Patent ID: 7032130

Claim:
A method of performing maintenance/management on a maintenance/management-subjected machine with the aid of maintenance/management control equipment by way of an information network, said maintenance/management-subjected machine being comprised of a main machinery section, a first maintenance/management processing unit and a second maintenance/management processing unit which are connected to said information network and have first and second logical addresses, respectively, on said information network, a first power supply unit and a second power supply unit for independently feeding electric power to said first maintenance/management processing unit and said second maintenance/management processing unit, respectively, and a power supply control unit for controlling said first power supply unit and said second power supply unit, said method comprising: a step in which said second maintenance/management processing unit is placed in a standby state and is in said standby state during a time in which said first maintenance/management processing unit is executing maintenance/management processing for said main machinery section on a basis of commands of said maintenance/management control equipment; a step in which said power supply control unit checks an operation of said first maintenance/management processing unit; a step in which said power supply control unit stops feeding of electric power to said first maintenance/management processing unit and starts feeding of electric power to said second maintenance/management processing unit in a case where said power supply control unit detects an abnormality of said first maintenance/management processing unit through said operation check; and a step in which, after said power supply unit starts the feeding of electric power to said second maintenance/management power unit, said second maintenance/management processing unit ends the standby state and takes over maintenance/management processing for said main machinery section from said first maintenance/management processing unit by rewriting said second logical address assigned to said second maintenance/management processing unit to said first logical address assigned to said first maintenance/management processing unit, said first and second logical addresses being common addresses for said first and second maintenance/management processing units.