JP3748638B2 - Inspection system using mobile communication - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an inspection system for performing vibration / acoustic inspection and gas leak inspection performed for maintenance and inspection of plant facilities and the like with the assistance of a center computer located at a remote place.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In the conventional typical vibration / acoustic inspection and gas leak inspection in plant facilities, etc., as a preparatory work before inspection, the inspection method including the reference value for each inspection point and the previous measurement value are transferred from the inspection record book, The inspection route is also determined while checking the inspection location on the equipment layout. At the actual inspection stage, the inspection location is measured using a measuring instrument in accordance with the prescribed inspection procedure posted on the check sheet, and the measured value is entered on the check sheet and compared with the reference value to determine normality / abnormality. I do. If it is determined that there is an abnormality, contact the central management center using local wireless or local telephone and request countermeasures. When all the planned inspection points have been measured, return to the management center and, as a post-operation after the inspection, transfer the measured values to the trend management graph while checking the check sheet on which the measured values are entered. Observe the change over time in the measured values.
In addition, in the leak inspection of gas etc. at the construction site, gas is first detected before the start of construction, and then gas detection is performed at appropriate intervals at a plurality of locations on the construction site during construction.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In the conventional inspection system described above, information is exchanged with the central management center when there is a heavy burden on workers due to the large number of transcription work in the pre-inspection work, the main inspection, and the post-inspection work, and even when an abnormality occurs. Problems such as the need for reliability and quickness of cooperation at the time have not been sufficiently solved.
The vibration / acoustic data of the equipment having a rotating device is important data indicating the state of the equipment, and it is desirable to observe vibration / acoustic data at all times for particularly important equipment. Conventionally, only a limited number of facilities are installed with specific loops to monitor vibration / acoustic data, and it is impossible to monitor the status of many facilities and devices. It can be said that there was. This vibration / acoustic data can be used as effective data for maintenance only by an expert who has accumulated experience and has high specialized knowledge. Usually, the number of experts is as small as 1-2 people in each factory. Therefore, it is impossible to diagnose the state of the facilities scattered at a distance in a short time.
[0004]
Further, in the gas leak inspection at the construction site, when the range of the construction site is large, the burden on the worker spent for periodically detecting the gas is very large, and a lot of human resources are required. There is also a need for faster and more reliable collaboration with the central management center in the event of a gas leak.
The purpose of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems of the conventional inspection system, reduce the burden on maintenance inspection workers, and to receive high-density support from the center computer through quick cooperation with the central management center. Is to provide a system.
[0005]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, an inspection system according to the present invention includes a measurement unit that measures a physical quantity of an object to be inspected, and a mobile communication terminal as a communication unit of the measurement unit, and is connected via a mobile communication line. There line bidirectional communication between the measuring means and the remote inspection support system, said measuring means comprises a sensor and a controller, wherein the controller inputs the measurement data from the sensor Normal / abnormal judgment is performed and abnormal measurement data is sent to the inspection support system via a mobile communication line, and the diagnosis result of the abnormal measurement data performed by the inspection support system is sent via the mobile communication line. receive.
[0006]
In the above configuration, the measurement means that measures physical quantities such as vibration, sound, pressure, temperature, and phenomena such as gas leaks is equipped with a mobile communication function, so it is necessary when measuring inspection points by a circulating maintenance inspection worker. If necessary, it can be connected to the inspection support system consisting of the center computer of the central management center via a mobile communication line at any time, and bidirectional information can be transmitted. Therefore, the measurement means and the inspection support system must be linked online at the time of inspection. Can do. If the measuring instrument is equipped with an intelligent function, the inspection method including the reference value for each inspection location as preparatory work before inspection can be downloaded from the center computer or read from the check sheet master book. Work becomes easy. Moreover, since the data transferred to the inspection support system can be electronically retrieved after returning to the management center as necessary, post-inspection work is also simplified. For example, after inspection data stored in the inspection support system is processed by spreadsheet software or project management software, the post-inspection work of maintenance inspection workers can be simplified.
In addition, the controller has an intelligent function that automatically transfers the measurement data to the inspection support system when the measurement data sent from the sensor is determined to be abnormal, allowing further analysis and evaluation by the inspection support system. . As a result, reliable normal / abnormal determination that is impossible only in the field can be performed substantially in real time. In this case, further, if the controller can receive the diagnosis result of the abnormal measurement data performed by the inspection support system via the PHS line, the on-site maintenance inspection operator can perform the operation based on the reliable diagnosis result. Maintenance inspection can be carried out on the spot. At that time, if necessary, it is also possible to access the inspection database constituting the inspection support system and extract the history data of the target inspection location.
[0007]
In the present invention, it is particularly proposed to adopt a PHS (Personal Handyphone System) line as a suitable mobile communication line. In PHS, data of 32 kbps (kilobits / second) can be transmitted and received digitally between a PHS terminal and a base station, and a private line connected to the base station is also completely digital by using a high-speed digital line. Data communication can be performed between the center computer and the PHS terminal, and as a result, the measuring means, and high-speed data transfer and high reliability can be obtained. In addition, since the transmission output of the PHS terminal is small (about 10 milliwatts), the burden on the battery is small and the weight can be reduced. . The small transmission output of the PHS terminal has an advantage with respect to the problem of radio interference in the plant office. Of course, if the transmission output of the PHS terminal is small, the coverage area of one base station is small. However, in the office, the installation location of the base station can be selected virtually arbitrarily. The base stations can be arranged with the most effective distribution, and the installation cost of the PHS base station is lower than that of other mobile communications. In addition, if the PHS terminal is provided with a function for switching between the office line and the public line, it is possible to connect to the center computer of the management center through a nearby base station even at the construction site from the operator. .
[0008]
As a preferred embodiment of the present invention when PHS is adopted as mobile communication, an infrared interface (an optical communication interface standardized by the Infra-red Data Association, hereinafter also referred to as IrDA) is used. For example, the use at the plant facility or gas construction site is more advantageous than the use of an interface such as RS232C that uses a relatively high voltage.
[0009]
As another preferred embodiment of the present invention, if the PHS terminal and the measurement means are connected by a PC card interface, the PHS terminal and the measurement means need not be connected by a cable as in the above-described infrared interface. Further, it is possible to provide advanced control processing functions such as automatic incoming call and automatic outgoing call, and it is possible to freely send data to the measuring means from the center computer side without the operator operating the PHS terminal. Further, if the PHS terminal and the measuring means are integrated, there is an advantage in portability as a device that is carried for inspection work.
[0010]
Furthermore, as a preferred example of the overall embodiment of the inspection system according to the present invention, a PHS line connecting a PHS terminal and the center computer is connected to a plurality of base stations distributed in the office and this base station. The PHS control device relays between the base station and the private branch exchange for telephone voice communication and between the base station and the network including the center computer for data communication. A relayer is proposed. In this system, supplementary information can be transmitted by voice communication with the management center through the PHS terminal, and data communication with all devices connected on the network can be performed. For example, by using voice communication and data communication with experts who are familiar with a certain loop checkpoint through the network, it is possible to give appropriate expertise to maintenance workers who work on site where an abnormality has occurred. It becomes.
[0012]
Depending on the physical quantity to be inspected, the measurement data capacity may be too large for data communication via the PHS line. In such a case, as a preferred controller embodiment of the present invention, there is one which divides and quantizes the measurement data from the sensor, and sequentially sends the quantized divided measurement data to the inspection support system via the PHS line. . The inspection support system integrates the received divided measurement data, restores the original measurement data, and uses it for inspection diagnosis. For example, since the acoustic data and the like are required in the frequency range of 10 to 20 kHz, the measured acoustic data is divided into several frequency regions using several types of bandpass filters, and each divided. By quantizing the acoustic data and sequentially sending it out, the traffic on the PHS line can be smoothed.
[0013]
As another preferred embodiment according to the present invention, the measuring means comprises a sensor and a controller for sending the measurement data from the sensor to the inspection support system via the PHS line, and whether the measurement data is normal / abnormal in the inspection support system. In some cases, the determination is performed and the determination result is received by the controller via the PHS line. In this configuration, the controller simply processes the measurement data from the sensor so as to be put on the PHS line, and the structure can be made compact. In particular, the controller is temporarily distributed around a construction site or the like. It is suitable as a typical stationary gas detector.
In the inspection system according to the present invention, if the PHS terminal is provided with an automatic incoming / outgoing function, an unattended monitoring system implemented at an arbitrary sampling interval is realized.
[0014]
In summary, in the inspection system according to the present invention, an expert on the state diagnosis of a rotating device selects equipment at an arbitrary point through the center computer, judges the sound of the equipment by hearing, and vibrates / By selecting the acoustic data, the vibration / acoustic data indicating the state of the equipment can be acquired, an appropriate judgment can be made promptly, and a processing command can be given to a maintenance and inspection worker on site. Such a system is called CBM (Condition Based Maintenance), which is an advanced maintenance technique that is more advanced than conventional periodic maintenance and failure maintenance. The inspection system according to the present invention realizes this CBM. is there.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of embodiments of the present invention using the drawings.
[0015]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
A block diagram showing an embodiment of an inspection system using mobile communication according to the present invention is shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 1, an inspection support centered on a center computer 11 connected to a local computer network (hereinafter simply referred to as an in-house LAN = Local Area Network) 10 constructed in a central management center 1 of a plant facility. The system 5 and the inspected object 100 of the plant equipment can be connected to the measuring means 2 via the PHS line 3 so that bidirectional communication is possible. For this reason, the PHS terminal 30 can be connected to the measuring means 2 via an infrared interface (for example, an IrDA interface).
[0016]
The measuring means 2 includes a plurality of sensors 4 and a controller 20 that inputs measurement signals from the sensors 4. In this embodiment, the measuring means 2 measures vibration. As shown in FIG. 2, the controller 20 includes a switching unit 21 that electronically selects measurement signals sent from the plurality of vibration sensors 4, and an amplification unit 22 that amplifies the signal output from the switching unit 21. And an evaluation unit 23 that compares the amplified signal with a predetermined threshold for evaluation, and a display unit 24 that displays a measurement signal and an evaluation result. Further, the controller 20 includes an A / D conversion unit 25 that quantizes the measurement signal with a predetermined number of samplings and digitally converts the vibration data determined to be abnormal by the evaluation unit to the inspection support system 5; In order to send the converted measurement signal and the data of the target inspection point to the PHS terminal 30, an input / output unit 26 is provided for processing based on the IrDA standard. An optical communication port 27 based on the IrDA standard is provided at the tip of the input / output unit 25. The switching unit 21, the amplification unit 22, the evaluation unit 23, the display unit 24, the A / D conversion unit 25, and the input / output unit 26 described above are connected to a control unit 28 that centrally controls them. The control unit 28 is configured with a CPU that creates various functions by a program as a core. The controller 20 employs a well-known technique as a vibration measuring device. However, the block diagram shown in FIG. 2 is shown by taking out the elements related to the description of the present invention as a center. It does not show a block diagram of a simple vibration measuring device.
[0017]
The control unit 28 displays the data sent from the inspection support system 5 via the PHS line 3 on the display unit 24, or responds to the input of the tag number of the target inspection point in accordance with the value of the inspection point. For example, the threshold value of the evaluation unit 23 is set. The tag number of each inspection point and the measurement mode data such as measurement range and threshold value linked to the tag number are stored in a storage device such as a memory card or non-volatile memory, and writing to this storage device is managed. It can be performed directly from the inspection support system 5 in the center 1 or via the PHS line 3 as necessary.
[0018]
The PHS terminal 30 that functions as a communication unit of the portable information terminal 20 is set with the controller 20 and carried by a maintenance inspection worker. During the measurement work or during the measurement work specification, the PHS terminal 30 is connected to the center computer 11 via the PHS line 3 and is in a two-way data communication state, and is connected to the controller 20 via the infrared interface. Connected. When an abnormal measurement signal is detected by the evaluation unit 23 of the controller 20, an alarm is notified from the display unit 24 and at the same time, the measurement signal is sent to the center computer 11 of the inspection support system 5.
[0019]
The inspection support system 5 further includes various servers such as an inspection database server 12, a failure diagnosis server 13, and a document server 14 connected via an in-house LAN 10, and a client terminal for an inspector, and is sent from the controller 20. The measurement signal indicating abnormal vibration is diagnosed and the diagnosis result is sent to the controller 20. Furthermore, it is possible to send history data of the corresponding inspection point from the inspection database server 12 or the document server 14 in response to a request from the controller 20. Although not shown in the figure, this in-house LAN 10 is also connected to an in-house LAN in another area via an ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network) line, forming a company wide WAN (Wide Area Network). ing.
[0020]
In-house LAN 10 is further connected to PHS control device 31 via router 6 for connection of inspection support system 5 and controller 20 via PHS line 3. The PHS control device 31 is connected to the base station 32 constituting the PHS line 3 via the private digital line 33 and also to the private telephone exchange 7. In other words, if the signal sent from the PHS terminal 30 via the base station 32 and the private digital line 33 is a telephone voice, the PHS control device 31 switches to the private branch exchange 7 and the sent signal is used for data communication. If so, switch to the in-house LAN 10. In any case, a signal sent from the private branch exchange 7 or the in-house LAN 10 is sent to the destination PHS terminal 30 via the base station 32. Since the service area of the base station 32 is several hundred meters, the base stations 32 are distributed in order to cover all inspection points. Since the private branch exchange 7 is connected to the public line and the in-house telephone network, the PHS terminal 30 can also make a call with an outside line telephone or an in-house telephone.
[0021]
The inspection system configured as described above operates as follows. That is, before entering the inspection tour, the maintenance inspection worker uses his client terminal 15 to access the inspection database server 12 and the document server 14 to transfer the inspection check sheet and other necessary data to the controller 20. Or loaded directly into the controller 20. Thereby, the trouble of creating the inspection check sheet is greatly reduced.
[0022]
A maintenance worker who arrives at the inspection object 100 to be inspected attaches the vibration sensor 4 to the inspection object 100. Usually, the vibration sensor 4 is mounted at least at a position where the vibration in the x-axis direction can be detected, a position where the vibration in the y-axis direction can be detected, and a position where the vibration in the y-axis direction can be detected. The abnormality check based on vibration measurement and the cause investigation at the time of abnormality are made accurate. When the tag number of the inspection object 100 is input to the controller 20, the control unit 28 sets the measurement range and the threshold used by the evaluation unit 23 based on the input tag number. Of course, these settings may be made manually. When the measurement operation is started, the measurement value is displayed on the display unit 24. If the measurement value exceeds the threshold value and is regarded as abnormal data, the measurement value is converted to the A / D converter 25. The data is sent to the PHS terminal 30 via the input / output unit 26 and the optical communication port 27, and finally reaches the center computer 11 via the PHS line 3.
[0023]
In the inspection support system 5, failure diagnosis is performed using various servers as necessary by the operation of the main routine activated in the center computer 11, and the diagnosis result is transmitted from the center computer 11 via the PHS line 3 to the controller. Therefore, the on-site worker can know the cause of failure of the DUT 100 performing the measurement in almost real time. In the case of more complicated fault diagnosis, it is also possible to obtain a judgment from a fault diagnosis expert in the management center 1 and receive a processing command.
[0024]
Data regarding this failure diagnosis is stored in the inspection database 12. Furthermore, when the worker needs past inspection data and maintenance / inspection history of the object 100 to be inspected for maintenance / inspection work, the worker accesses the inspection database server 12 via the PHS line 3. Thus, necessary information can be extracted. In addition, it is also possible to call a specialist who is familiar with the object 100 to be inspected using the PHS terminal 30 and obtain necessary information.
A maintenance inspection worker who has completed a series of inspection operations returns to the management center 1 and uses his / her client terminal 15 to access the inspection database server 12 and the document server 14 to retrieve necessary data and documents, and to obtain an inspection report. Create
[0025]
In the above description, an infrared interface is used for connection between the PHS terminal 30 and the portable information terminal 20, but a PC card interface (for example, one specified by PCMCIA (Personal Computer Memory Card International Association)) is used instead. be able to. In this case, the CPU constituting the controller 20 can completely control the PHS terminal 30 as one of the external devices, and there is a way to further automate the inspection work in addition to performing automatic incoming call and automatic outgoing call. be opened.
[0026]
FIG. 3 shows a block diagram of a controller 20 configured for acoustic measurement. Of course, the sensor 4 is a microphone that detects sound, but the other elements are basically the same as the block diagram for vibration measurement shown in FIG. 2, and here, only the same number is assigned. Repeated useless explanation is omitted. However, a filter unit 29 is interposed between the evaluation unit 23 and the A / D converter 25. The acoustic signal used for failure diagnosis has a band of 10 to 20 kHz, and the transmission capacity of the PHS line 3 becomes large. Therefore, the measurement signal is converted into a plurality of frequency bands by the band pass filter provided in the filter unit 29. Divide and communicate data. Even in this case, a plurality of acoustic sensors 4 are prepared and arranged so that sounds from different directions can be measured simultaneously.
[0027]
In the above-described two vibration inspection and acoustic inspection embodiments, the controller 20 is provided with the evaluation unit 23 for determining normality / abnormality of the measurement value. However, the controller 20 directly outputs the measurement signal from the sensor 4 to the PHS. It can be configured to send to the inspection support system 5 via the line 3. In this case, it is convenient that the controller 20 and the PHS terminal 30 are integrated and provided with an automatic incoming / outgoing function, thereby realizing a stationary or temporary stationary remote control monitoring device. In particular, by using the sensor 4 as a gas detection sensor and appropriately arranging it in an area that requires monitoring, such as a construction site, an inspection system that performs gas leak monitoring at arbitrary time intervals by remote operation from a remote location is realized. .
[0028]
In any case, as is clear from the above description, in the inspection system according to the present invention configured as described above, the sensor 4 is connected to the center computer via the PHS line 3 capable of high-speed digital data communication (32 kbps). 11 is completely digitally connected, so that a real-time fault diagnosis system in which the inspection site and the inspection support system 5 of the management center 1 are connected online is constructed.
[0029]
In the above description of the embodiment of the present invention, vibration and sound are used as physical quantities of the object 100 to be inspected, and gas leakage is used as a monitoring event, but of course, inspection systems for other physical quantities and other monitoring events are naturally used. It falls within the framework of the present invention. That is, the sensor 4 of the measuring means 2 only needs to be able to grasp the situation at the site. In addition to the vibration sensor and microphone described above, a pressure sensor, a temperature sensor, a gas concentration sensor, an optical sensor, an ammeter, a voltmeter, etc. Can be used. Furthermore, if a digital camera or digital video is mounted as a sensor, the state of the inspection site can be sent to the management center 1 via the PHS line 3 as a still image or a moving image.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of an inspection system using mobile communication according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram for explaining a schematic configuration of a vibration measurement controller. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of an acoustic measurement controller. Block diagram for explanation [description of symbols]
2 Measuring means 3 Mobile communication means 5 Inspection support system 30 Mobile communication terminal

Claims (5)

A measuring means for measuring a physical quantity of an object to be inspected, and a mobile communication terminal as a communication unit of the measuring means, both between the measuring means and a remote inspection support system via a mobile communication line In an inspection system using mobile communication that transmits direction information ,
The measurement means includes a sensor and a controller, and the controller inputs measurement data from the sensor to perform normality / abnormality determination and sends abnormal measurement data to the inspection support via a mobile communication line. An inspection system using mobile communication, characterized in that a diagnosis result of the abnormal measurement data sent by the inspection support system is received via a mobile communication line. 2. The movement according to claim 1, wherein the controller divides and quantizes the measurement data from the sensor in the frequency domain, and sequentially sends the quantized divided measurement data to the inspection support system via the mobile communication line. Inspection system using body communication. The inspection system using mobile communication according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the mobile communication terminal has an automatic outgoing call and automatic incoming call function . The inspection system using mobile communication according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the mobile communication line is a PHS line . The PHS line to be connected to the P HS terminal the test support system includes a plurality of base stations distributed disposed workplace, the includes a PHS control device which is connected to the base station, the PHS control device 5. The mobile communication according to claim 4 , wherein the telephone voice communication is relayed between the base station and a private branch exchange, and the data communication is relayed between the base station and a network including the inspection support system. Inspection system using.

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