Systems and methods for monitoring maintenance intervals

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9947208-B2
Application number	US-201615099696-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 15, 2016
Priority date	Apr 15, 2016
Publication date	Apr 17, 2018
Grant date	Apr 17, 2018

Abstract

A system for monitoring maintenance for manufacturing apparatuses in a facility is provided. The system includes at least one manufacturing apparatus, the manufacturing apparatus including an RF identification tag and a module, and a control system. The control system is configured to receive, from the module, operational status information that indicates time periods during which the manufacturing apparatus is in operation, determine a cumulative time duration of operation for the manufacturing apparatus, retrieve a predetermined maintenance interval for the manufacturing apparatus, determine whether the cumulative time duration of operation exceeds the predetermined maintenance interval, and in response to a determination that the cumulative time duration of operation exceeds the predetermined maintenance interval, i) output a signal that causes the manufacturing apparatus to discontinue operation, and ii) cause instructions for completing a required maintenance procedure to be displayed on a display device in communication with the control system.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A system for monitoring maintenance for manufacturing apparatuses in a facility, the system comprising:
at least one manufacturing apparatus, the manufacturing apparatus including an RF identification tag and a machine status transmitter operable to communicate information about when the manufacturing apparatus is in operation; and
a control system in communication with the RF identification tag and module, wherein the control system is configured to:
receive, from the machine status transmitter, operational status information that indicates time periods during which the manufacturing apparatus is in operation;
determine a cumulative time duration of operation for the manufacturing apparatus based on the operational status information;
retrieve a predetermined maintenance interval for the manufacturing apparatus;
determine whether the cumulative time duration of operation exceeds the predetermined maintenance interval; and
in response to a determination that the cumulative time duration of operation exceeds the predetermined maintenance interval, i) output a signal that causes the manufacturing apparatus to discontinue operation, and ii) cause instructions for completing a required maintenance procedure for the manufacturing apparatus to be displayed on a display device in communication with the control system.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the machine status transmitter is further configured to communicate malfunction information to the control system indicating that the manufacturing apparatus is malfunctioning.

3. The system of claim 2 , wherein the control system is configured to:
determine, based on the malfunction information, that the manufacturing apparatus is malfunctioning;
determine whether the manufacturing apparatus is currently in use; and
in response to a determination that the manufacturing apparatus is currently in use, transmit a power down signal to the manufacturing apparatus that causes the manufacturing apparatus to power down.

4. The system of claim 3 , wherein the control system is configured to:
retrieve troubleshooting and repair information in response to the determination that the manufacturing apparatus is malfunctioning; and
cause the troubleshooting and repair information to be displayed on the display device.

5. The system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one manufacturing apparatus comprises a plurality of manufacturing apparatuses.

6. The system of claim 1 , further comprising an RF receiver configured to:
receive a radio signal from the RF identification tag; and
determine a location of the manufacturing apparatus within the facility based on the received radio signal.

7. The system of claim 6 , wherein the control system is further configured to:
receive the determined location from the RF receiver; and
cause the determined location to be displayed on the display device.

8. A method for monitoring maintenance for manufacturing apparatuses in a facility, the method comprising:
communicating information from a module of at least one manufacturing apparatus to a control system, the manufacturing apparatus including the module and an RF identification tag;
receiving from the module, at the control system, operational status information that indicates time periods during which the manufacturing apparatus is in operation;
determining, at the control system, a cumulative time duration of operation based on the operational status information;
retrieving, at the control system, a predetermined maintenance interval for the manufacturing apparatus;
determining, at the control system, whether the cumulative time duration of operation exceeds the predetermined maintenance interval; and
outputting from the control system, in response to a determination that the cumulative time duration of operation exceeds the predetermined maintenance interval, a signal that causes the manufacturing apparatus to discontinue operation.

9. The method of claim 8 , further comprising generating at the control system, in response to the determination that the cumulative time duration of operation exceeds the predetermined maintenance interval, an output that causes a display device in communication with the control system to display instructions for completing a required maintenance procedure for the manufacturing apparatus.

10. The method of claim 9 , further comprising performing the required maintenance procedure for the manufacturing apparatus.

11. The method of claim 8 , further comprising receiving from the module, at the control system, malfunction information indicating that the manufacturing apparatus is malfunctioning.

12. The method of claim 11 , further comprising:
determining whether the manufacturing apparatus is currently in use; and
transmitting, in response to a determination that the manufacturing apparatus is currently in use, a power down signal to the manufacturing apparatus that causes the manufacturing apparatus to power down.

13. The method of claim 12 , further comprising:
retrieving troubleshooting and repair information in response to the determination that the manufacturing apparatus is malfunctioning; and
causing the troubleshooting and repair information to be displayed on a display device.

14. The method of claim 8 , wherein communicating information from a module of at least one manufacturing apparatus to a control system comprises communicating information from a plurality of manufacturing apparatuses to the control system.

15. The method of claim 8 , further comprising:
receiving, an at RF receiver, a radio signal from the RF identification tag; and
determining a location of the manufacturing apparatus within the facility based on the received radio signal.

16. The method of claim 15 , further comprising:
receiving, at the control system, the determined location from the RF receiver; and
causing the determined location to be displayed on the display device.

17. A control system for monitoring maintenance for manufacturing apparatuses in a facility, the control system comprising:
a memory device; and
a processor communicatively coupled to the memory device, the processor configured to:
receive, from a module of at least one manufacturing apparatus, operational status information that indicates time periods during which the manufacturing apparatus is in operation;
determine a cumulative time duration of operation for the manufacturing apparatus based on the operational status information;
retrieve a predetermined maintenance interval for the manufacturing apparatus;
determine whether the cumulative time duration of operation exceeds the predetermined maintenance interval; and
in response to a determination that the cumulative time duration of operation exceeds the predetermined maintenance interval, i) output a signal that causes the manufacturing apparatus to discontinue operation, and ii) cause instructions for completing a required maintenance procedure for the manufacturing apparatus to be displayed on a display device in communication with the control system.

18. The control system of claim 17 , wherein the processor is further configured to receive malfunction information from the module, the malfunction information indicating that the manufacturing apparatus is malfunctioning.

19. The control system of claim 18 , wherein the processor is further configured to:
determine, based on the malfunction information, that the manufacturing apparatus is malfunctioning;
determine whether the manufacturing apparatus is cu

Assignees

• Boeing Co

Inventors

• Fulton Jonathan A
• Pinion Andrew J
• Loubier Whitney Michelle
• Pistorius Matthew
• Mathew Shibin
• Mi Wei
• Bodenmiller Benjamin Q

Classifications

• G05B23/0283

  Predictive maintenance, e.g. involving the monitoring of a system and, based on the monitoring results, taking decisions on the maintenance schedule of the monitored system; Estimating remaining useful life [RUL] (preventive maintenance, i.e. planning maintenance according to the available resources without monitoring the system G06Q10/06) · CPC title

• B64F5/00

  Designing, manufacturing, assembling, cleaning, maintaining or repairing aircraft, not otherwise provided for; Handling, transporting, testing or inspecting aircraft components, not otherwise provided for · CPC title

• G06Q10/10

  Office automation; Time management · CPC title

• G05B2219/32234

  Maintenance planning · CPC title

• G08B21/182

  Level alarms, e.g. alarms responsive to variables exceeding a threshold · CPC title