Source: http://www.google.com/patents/US7047142?dq=7493558
Timestamp: 2015-05-26 14:10:21
Document Index: 619685580

Matched Legal Cases: ['art 201', 'art 202', 'art 204', 'art 201', 'art 202', 'art 204', 'art 104', 'art 104', 'art 201', 'art 104', 'art 104', 'art 104', 'art 201', 'art 106', 'art 106', 'art 103', 'art 104', 'art 105', 'art 104']

Patent US7047142 - Monitoring apparatus and monitoring object apparatus - Google PatentsSearch Images Maps Play YouTube News Gmail Drive More »Sign inAdvanced Patent SearchPatentsA monitoring system for monitoring the state of a monitoring object apparatus so as to detect a foretoken of failure. A host computer (100) of a manufacturer/dealer of a clinical check apparatus (200) receives state data of respective parts from parts sensors (203 a , 203 b, . . .) of the clinical check...http://www.google.com/patents/US7047142?utm_source=gb-gplus-sharePatent US7047142 - Monitoring apparatus and monitoring object apparatusAdvanced Patent SearchPublication numberUS7047142 B2Publication typeGrantApplication numberUS 10/468,657PCT numberPCT/JP2002/001641Publication dateMay 16, 2006Filing dateFeb 25, 2002Priority dateFeb 23, 2001Fee statusPaidAlso published asCN1279448C, CN1502035A, EP1382942A1, EP1382942A4, US20050033527, WO2002066933A1Publication number10468657, 468657, PCT/2002/1641, PCT/JP/2/001641, PCT/JP/2/01641, PCT/JP/2002/001641, PCT/JP/2002/01641, PCT/JP2/001641, PCT/JP2/01641, PCT/JP2001641, PCT/JP2002/001641, PCT/JP2002/01641, PCT/JP2002001641, PCT/JP200201641, PCT/JP201641, US 7047142 B2, US 7047142B2, US-B2-7047142, US7047142 B2, US7047142B2InventorsAtsushi Wada, Toshihiko HaradaOriginal AssigneeArkray, Inc.Export CitationBiBTeX, EndNote, RefManPatent Citations (18), Referenced by (1), Classifications (13), Legal Events (3) External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, EspacenetMonitoring apparatus and monitoring object apparatus
US 7047142 B2Abstract
A monitoring system for monitoring the state of a monitoring object apparatus so as to detect a foretoken of failure. A host computer (100) of a manufacturer/dealer of a clinical check apparatus (200) receives state data of respective parts from parts sensors (203 a , 203 b, . . .) of the clinical check apparatus (200) of a user and the received state data is compared to a prediction condition stored in a condition storage block (104) in a state monitoring block (105), thereby detecting a foretoken of failure. The prediction condition includes a condition created in accordance with service life of each of the parts and a condition created upon occurrence of a failure in accordance with transition of the state data prior to the occurrence of the failure.
The present invention relates to a system in which a monitoring device remotely monitors various devices to be monitored through a communication network so as to predict a failure or the like of each of the monitored devices.
Generally, with respect to various testing devices including clinical testing devices, machine tools or automobiles, or various types of other devices requiring precise operations, manufacturers/dealers of such devices, after delivery of the devices, continuously perform maintenance so that performance of the devices is maintained and safety is secured. Particularly, the occurrence of a failure in a device may hinder an operator of the device from performing a smooth operation or also may cause safety hazards to the operator. Therefore, with a view to improving customer satisfaction, suppressing an increase in maintenance cost and securing safety, it has been of great importance to perform a periodic check of a device and advance replacement of a consumable component and the like so as to prevent a failure from being caused.
With the foregoing in mind, it is an object of the present invention to provide a monitoring system that allows a maintenance check to be performed at an appropriate time with respect to a monitored device by monitoring the state of the device through a communication network so as to detect an indication of an abnormality, thereby allowing the device to achieve a higher normal operating ratio and the suppression of an increase in maintenance cost.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram schematically showing a configuration of a monitoring system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 6 is a cross sectional view taken on line X—X of FIG. 4.
In this embodiment, an “error” refers to an operational abnormality attributable mainly to an operational error by a user or the like and does not require repair or the like to be made on the device itself. For example, an “error” is a phenomenon in which a measurement is terminated because no test paper to be used for the measurement has been set. This case does not require repair or the like because an operation returns to normal once the test paper is set by the user. On the other hand, “trouble” refers to an operational abnormality attributable to an abnormality caused in the device and is a phenomenon that requires repair, replacement of a component and the like. The host computer 100 as the monitoring device is to predict the trouble.
As shown in FIG. 1, the clinical testing device 200 includes a communication part 201, a controlling part 202, component sensors 203 a–203 b and the like, and a displaying part 204. In FIG. 1, for the sake of simplification, with respect to the clinical testing device 200, only a block of a control system relevant to the prediction of an abnormality is shown. However, for example, any functional block for achieving the intended purpose of the clinical testing device 200 can be provided.
The communication part 201 transmits such data and the like as described above to and receives the same from the host computer 100 through the communication network 300. The controlling part 202 controls operations of the respective parts of the clinical testing device 200 according to a predetermined program. The component sensors 203 a–203 b and the like are sensors that are attached respectively to at least components with the possibility of leading to an operational abnormality among constituent components of the clinical testing device 200. The component sensors 203 a–203 b and the like produce outputs in the form of status data representing a status of each of the at least components. The displaying part 204 displays on a screen, in addition to a message to a user as a prompt and contents of an operation manual transmitted from the host computer 100, a message notifying a user of an error, trouble and the like.
As an initial value of a condition for prediction, a condition based on life data of each component or the like is set in the condition storing part 104. For example, with respect to the status data from the syringe pump that is obtained as described above in Item (1), it is set as an initial value of the condition for prediction that “the number of times of use reaches 10,000”. Further, with respect to the status data from the air pump that is obtained as described in Item (2), for example, it is set as such an initial value that “the operation time reaches 5,000 hours”. With respect to the status data from the drainage passage that is obtained as described in Item (3), for example, it is set as such an initial value that “a decrease in pressure in the passage is less than 60 kPa after an elapse of 5 seconds from the start of pump driving”. With respect to the status data from the light source lamp for measurement that is obtained as described in Item (4) , it is set as such an initial value that “a light amount of the lamp becomes not more than 70% of an initial value”. With respect to the status data from the sample rack conveying part that is obtained as described in Item (5) , it is set as such an initial value that “a friction becomes not less than a certain value (N)”.
Furthermore, in the condition storing part 104, a situation handling method also is stored in relation to each of these conditions for prevention. For example, regarding the case where the above-mentioned condition for prediction for the syringe pump with respect to Item (1) is met, “greasing the syringe” and “replacing an O-ring” are stored as the situation handling methods. Further, regarding the case where the condition for prediction for the air pump with respect to Item (2) is met, “replacing the pump” is stored as such a situation handling method. Regarding the case where the condition for prediction for the drainage passage with respect to Item (3) is met, “clearing clogging inside the passage, or confirming a deterioration in the ability of the pump so as to replace the pump if necessary” is stored as such a situation handling method. Regarding the case where the condition for prediction for the light source lamp with respect to Item (4) is met, “replacing the lamp” is stored as such a situation handling method. Regarding the case where the condition for prediction for the sample rack conveying part with respect to Item (5) is met, “cleaning a portion in which friction is caused” is stored as such a situation handling method.
When breaking is caused in the light source lamp, the component sensor 203 for the lamp detects the occurrence of trouble, i.e. “breaking in the light source lamp” and outputs a trouble signal allotted beforehand to this type of trouble. This trouble signal is transmitted to the host computer 100 through the communication part 201 and the communication network 300.
For example, in the status data shown in FIG. 2, the light amount of the lamp as the status data is decreased gradually after the start of lamp use. However, as can be seen from the figure, the light amount exhibits a tendency that turns toward an increase before the breaking is caused in the lamp. Therefore, as a new condition for prediction, it is added in the condition storing part 104 that “the light amount of the lamp is increased”. Thus, after this, with respect to the light amount of the lamp as the status data of the light source lamp, when either of the condition that “the light amount of the lamp becomes not more than 70% of the initial value” and the condition that “the light amount of the lamp is increased” is met, a message for making an alarm or the like is issued.
Furthermore, for example, in the case where the light amount of the lamp has a change pattern as shown in FIG. 3, as can be seen from the figure, the light amount is unstable before the breaking is caused in the lamp. Therefore, in this case, for example, it may be newly added as a condition for prediction in the condition storing part 104 that “the change rate of the light amount of the lamp deviates from a predetermined range”.
Furthermore, with respect to the above-mentioned syringe pump, for example, in the case where an abnormality was caused in vertical driving of the syringe before the condition for prediction set initially was met, namely before the number of times of use reached 10,000, an analysis was made, with respect to the pulse motor driving the syringe to move vertically, on the numbers of driving pulses obtained respectively when the syringe moved upwardly and when the syringe moved downwardly. As a result, it was revealed that a deviation of 4 pulses or more was generated right before a point in time at which the abnormality was caused. In this case, it should be added as a new condition for prediction in the condition storing part 104 that “the difference between the numbers of driving pulses obtained respectively when the syringe of the pulse motor moves upwardly and when the syringe moves downwardly becomes 4 or more”.
FIG. 5 is an enlarged perspective view showing the rotor 4 and the periphery thereof shown in FIG. 4. FIG. 6 is a cross sectional view taken on line X—X of FIG. 4. As shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, the rotor 4 is formed so as to have an external column-like shape that is longer than wide as a whole and constituted schematically of an outer peripheral portion 4 a, a rotary shaft 4 b and spoke members 4 c. The outer peripheral portion 4 a is formed so as to have a cylindrical shape that is longer than wide and a dimension in a longitudinal direction that corresponds substantially to a longitudinal length of a test strip. While being positioned at a center inside the outer peripheral portion 4 a, the rotary shaft 4 b is coupled to an inner side face 4 aa of the outer peripheral portion 4 a through the spoke members 4 c. Each end portion of this rotary shaft 4 b is inserted into a through hole provided at a predetermined portion of each of the supporting members 3 a and 3 b. The rotor 4 is set so as to be rotatable while being supported by the shaft between the supporting members 3 a and 3 b. Meanwhile, concave portions 4 d in the form of a plurality of lines of deep grooves are formed on an outer side face 4 ab of the outer peripheral portion 4 a so as to make a round along a rotational direction. Further, a groove portion 4 e that is longer than wide is formed on the outer side face 4 ab so that one test strip can be fit in the groove portion 4 e along a longitudinal direction orthogonal to the rotational direction.
In this case, in order to remove the stuck test strip, as described above, the driving portion 10 once drives the rotor 4 back to the initial position and restarts a rotational operation. The component sensor 203 provided in the driving portion 10 outputs to the host computer 100, as status data, the number of times (number of trials) this operation is performed until one test strip is ejected to the inclined passage 12. In the case where it is not detected that the rotor 4 has rotated to the judging position even when this operation is repeated a predetermined number of times (for example, 50 times), a trouble signal representing the occurrence of “test paper jamming” is output from the component sensor 203 of the driving portion 10 and transmitted to the host computer 100 through the communication part 201 and the communication network 300.
Herein, it is assumed that the abnormality analyzing part 106 extracted as status data obtained right before a point in time at which an abnormality was caused, for example, status data obtained in 100 times of measurements performed during a time preceding a point in time at which “test strip jamming” was caused (namely, the number of trials that had been performed so as to take out 100 test strips). A change pattern of the status data is shown in FIG. 7. Further, the abnormality analyzing part 106 extracts from the data storing part 103, status data obtained with 100 measurements performed during a time further preceding the 100 measurements as data at a normal status for comparison with the status data obtained right before the abnormality was caused. A change pattern of this data at the normal status is shown in FIG. 8.
As can be seen by the comparison between FIG. 7 and FIG. 8, in a normal status (FIG. 8), the number of trials performed until one test strip is removed is 3 to 4 on the average, while right before a point in time at which an abnormality was caused (FIG. 7), the number of trials is increased abruptly to 6 to 10 on the average. Therefore, for example, it is added as a new condition for prediction to the condition storing part 104 that “the average of the number of trials becomes 9 or higher”. Thus, after this, the status monitoring part 105 monitors the number of trials as status data based on this condition for prediction, thereby allowing an indication of the occurrence of test strip jamming to be detected.
Therefore, it is added further as a new condition for prediction to the condition storing part 104 that “the number of feed pulses of the pulse motor becomes not less than 550 pulses”, thereby allowing an indication of the occurrence of test strip jamming to be detected more accurately.
Right before the occurrence of test strip jamming, the number of trials performed is increased or the number of feed pulses of a pulse motor is increased because of the following reason. That is, dust generated from a test strip is stuck to a surface of the rotor 4, the groove portion 4 e or the like, so that it becomes more likely that a test strip is stuck between the rotor 4 and the partitioning plate 6 e and the rotational friction resistance of the rotor 4 is increased. Thus, preferably, in the case where an indication of the occurrence of test strip jamming is detected, a message for giving a direction to “clean the rotor and the groove portion” is transmitted as a situation handling method from the host computer 100 to the clinical testing device 200. This configuration allows a user of the clinical testing device 200 to take a proper action when there is an indication of the occurrence of test strip jamming, thereby allowing the actual occurrence of trouble, i.e. test strip jamming to be prevented.
As described in the foregoing discussion, according to the present invention, a state of a monitored device is monitored remotely so that an indication of an abnormality is detected, and thus a monitoring system can be provided in which a maintenance check can be performed at an appropriate time, thereby allowing a monitored device to achieve a higher normal operating ratio and the suppression of an increase in maintenance cost.
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