阅读说明：本技术 维护辅助方法和维护辅助用程序 (Maintenance support method and maintenance support program ) 是由 帆足正和 铃木裕 高西英知 南智也 于 2018-06-22 设计创作，主要内容包括：本发明的维护辅助方法包括：不良情况信息输入部(11)输入关于产品的不良情况信息的步骤；应对措施提取部(12)参照不良情况处理数据,提取与由不良情况信息确定的不良情况对应的应对措施的步骤；操作流程输出部(13)参照操作流程数据,提取通过应对措施提取部(12)提取的与应对措施对应的操作流程,输出对提取出的操作流程进行说明的操作流程信息的步骤。(The maintenance assisting method of the present invention includes: a step in which a failure information input unit (11) inputs failure information about a product; a step in which a countermeasure extraction unit (12) extracts countermeasures corresponding to the failure specified by the failure information, with reference to the failure processing data; and a step in which an operation flow output unit (13) extracts an operation flow corresponding to the countermeasure extracted by the countermeasure extraction unit (12) with reference to the operation flow data, and outputs operation flow information describing the extracted operation flow.)

1. A maintenance assistance method, comprising:

a failure information input step of inputting failure information on a product;

a countermeasure extraction step of extracting a countermeasure corresponding to a malfunction specified by the malfunction information with reference to malfunction processing data corresponding to a countermeasure for eliminating each of a plurality of malfunctions that may occur in the product, for each of the plurality of malfunctions of the product; and

and an operation flow output step of referring to operation flow data corresponding to an operation flow for implementing each of the plurality of measures for the plurality of measures included in the failure processing data, extracting the operation flow corresponding to the measure extracted by the measure extraction step, and outputting operation flow information describing the extracted operation flow.

2. The maintenance assistance method according to claim 1, characterized in that:

in the failure information input step, identification information individually assigned to each of a plurality of failures that may occur in the product is input as the failure information.

3. The maintenance assistance method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that:

in the failure information input step, log data of the product is input as the failure information.

4. The maintenance assistance method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized by:

the failure information input step includes an object component determination step of displaying a product configuration diagram showing a plurality of components constituting the product, displaying a decomposition configuration diagram in which the selected components are decomposed in stages in accordance with a 1 st selection operation of any one of the components in the product configuration diagram, and determining a component to be maintained in accordance with a 2 nd selection operation in the decomposition configuration diagram by a user,

the name of the component for which failure information is determined in the target component determination step is input as the failure information.

5. The maintenance assistance method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized by:

in the countermeasure extraction step, in the case where a plurality of countermeasures are extracted,

in the operation flow output step, any one of the plurality of countermeasures is selected in response to the 3 rd selection operation, and the operation flow corresponding to the selected countermeasure is extracted.

6. The maintenance assistance method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized by:

in the countermeasure extraction step, the malfunction processing data stored in the 1 st server is referred to by communicating with the 1 st server.

7. The maintenance assistance method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized by:

in the operation flow output step, the operation flow data stored in the 2 nd server is referred to by communicating with the 2 nd server.

8. The maintenance assistance method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized by:

in the operation flow output step, when the extracted operation flow includes a plurality of sub-processes, the operation flow information of the sub-process selected by the 4 th selection operation is output.

9. The maintenance assistance method according to claim 8, characterized in that:

the countermeasures include replacement of the prescribed components,

the operation flow corresponding to the countermeasure in the operation flow data includes, as the plurality of sub-steps, a plurality of stages of disassembly operations required for replacing the predetermined component.

10. The maintenance assistance method according to claim 8 or 9, characterized in that:

the operation flow information is a video explaining the operation contents in the sub-process.

11. A maintenance support program executed in a terminal device, the program causing the terminal device to function as:

a failure information input unit for inputting failure information about a product;

a countermeasure extraction unit that extracts, for each of a plurality of possible malfunctions of the product, a countermeasure corresponding to the malfunction specified by the malfunction information, with reference to malfunction processing data corresponding to a countermeasure for eliminating each of the plurality of malfunctions; and

and an operation flow output unit that extracts an operation flow corresponding to the countermeasure extracted by the countermeasure extraction unit with reference to operation flow data corresponding to an operation flow for implementing each of the plurality of countermeasures with respect to the plurality of countermeasures included in the failure processing data, and outputs operation flow information describing the extracted operation flow.

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to a maintenance support method and a maintenance support program.

Background

Disclosure of Invention

The present disclosure has been made in view of this background, and provides a maintenance support device and a maintenance support program that can support rapid product maintenance at the location of a product.

Specifically, an example of the maintenance support method according to the present disclosure includes: a defective condition information input step of outputting defective condition information on a product by a terminal device; and a countermeasure extraction step of extracting a countermeasure corresponding to the malfunction specified by the malfunction information with reference to malfunction processing data corresponding to countermeasures for eliminating each malfunction for each of a plurality of malfunctions that may occur in the product. In addition, a maintenance support method according to an example of the present disclosure includes: and an operation flow output step of referring to operation flow data corresponding to an operation flow for executing each countermeasure with respect to each of the plurality of countermeasures included in the failure processing data, extracting the operation flow corresponding to the countermeasure extracted in the countermeasure extraction step, and outputting operation flow information describing the operation flow of the extracted operation flow.

According to this method, when a user (such as a maintenance operator of a product) accessing a terminal device at a location of the product recognizes a malfunction occurring in the product and inputs malfunction information into the terminal device, a countermeasure for eliminating the malfunction is extracted by the countermeasure extraction step based on the malfunction information input by the malfunction information input step.

Then, an operation flow corresponding to the countermeasure is extracted by the operation flow output step, and operation specification information describing the operation flow is output. The maintenance operator or the like can thus refer to the outputted operation specification information and promptly perform an operation for eliminating the trouble by a correct flow. As such, with the present disclosure, rapid maintenance of the product at the location of the product can be assisted.

According to the maintenance assisting method and the maintenance assisting program of the present disclosure, the maintenance operator who accesses the location of the product can assist the implementation of the rapid maintenance of the product at the location by recognizing the corresponding measure for eliminating the bad condition occurring in the product and the operation flow thereof.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a diagram for explaining a state in which maintenance of products installed in a house is performed in embodiment 1 and embodiment 2 of the present disclosure.

Fig. 2 is a diagram for explaining the configuration of the tablet terminal apparatus in which the maintenance support method and the maintenance support program according to the present disclosure are executed in embodiment 1 and embodiment 2 of the present disclosure.

Fig. 3 is a diagram for explaining maintenance data held in a storage unit of a terminal device in embodiment 1 and embodiment 2 of the present disclosure.

Fig. 4 is a diagram for explaining video data of an operation flow of a corresponding apparatus for eliminating a defective condition of a product in embodiment 1 and embodiment 2 of the present disclosure.

Fig. 5 is a diagram for explaining the machine-type top page screens in embodiment 1 and embodiment 2 of the present disclosure.

Fig. 6 is a diagram for explaining an error code list screen in embodiment 1 and embodiment 2 of the present disclosure.

Fig. 7 is a flowchart of maintenance support processing executed by the terminal device in embodiment 1 and embodiment 2 of the present disclosure.

Fig. 8 is a diagram for explaining the countermeasure extraction screens in embodiment 1 and embodiment 2 of the present disclosure.

Fig. 9 is a diagram for explaining operation flow screens in embodiment 1 and embodiment 2 of the present disclosure.

Fig. 10 is a diagram for explaining the maintenance site designation screen in embodiment 1 and embodiment 2 of the present disclosure.

Fig. 11 is a diagram for explaining component tree screens in embodiment 1 and embodiment 2 of the present disclosure.

Fig. 12 is a view for explaining a sub-process list screen in the case where sub-process 1 is selected in embodiment 1 and embodiment 2 of the present disclosure.

Fig. 13 is a view for explaining a substep list screen in the case where substep 6 is selected in embodiments 1 and 2 of the present disclosure.

Detailed Description

Examples of embodiments of the present disclosure will be described below with reference to the drawings. The present invention is not limited to the following embodiments.

[1. mode of use of terminal device ]

Fig. 1 shows a usage pattern of a terminal device that executes the maintenance support method and the maintenance support program of the present disclosure. The terminal device 1 of embodiment 1 of the present disclosure is a tablet-type terminal device including a touch panel 30. The maintenance operator P visits the house H and uses the terminal device 1 when performing maintenance (inspection, adjustment, repair, and the like) of the refrigerator 70 (corresponding to a product of the present disclosure).

Refrigerator 70 includes a controller 71 that controls the operation of refrigerator 70, and an operation unit 72 that sets the operating conditions of refrigerator 70 and displays an error code, which will be described later. The controller 71 monitors the operating conditions of actuators (a compressor, a motor, and the like) provided in the refrigerator 70 and detection signals of sensors (a temperature sensor, a humidity sensor, a door opening/closing sensor, a current sensor, and the like).

The controller 71 transmits data of the monitored operating states of the actuators and detection signals of the sensors to a support server 520 (corresponding to a server of the present disclosure) at any time or at regular intervals via a communication network 510 and a (wireless LAN router or the like) provided in the house H. The support server 520 stores the received data in a storage device (not shown) as log data 521.

The terminal device 1 can also communicate with the support server 520 via the gateway 500 and the communication network 510 with reference to the log data 521. Information on various home electric appliances including the refrigerator 70 is collected and stored in the terminal device 1. The maintenance operator P can operate and recognize the touch panel 30 of the terminal device 1, and can efficiently perform maintenance for various types and models of home electric appliances.

In addition to the configuration in which all of the information on the various home electric appliances is stored in the terminal device 1, all or a part of the information may be stored in the storage device of the support server 520 and downloaded from the support server 520 to the terminal device 1 as necessary. With this configuration, messages and the like relating to the respective home electric appliances can be downloaded quickly from the support server 520 and the like and provided to the maintenance operator P.

[2. Structure of terminal device ]

Next, the configuration of the terminal device 1 will be described with reference to fig. 2. The terminal device 1 includes a control unit 10, a speaker 21, a communication section 22, a touch panel 30, and a storage section 40.

The control unit 10 is an electronic circuit unit including a cpu (central Processing unit)10a, a memory 10b, an interface circuit not shown, and the like. The control unit 10 functions as the failure information input unit 11, the countermeasure extraction unit 12, and the operation flow output unit 13 by the CPU10a executing the control program 15 (including the maintenance support program of the present disclosure) of the terminal device 1 stored in the memory 10 b.

The control unit 10 is connected to the speaker 21, the communication unit 22, the touch panel 30, and the storage unit 40. The speaker 21 outputs voice guidance and the like based on a sound signal and the like output from the control unit 10. The communication unit 22 communicates with the support server 520 and the like based on the communication control signal output from the control unit 10, and performs data transmission by the control unit 10 and data reception by the control unit 10.

The touch panel 30 includes a flat panel display 31 formed of a liquid crystal panel or the like, and a touch switch 32 disposed so as to cover the surface of the display 31. The display 31 displays various screens according to an image control signal output from the control unit 10. The touch switch 32 inputs an operation signal corresponding to a touch operation performed by the user to the control unit 10.

The model data 50a, 50b · 50n are stored in the storage unit 40. Data for assisting maintenance operations is stored in each model data 50a, 50b · 50n for each model of home electric appliance. Specifically, failure processing data 51a in which measures for eliminating a failure are associated with a possible failure of a product, operation flow data 52a in which steps for executing measures are associated with measures, and operation video data 53a in which the operation flow of measures is described by video are stored. The model data 50a, 50b · 50n have the same configuration, and therefore, the model data 50, the failure processing data 51(51a, 51b to 51n), the operation flow data 52(52a, 52b to 52n), and the operation video data 53(53a, 53b to 53n) will be representatively described below.

Next, the failure processing data 51 and the operation flow data 52 will be described with reference to fig. 3. First, the failure processing data 51 associates the symptoms, detection conditions, and measures to be dealt with error codes H01, H02 (corresponding to identification information individually assigned for a plurality of failures of the present disclosure) assigned to each failure that may occur in the refrigerator 70.

Fig. 3 illustrates a case where the symptom "ice maker is abnormal", the detection condition "ice making motor rotation is abnormal", and the countermeasures "(1) removal of foreign matter biting into the ice maker rotation portion, (2) replacement of the ice maker, (3) replacement of the control board" correspond to the error code H21.

The operation flow data 52 associates the link address of the video (operation video) describing the operation flow of each countermeasure with each countermeasure. As shown in fig. 2, when the operation video data 53 is stored in the storage unit 40, the link address is an address of a storage location of each countermeasure included in the operation video data 53. In addition, when the operation video data is stored in the storage device of the support server 520, the link address is an address of a storage location of each countermeasure operation video data in the support server 520.

Here, as shown in fig. 4, when the countermeasure for eliminating the malfunction is divided into a plurality of sub-steps (sub-steps 1 to 6 are illustrated in fig. 4), the operation video data is stored separately for each sub-step. In the example of fig. 4, in order to replace the syringe AS, six sub-processes of "micro-freezer door" in the sub-process 1, "micro-freezer front page" in the sub-process 2, "box side AS" in the sub-process 3, "plate duct AS" in the sub-process 4, "cover box" in the sub-process 5, and "syringe AS" in the sub-process 6 need to be performed.

For the sub-steps 1 to 6, the operation video data 60 to 65 describing the operation flow of each sub-step are stored separately. This enables the operation video to be played back for each sub-process. The operation video data may be configured such that the operation video data for each sub-structure is played back by assigning an index indicating a playback part of each sub-process to the operation video data for the full run of the countermeasure.

[3. maintenance support treatment ]

Next, a maintenance support process performed by the terminal device 1 will be described. When the maintenance operator starts the maintenance support application, the control unit 10 of the terminal device 1 displays a model selection screen on the display 31. When the maintenance operator operates the touch switch 32 to input the model name of the product, the control unit 10 displays the model home screen 100 shown in fig. 5 on the display 31 in accordance with the input.

Here, although the following description will be given of a case where the model name of the refrigerator 70 is input, the maintenance operator may input the model name of a home appliance (a television, an air conditioner, a washing machine, or the like) other than the refrigerator. The control unit 10 may also be configured to display a model home screen for the model name of the input home appliance on the display 31. Thus, the maintenance operator can cope with not only the refrigerator but also the maintenance of other home electric appliances.

In the model home screen 100 shown in fig. 5, in order to select a menu corresponding to the selected model name (here, the model name of the refrigerator 70), the control unit 10 displays a model-related message button 101, an error code button 102, symptom diagnosis buttons 103, a resolution key button 104, a part price list button 105, and a technical explanation button 106. The control unit 10 switches the screen display of the display 31 to the content corresponding to the selection in accordance with the selection operation of each of the buttons 101 to 106 by the maintenance operator.

For example, when the model-related message button 101 is selectively operated, the control unit 10 downloads information such as a quality-related message about the model name from the support server 520 and displays the information on the display 31.

In the model home screen 100 shown in fig. 5, when the maintenance operator selects and operates the error code button 102, the control unit 10 displays the error code list screen 110 shown in fig. 6 on the display 31 and executes the processing of the flowchart shown in fig. 7. The control program 15 stored in the memory 10b of the control unit 10 includes a maintenance support program of the present disclosure, and the CPU10a executes the maintenance support program to execute the processing based on the flowchart of fig. 7. In addition, the maintenance support method of the present disclosure is implemented by processing of each step in the flowchart of fig. 7. Next, a maintenance support process based on the flowchart shown in fig. 7 will be described.

Step S1 of fig. 7 is a process performed by the failure information input unit 11, and the process in step S1 corresponds to the failure information input step of the present disclosure. The failure information input unit 11 displays the error code list screen 110 shown in fig. 6 on the display 31. Each error code, an error code list 111 showing the symptoms, and a selection button 112 for selecting the error code are displayed on the error code list screen 110. When any of the selection buttons 112 is operated, the failure information input unit 11 proceeds to step S2 and performs the process.

Steps S2 to S4 are processes performed by the countermeasure extraction unit 12. The processing in step S2 to step S4 corresponds to the countermeasure extraction step of the present disclosure. In step S2, the countermeasure extraction unit 12 refers to the failure processing data 51 of the model data 50 corresponding to the error code selected in step S1, and extracts a countermeasure corresponding to the error code.

In the next step S3, the countermeasure extraction unit 12 displays the countermeasure extraction screen 120 shown in fig. 8 on the display 31. Fig. 8 illustrates a case where the error code "H21" is selected. The countermeasure extraction section 12 displays a symptom (here, "ice maker abnormality") 121 corresponding to the error code, an error detection condition (here, "ice making motor rotation abnormality") 122, three extracted countermeasures 123 to 125, and a selection button 126 for selecting the countermeasures. In the next step S4, when any countermeasure (corresponding to the 3 rd selection of the present disclosure) is selected, the countermeasure extraction unit 12 proceeds to step S5 and performs the processing.

Steps S5 to S6 and S10 are processing performed by the operation flow output unit 13. The processing in steps S5 to S6 and S10 corresponds to the operation flow output step of the present disclosure. In step S5, the operation flow output unit 13 displays the operation flow screen 130 shown in fig. 9 on the display 31.

Fig. 9 illustrates the operation flow screen 130 in the case where "measure (2) replacement of the ice maker AS" among the three countermeasures is selected. The operation flow output unit 13 enlarges the display area 132 of the selected measure (2) among the display areas 131 to 133 of the measures (1) to (3) to display the operation flow of the measure (2).

The "measure (2) replacement ice maker AS" includes three sub-processes of "sub-process 1 ice making chamber-fresh freezing chamber door", "sub-process 2 ice maker (ice sheet first page)", and "sub-process 3 ice maker AS". The operation flow output part 13 displays the display areas 141-143 of the three sub-processes.

The maintenance operator can select any one of the display areas 141 to 143 of the three sub-processes (corresponding to the 4 th option of the present disclosure). The operation flow output unit 13 enlarges the selected display area according to the selection to display the operation flow information.

A case where "ice making chamber door-fresh freezing chamber door for sub-process 1" is selected is shown in fig. 9. The operation flow output unit 13 enlarges the display area 141 of the sub-process 1 and displays the explanatory text 141a and the video area 141b of the operation flow of the sub-process 1.

When there is a playback instruction of the operation video (touch operation of the video area 141 b) in step S6, the operation flow output unit 13 refers to the operation video data 53, acquires the operation video data of the sub-process 1, plays the operation video, and proceeds to step S7 to perform processing. The maintenance operator can easily understand the operation flow and quickly perform the maintenance operation by recognizing the explanatory text 141a and the operation video.

In addition, the maintenance operator can select and recognize the explanatory text and the operation video for each sub-process in the operation flow of the countermeasure. Therefore, compared with the case of collectively recognizing the explanatory text and the operation video of all the operation flows of the countermeasures, the information of the operation flows can be efficiently acquired, and the maintenance operation can be performed quickly.

On the other hand, when the instruction to play the operation video is not made in step S6, the operation flow output unit 13 proceeds to step S7 to perform the processing. When the end operation (such as an operation to return to the model home page) is performed in step S7, the process based on the flowchart in fig. 7 ends, and when the end operation is not performed, the process returns to step S6.

[4 ] other embodiments relating to the input of failure condition information ]

In the above example of the present embodiment, the case where the error code is input as the failure condition information is exemplified, but the name of the failure condition ("ice maker abnormal" or the like) may be input. In this case, the countermeasure extraction unit 12 refers to the failure processing data in which the previously prepared countermeasures are associated with the names of the respective failures, and extracts countermeasures for eliminating the failures.

In addition, log data stored in support server 520 may be input as failure information. In this case, the countermeasure extraction unit 12 identifies a malfunction that has occurred in the product based on the operating state of the product and the history of the detection conditions of the sensors, etc., which are included in the log data. The countermeasure extraction unit 12 refers to the failure processing data that associates the previously prepared countermeasures with the respective failures, and extracts countermeasures for eliminating the failures.

In addition, a location where maintenance is performed may be input as the failure information. In this case, the maintenance operator selects and operates the disassembly key button 104 on the model front page screen 100 shown in fig. 6. In response to this selection operation, the failure information input unit 11 displays the maintenance site designation screen 150 shown in fig. 10 on the display 31.

The maintenance site designation screen 150 includes a door layout diagram 151 showing the layout of doors of the refrigerator 70, an interior layout diagram 152 showing the layout of the interior of the refrigerator 70, a ceiling diagram 153 showing the ceiling of the refrigerator 70, and a machine room layout diagram 154 showing the layout of the machine room of the refrigerator 70.

With respect to the door configuration diagram 151, the maintenance operator can select any one of the refrigerating compartment left door PCL, the refrigerating compartment right door PCR, the ice making compartment door IC, the fresh freezing compartment door SC, the freezing compartment door FC, and the vegetable compartment door VC, for example, by a touch operation. In addition, with respect to the in-compartment layout diagram 152, the maintenance operator can select any one of the refrigerating compartment interior, the ice-making/fresh-freezing/freezing compartment interior, and the vegetable compartment interior by, for example, touch operation.

Further, with respect to the top surface map 153, the maintenance operator can select the top surface by, for example, a touch operation. In the machine room layout diagram 154, the maintenance operator can select at least one of the machine room and the machine room (lower part) by touch operation, for example.

When the maintenance operator selects any one of the door layout drawing 151, the in-house layout drawing 152, the ceiling drawing 153, and the machine room layout drawing 154 (corresponding to the 1 st operation of the present disclosure) by a touch operation or the like, the failure information input unit 11 displays a component tree screen 160 for displaying a tree on the display 31 in accordance with a process of disassembling components arranged at the selected portion, as shown in fig. 11.

Fig. 11 illustrates a case where the maintenance operator selects the refrigerator compartment with respect to the compartment interior configuration map 152. In fig. 11, starting from "1. micro-frost door", the respective constituent components are displayed in the order of "2. micro-frost plate top page" and "3. plate pipe AS" · · · in accordance with the stage tree form of the decomposition process.

The maintenance operator can select a component to be maintained from among the components displayed on the component tree screen 160 by a touch operation (corresponding to the 2 nd operation of the present disclosure). The state in which "6. syringe AS" is selected is shown in fig. 11. Based on this selection, the failure information input unit 11 inputs a failure of the syringe AS failure information.

The countermeasure extraction unit 12 refers to the malfunction processing data in which the prepared countermeasure is associated with each malfunction, in response to the input of the malfunction information such AS the malfunction of the syringe AS. The countermeasure extraction unit 12 extracts countermeasures such AS replacement of the syringe AS.

The operation flow output unit 13 extracts "1. micro-freeze door", "2. micro-freeze plate first page", "3. plate box side AS", "4. plate duct AS", "5. cover plate box", and "6. injection tube AS" AS sub-steps included in the replacement operation of the injection tube AS, based on the component configuration state shown in the component tree screen 160 shown in fig. 11.

As shown in fig. 12, the operation flow output unit 13 displays a sub-process list screen 170 for displaying the extracted sub-processes in a list on the display 31. The display areas 171 to 176 of the sub-processes 1 to 6 are displayed on the sub-process list screen 170. The maintenance operator can select a sub-process for displaying the operation flow by touching any one of the display areas 171 to 176 of the sub-processes 1 to 6.

The state of the selection sub-process 1 is illustrated in fig. 12. The operation flow output unit 13 refers to the operation flow data 52 and acquires data of the operation flow (the explanatory text of the operation flow and the data of the operation video) corresponding to the sub-process 1.

The operation flow output unit 13 enlarges the display area 171 of the sub-process 1 and displays the explanatory text 171a and the video area 171b of the operation flow of the sub-process 1 (micro-freeze). The operation flow output unit 13 plays the operation video of the sub-process 1 in accordance with an operation such as a touch operation of the video area 171b by the maintenance operator.

Fig. 13 illustrates a state in which the sub-step 6 (syringe AS) is selected. In fig. 13, the operation flow output unit 13 enlarges the display area 176 of the sub-process 6 and displays the explanatory text 176a and the video area 176b of the operation flow of the sub-process 6. The operation flow output unit 13 plays the operation video of the sub-process 6 in accordance with the touch operation of the video area 176b by the maintenance operator.

In this way, when the countermeasure is divided into several sub-steps, the maintenance operator can select the sub-step for which the operation flow is desired to be known, and can recognize the explanation section and the explanation video. Therefore, according to this method, the maintenance operator can quickly perform the maintenance operation by efficiently recognizing only the operation flow of the sub-process to be known, as compared with the case where all the operation flows of the countermeasures are output together with the explanatory text and the explanatory video.

[5 ] other embodiments ]

In the above embodiments, the refrigerator is described as an example of the product of the present disclosure, but the product of the present disclosure can be applied to various products such as home electric appliances, vehicles, and manufacturing apparatuses other than the refrigerator.

In the above embodiment, as shown in fig. 1, the terminal device 1 is configured to recognize the operation status of the actuator and the detection status of the sensor measured in the refrigerator 70 by referring to the log data 521 stored in the storage device of the support server 520. The terminal device 1 is not limited to such a configuration, and may be configured to recognize the operating state of the actuator and the detection state of the sensor by direct communication with the controller 71 of the refrigerator 70.

In the above-described embodiment, the example in which the processing for displaying the operation flow of the countermeasure on the display 31 and the processing for displaying the explanatory text and the operation video on the display 31 are performed as the output of the operation flow information has been described, but the processing for outputting the voice guidance explaining the operation flow from the speaker 21 may be performed.

In the above-described embodiment, the tablet-type terminal device 1 is shown as the terminal device of the present disclosure, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto, and a notebook personal computer, a smartphone, or the like may be used as the terminal device of the present disclosure.

As described above, an example of the maintenance support method according to the present disclosure is a maintenance support method performed by a terminal device, for example. An example maintenance support method of the present disclosure includes: a failure information input step of inputting failure information on a product; and a countermeasure extraction step of extracting a countermeasure corresponding to the failure specified by the failure information with reference to failure processing data corresponding to countermeasures for eliminating each of the plurality of failures with respect to each of the plurality of failures that may occur in the product. In addition, a maintenance support method according to an example of the present disclosure includes: and an operation flow output step of referring to operation flow data corresponding to an operation flow for executing each countermeasure with respect to each of the plurality of countermeasures included in the failure processing data, extracting the operation flow corresponding to the countermeasure extracted in the countermeasure extraction step, and outputting operation flow information describing the operation flow of the extracted operation flow.

According to this method, in the adverse situation information input step, when a user of the terminal device (a maintenance operator of the product or the like) inputs the adverse situation information on the product, the countermeasure for eliminating the adverse situation is extracted by the countermeasure extraction step. Then, an operation flow corresponding to the countermeasure is extracted by the operation flow output step, and operation specification information describing the operation flow is output. The maintenance operator or the like can easily understand the operation flow of the countermeasure for eliminating the trouble of the product by recognizing the operation specification information. Thus, according to this method, it is possible to assist the implementation of rapid maintenance of the product at the location of the product.

In the maintenance support method according to the example of the present disclosure, the failure information input step may input, as the failure information, identification information that is individually assigned to each of a plurality of failures that may occur in the product.

According to this method, the user of the terminal device can obtain the operation instruction information of the countermeasure for eliminating the malfunction by inputting the identification information individually assigned to the malfunction, such as the error code output from the product when the malfunction occurs, the name of the typical malfunction of the product, and the like, as the malfunction information.

In the maintenance support method according to the example of the present disclosure, the failure information input step may input measurement data on an operation of the product measured in the product as the failure information.

According to this method, the user of the terminal device can obtain the operation instruction information of the countermeasure for eliminating the malfunction by inputting the measurement data on the operation of the product as the malfunction information.

In the maintenance support method according to the example of the present disclosure, the failure information input step may include an object component determination step of displaying a product configuration diagram showing a plurality of components constituting the product on a display or the like, displaying a breakdown configuration diagram in which the selected components are broken down in stages according to a 1 st selection operation of any one of the components in the product configuration diagram, determining the component to be maintained according to a 2 nd selection operation in the breakdown configuration diagram performed by the user, and inputting the name of the component for which the failure information is determined in the object component determination step as the failure information. In this case, in the maintenance support method according to the example of the present disclosure, the name of the component determined in the target component determining step may be input as the failure information.

According to this method, the maintenance operator or the like determines the component to be maintained from the product configuration diagram and the exploded configuration diagram by the target component determination step, and thereby can obtain the operation instruction information for eliminating the malfunction.

In the maintenance support method according to the example of the present disclosure, when the plurality of countermeasures are extracted in the countermeasure extraction step, any one of the plurality of countermeasures may be selected in the operation flow output step in accordance with the 3 rd selection operation, and the operation flow corresponding to the selected countermeasure may be extracted.

According to this method, when a plurality of countermeasures are extracted, a maintenance operator or the like can select any one of the countermeasures to obtain the operation instruction information thereof.

In the maintenance support method according to the example of the present disclosure, the countermeasure extraction step may refer to the failure processing data stored in the 1 st server by communicating with the 1 st server via a network, for example.

According to this method, it is possible to acquire the malfunction processing data about the product in which the malfunction occurs by communication with the 1 st server. Therefore, according to this method, the terminal device can realize maintenance assistance corresponding to various types and other models of products without having a large-capacity storage unit.

In the maintenance support method according to the example of the present disclosure, the operation flow output step may refer to the operation flow data stored in the 2 nd server by communicating with the 2 nd server via a network, for example.

According to this method, the operation flow data on the product in which the bad condition occurs can be acquired through communication with the 2 nd server. Therefore, according to this method, the terminal device can realize maintenance assistance corresponding to various types and other models of products without having a large-capacity storage unit.

In the maintenance support method according to the example of the present disclosure, when the extracted operation flow includes a plurality of sub-processes, the operation flow output step may output operation flow information of the sub-process selected by the 4 th selection operation.

According to this method, when a plurality of sub-processes are included in the operation flow of the countermeasure, the maintenance operator or the like can select and output only the operation specification information of the sub-process determined to be necessary for confirmation by the 4 th selection operation. In this way, by limiting the operation specification information to the required sub-processes and outputting the operation specification information, the time required for performing the maintenance can be shortened as compared with a case where the operation specification information of all the sub-processes is output at once.

In the maintenance support method according to the example of the present disclosure, the countermeasure includes replacement of a predetermined component. In this case, in the maintenance support method according to the example of the present disclosure, the operation flow corresponding to the countermeasure in the operation flow data may include, as a plurality of sub-steps, a plurality of stages of disassembly operations required for replacing the predetermined component.

According to this method, the user of the terminal device who understands the decomposition operation flow to some extent can be efficiently provided with the operation instruction information limited to the desired decomposition location.

In the maintenance support method according to the example of the present disclosure, the operation instruction information may be a video for instructing the content of the operation in the sub-step.

According to this method, the operation flow in each sub-process can be easily understood by a maintenance operator of the product or the like through the video.

The maintenance support program according to an example of the present disclosure is, for example, a maintenance support program executed in a terminal device. An example of the maintenance support program according to the present disclosure causes, for example, a terminal device to function as a failure information input unit, a countermeasure extraction unit, and an operation flow output unit. The failure information input unit inputs failure information about a product. The countermeasure extraction unit extracts a countermeasure corresponding to a malfunction specified by the malfunction information with reference to malfunction processing data corresponding to a countermeasure for eliminating each of a plurality of malfunctions that may occur in a product, for each of the plurality of malfunctions. The operation flow output unit extracts an operation flow corresponding to the countermeasure extracted by the countermeasure extraction unit with reference to operation flow data corresponding to an operation flow for executing each of a plurality of countermeasures included in the failure processing data, and outputs operation flow information describing the extracted operation flow.

For example, by executing such a program by the terminal device and causing the terminal device to function as the failure information input unit, the countermeasure extraction unit, and the operation flow output unit, as in the maintenance support method described above, countermeasures for eliminating a failure occurring in a product and operation flows of the countermeasures are extracted, and operation explanatory information explaining the operation flows is output. Thus, the user (e.g., a maintenance operator) of the terminal device can recognize the operation description procedure and easily understand the operation flow. Therefore, according to such a program, it is possible to assist the implementation of rapid maintenance of the product at the location of the product.

In addition, the maintenance support method according to an example of the present disclosure may include an operation flow output step of extracting an operation flow corresponding to the measure selected by the 1 st selection operation with reference to operation flow data corresponding to an operation flow for implementing each measure among a plurality of measures for eliminating a possible problem of the product, based on the 1 st selection operation, and when the extracted operation flow includes a plurality of sub-processes, selecting any of the sub-structures based on the 2 nd selection operation, and outputting operation flow information describing the operation flow of the selected sub-process.

According to this method, when the user of the terminal device (such as a maintenance operator of a product) performs the 1 st selection operation of selecting a countermeasure for eliminating a problem occurring in the product, the operation flow of the selected corresponding process is extracted by the operation flow output step. When the extracted operation flow includes a plurality of sub-processes, any one of the sub-processes is selected in accordance with the 2 nd selection operation performed by the user, and operation flow information of the selected sub-process is output. Thus, the user can select and output only the operation flow information of the sub-process to be known in the operation flow of the measure. Therefore, according to this method, the explanation of the desired operation flow by the maintenance operator or the like can be taught more quickly than in the case where all the operation flow information of the countermeasure is output at once.

In the maintenance support method according to the example of the present disclosure, the countermeasure includes replacement of a predetermined component. In this case, the operation flow corresponding to the countermeasure in the operation flow data may include, as a plurality of sub-steps, a plurality of stages of decomposition operations necessary for replacing the predetermined component.

According to this method, operation flow information can be efficiently provided by limiting the necessary decomposition sites to maintenance operators who understand the decomposition operation flow to some extent.

In the maintenance support method according to the example of the present disclosure, the operation flow information may be a video that describes the operation content in the sub-process.

According to this method, the maintenance operator or the like can easily understand the operation flow in each sub-process through the video.

In the maintenance support method according to the example of the present disclosure, the operation flow data stored in the server may be referred to by communicating with the server via a network, for example, in the operation flow output step.

According to this method, it is possible to acquire operation flow data on a product in which a malfunction has occurred by communication with the server. Therefore, the terminal device does not have a large-capacity storage unit, and can realize maintenance assistance corresponding to various types and other types of products.

The maintenance support program according to an example of the present disclosure is executed in, for example, a terminal device. Specifically, the maintenance support program according to an example of the present disclosure may be configured as follows: the terminal device is caused to function as an operation flow output unit which refers to operation flow data corresponding to an operation flow for implementing each countermeasure among a plurality of countermeasures for eliminating a possible problem of a product in accordance with the 1 st selection operation, extracts an operation flow corresponding to the countermeasure selected in the 1 st selection operation, selects any sub-process in accordance with the 2 nd selection operation when the extracted operation flow includes a plurality of sub-processes, and outputs operation flow information describing the operation flow of the selected sub-process.

For example, by executing such a maintenance support program by the terminal device and causing the terminal device to function as the operation flow output unit, it is possible to select and output only the operation flow information of the sub-process to be confirmed in the operation flow of the countermeasure for eliminating the problem occurring in the product, as in the maintenance support method described above. Therefore, compared to a case where all the operation flow information of the countermeasure is output at once, the user of the terminal device (such as a maintenance operator of the product) can be quickly instructed to describe a desired operation flow by such a program.

Industrial applicability

As described above, the present disclosure provides a maintenance support method and a maintenance support program capable of providing a maintenance operator who accesses a location of a product with information on countermeasures for eliminating a problem occurring in the product and an operation flow thereof. Therefore, the present invention can be applied to an auxiliary use for quick maintenance of various products.

Description of the reference numerals

1 terminal device

10 control unit

10a CPU

10b memory

11 bad condition information input part

12 countermeasure extraction section

13 operation flow output part

15 control program

21 loudspeaker

22 communication unit

30 touch panel

31 display

32 touch switch

40 storage unit

50. Model data of 50a, 50 b-50 n

51. 51a, 51b to 51n failure handling data

52. 52a, 52 b-52 n operational flow data

53. 53a, 53b to 53n operation video data

70 refrigerator

71 controller

72 operating part

100 model home page picture

101 relevant message button for each model

102 error code button

103 diagnostic button for each symptom

104 decomposing key button

105 parts price list button

106 technical explanation button

110 error code list screen

112 selection button

120 response extraction screen

123-125 countermeasures

126 selection button

130 flow of operation

131 to 133 display area

141-143 display area

141a description text

141b video area

150 maintenance site designation screen

152 library configuration map

153 top view of

154 mechanical Chamber layout

160 parts tree picture

170 sub-process list screen

171a description text

171b video area

171 to 176 display area

176a description text

176b video area

500 gateway

510 communication network

520 support server

521 log data

P maintenance operator (user)

H house (product position)

H01, H02 Hn error codes.