, and the connector  128  on the other end side of the cable  126  is connected to the communication part  138  of the terminal unit  162 . 
     The terminal unit  162  is electrically connected to the host device  164  through the cable  230 . A connector  232  on one end side of the cable  230  is connected to the communication part  139  of the terminal unit  162 , and a connector  324  on the other end side of the cable  230  is connected to the communication part  174  of the host device  164 . 
     Thus, by using the terminal unit  162  as a relay equipment, it is possible connect the host device  164  to the pneumatic tool  10 C, and to read out the specific information from the memory part  48  of the pneumatic tool  10 C thereby to store the specific information in the database  165 . Further, in case that the terminal unit  162  is alone used in the sales destination, only the host device  164  should be connected to the pneumatic tool  10 C. 
     &lt;Operation of Management System&gt; 
       FIG. 24  is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the management system  300 . In a step S 300 , the terminal unit  152  in the factory  150  stores, in a memory part  48  of a control substrate  50 C before being mounted on a pneumatic tool  10 C, a manufacture serial number of the pneumatic tool  10 C. Thereafter, the control substrate  50 C is mounted on the pneumatic tool  10 C, and the pneumatic tool  10 C on which the control substrate  50 C has been mounted is delivered to the store  154 . 
     In a step S 310 , the terminal unit  156  of the store  154 , when the pneumatic tool  10 C is sold to a customer, stores a purchase date of the pneumatic tool  10 C and a customer number in the memory part  48  of the pneumatic tool  10 C. Further, the host device  158  reads out the manufacture serial number of the pneumatic tool  10 C from the memory part  48  of the pneumatic tool  10 C through the terminal unit  156  and stores the read-out manufacture serial number in the database  159 . 
     In a step S 320 , in the store  154 , a customer registration card in which a customer who has purchased the pneumatic tool  10 C has written data is sent to the sales center  160 . In the customer registration card, for example, a customer number of the customer who has purchased the pneumatic tool  10 C, and a purchase date of the pneumatic tool  10 C are described. In the sales center  160 , the customer number and purchase date described in the customer registration card sent from the store  154  are inputted in the host device  164  by operating the operational part  178 . The host device  164  stores the inputted customer number and purchase date in the database  165 . 
     In the step S 330 , in the sales center  160 , customer information relating to the customer which a sales person has acquired directly in a customer company or in a workplace is stored in the database  165  of the host device  164 . The customer information includes, for example, a customer company name and the number of workers in this company. 
     In a step S 340 , the breakdown portion of the pneumatic tool  10 C delivered to the repair center  190  is repaired. The terminal unit  192  and the host device  194  in the repair center  190  store, in the memory part  48  of the pneumatic tool  10 C, repair information of the pneumatic tool  10 C obtained by the repair, such as replacement parts. Simultaneously with this operation, the repair center  190  stores the repair information of the pneumatic tool  10 C in the database  195  of the repair center  190 . 
     In a step S 350 , the host device  194  of the repair center  190  reads out the tool usage information such as the actual driving number from the memory part  58  of the pneumatic tool  10 C which the repair center has been requested to repair. Thereafter, the host device  194  stores the read-out tool usage information in the database  195 . 
     In a step S 360 , the host device  194  of the repair center transmits the specific information such as the repair information stored in its own database  195  through the network  220  to the host device  164  of the sales center  160 . Namely, the host device  194  transmits to the host device  164  the specific information including the information which has not been registered in the database  165  of the host device  164  in the sales center  160 . The host device  164  of the sales center  160  stores in the database  165  the specific information such as the repair information transmitted from the host device  194  of the repair center. 
     In a step S 370 , the host device  164  of the sales center  160  transmits the specific information such as the tool usage information stored in its own database  165  through the network  220  to the host device  194  of the repair center  190 . Namely, the host device  164  transmits to the host device  194  the specific information including the information which has not been registered in the database  195  of the host device  194  in the repair center  190 . The host device  194  of the repair center  190  stores in the database  195  the specific information such as the tool usage information transmitted from the host device  164  of the sales center  160 . 
     Next, the operation of a control part  54  of the pneumatic tool  10 C will be described.  FIG. 25  is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the control part  54  of the pneumatic tool  10 C. In this embodiment, an example of the operation of writing the specific information into the pneumatic tool  10 C and reading out the specific information from the pneumatic tool  10 C by the host device  194  of the repair center  190  will be described. 
     In a step S 400 , the control part  54  determines whether the terminal unit  192  has been connected to the communication part  69  or not. This connection can be determined by whether the cable  126  has been connected to the communication part  69  or not. The control part  54 , in case that it has determined that the terminal unit  192  has been connected to the communication part  69 , proceeds to a step S 410 , and in case that it has determined that the terminal unit  192  has not been connected to the communication part  69 , waits till the terminal unit  192  is connected. 
     In a step S 410 , the control part  54  determines whether the specific information of the pneumatic tool  10 C has been transmitted from the terminal unit  192  or not. Namely, the control part  54  determines whether the terminal unit  192  has requested the memory part  48  to write the specific information or not. The specific information is read out from the database  195  of the host device  194 . As the specific information, for example, repair information obtained in repair is transmitted. The control part  54 , in case that it has determined that the specific information of the pneumatic tool  10 C has been supplied, proceeds to a step S 420 , and, in case that it has determined that the specific information of the pneumatic tool  10 C has not been supplied, proceeds to a step S 430 . 
     In the step S 420 , the control part  54  stores in the memory part  48  the specific information of the pneumatic tool  10 C supplied from the terminal unit  192 . For example, in case that the specific information is repair information, the control part  54  stores this repair information in the memory part  48 . 
     In the step S 430 , the control part  54  determines whether a control signal for reading out the specific information stored in the memory part  48  of the pneumatic tool  10 C has been transmitted from the terminal unit  192  or not. The host device  194  side can instruct the control part  54  to read out all the specific information stored in the memory part  48 , and also a part of the specific information. The control part  54 , in case that it has determined that the control signal has been supplied, proceeds to a step S 440 , and in case that it has determined that the control signal has not been supplied, waits for other instructions. 
     In the step S 440 , the control part  54  reads out the specific information from the memory part  48  based on the control signal from the terminal unit  192  and transmits the read-out information through the communication part  69  to the terminal unit  192 . The terminal unit  192  receives the specific information through the communication part  139 , and supplies the received specific information to the host device  194  connected to the terminal unit  192 . The host device  194  stores the specific information supplied from the terminal unit  192  in the database  165 . 
     Thus, by the terminal unit  192  and the host device  194 , the specific information can be written into the memory part  48  of the pneumatic tool  10 C, or the specific information can be read out from the memory part  48  of the pneumatic tool  10 C. Naturally, also by only the terminal unit  192 , the specific information can be written into the memory part  48  of the pneumatic tool  10 C, or the specific information can be read out from the memory part  48 . For example, in case that the sales person gets away from the sales center  160  because of sales, since the terminal unit  192  can be readily carried, the terminal unit  192  can be appropriately used. Further, by the operation shown in  FIG. 25 , also from the host device  158  of the store  154  or the host device  164  of the sales center  160 , the specific information can be written into the memory part  48  of the pneumatic tool  10 C, or the specific information can be read out from the memory part  48  from the pneumatic tool  10 C. 
     As described above, according to the embodiment, for example, by reading out the specific information such as the customer number, the customer name, and the manufacture serial number from the pneumatic tool  10 C sent to the repair center  190  for repair, the owner of the pneumatic tool  10 C can be grasped. Therefore, in case that this pneumatic tool  10 C has been provided as theft information for some time, since whether the pneumatic tool  10 C is a stolen tool or not can be determined from the read-out specific information, an effect of preventing the theft can be obtained. 
     Further, by bringing the terminal unit  152 ,  156 ,  162  or  192  to the customer and reading the specific information such as the tool usage information and the purchase date directly from customer&#39;s pneumatic tool  10 C, the sales person can give speedily warning of the repair time or the replacement purchase time of a pneumatic tool  10 C. This speedy warning can promote the sale of a pneumatic tool  10 C, and enables customer-oriented aftercare and sales activity. Further, from the database  165  of the sales center  160 , the sales person can browse the repair information of the pneumatic tool  10 C which the customer owns and the tool usage information thereof. Hereby, also from the sales center  160 , the sale of a pneumatic tool  10 C can be guided for the customer by means of a telephone or a letter, which enables sales promotion of the pneumatic tool  10 C. 
     Since the host device  164  of the sales center  160  and the host device  194  of the repair center  194  are interconnected through the network  220 , they have the newest specific information of the pneumatic tool  10 C in common. 
     Embodiment 5 
     Next, a case where a power tool  10 D is used in place of the above-mention pneumatic tool  10 C will be described. Regarding components common to those in the power tool  10 B described in the above-mentioned second embodiment, the detailed description is omitted. 
     To a control part  54 , a terminal unit  162  is connected through a communication part  69 , and specific information relating to the power tool  10 B inputted from the terminal unit  162  or a host device  164  connected to this terminal unit  162  is supplied. The control part  54 , based on an instruction from the terminal unit  162 , reads out the specific information from a memory part  48 , and supplies the read-out specific information through the communication part  69  to the terminal unit  162  or the host device  164  connected to this terminal unit  162 . 
     The memory part  48  is composed of a nonvolatile semiconductor memory, and stores, by an instruction from the control part  54 , therein the specific information relating to the power tool  10 B inputted from the terminal unit  162  or the host device  164  connected to this terminal unit  162 . Further, in the memory part  48 , the specific information is stored, such as the motor current-carrying time of the power tool  10 B, the replacement number of a buttery  72 , a manufacture serial number of a tool body  12 , a customer number of a customer who has purchased the tool body  12 , a purchase date, and repair information. 
     As described above, according to the embodiment, the operational advantage similar to that in the above fourth embodiment can be obtained. Namely, since the specific information of the power tool  10 D can be acquired from the power tool  10 D and each database  159 ,  165 ,  195 , notice of the repair time of the power tool  10 D and sales promotion are enabled, and further an antitheft inhibitory effect can be obtained. 
     A technical range of the invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, and includes various modifications added to the above embodiments without departing from the scope of the invention. 
     In the above fourth and fifth embodiments, thought the terminal unit  152 ,  156 ,  162 ,  192  is connected through the cable  126  to the control substrate  50 C,  50 D, the invention is not limited to this. For example, by providing wireless communication parts respectively for the control substrate  50 C,  50 D and the terminal unit  152 ,  156 ,  162 ,  192 , the control substrate  50 C,  50 D and the terminal unit  152 ,  156 ,  162 ,  192  can be also interconnected by wireless communication. Further, by providing light emitting elements and light receiving elements respectively for the terminal unit  152 ,  156 ,  162 ,  192 , the pneumatic tool  10 C, and the power tool  10 D, converting the specific information into a blinking signal to make light emission at the light emitting element, and receiving this blinking signal by the light receiving element, the specific information can be also transmitted and received between the terminal unit and the pneumatic tool  10 C or the power tool  10 D. 
     While the invention has been described in detail and with reference to specific embodiments thereof, it would be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit and the scope of the invention. 
     The invention is based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2008-132313, filed on May 20, 2008 and Japanese Patent Application No. 2008-132314, filed on May 20, 2008, the entire contents of which are herein incorporated by reference. 
     INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY  
     The invention can be applied to a tool capable of acquiring readily the maintenance time and specific information.