JP2001229110A - Terminal device capable of inputting and outputting information regarding maintenance and remote maintenance system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a terminal device having an HTTP protocol processing function with sufficient security countermeasures regarding remote maintenance and a remote maintenance system. SOLUTION: This system is equipped with a maintenance center 1 which remotely maintains terminal devices 32, 34, 42, and 44 through the Internet 2. Each terminal device has an access mode used as to whether or not access from the maintenance center 1 is possible and a device information control part which performs input/output control of device information over the maintenance center 1 and alteration control of device information by an instruction from the maintenance center 1 according to the access mode.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a system for remotely maintaining a terminal device via the Internet,
The present invention relates to a terminal device and a remote maintenance system in which security measures for remote maintenance are sufficiently performed.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Various remote maintenance systems have been proposed as systems for remotely maintaining a terminal such as a facsimile machine installed at a remote place from a maintenance center. Generally, a remote maintenance system is configured to use a public telephone line in performing remote maintenance. If a call is made from the device during remote maintenance, the user may have to bear the communication cost. In such a case, the user is imposed a burden that is higher than the cost required for the original communication. When a call is made to a so-called toll free number, the communication cost is borne by the manufacturer or the maintenance company. In that case, the maintenance cost of the manufacturer or the maintenance company becomes enormous.

As a remote maintenance system capable of reducing the communication cost at the time of remote maintenance, for example, JP-A-11-12246
There is a system described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 7-107. FIG. 15 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a terminal device in such a system. This terminal device has a facsimile communication function.

[0004] In the terminal device, a facsimile main body (portion for reading, recording, facsimile transmission / reception) 322
Performs facsimile communication via the telephone line 321. The LAN interface unit 323 is physically connected to the LAN 3 and controls transmission and reception of data to be transmitted to the LAN 3 and data to be received from the LAN 3.
Then, the device information management unit 324 stores the facsimile main body 32.
2 manages information about

The information managed by the device information management unit 324 includes, for example, one-touch dial information, own station number information,
There are passwords for polling, communication mode information, and information for maintenance. The device status monitoring unit 325 is a device information management unit 32
4 monitors the information managed by the control unit 4, particularly the maintenance information, and notifies the notification information generation unit 326 of the type of the device status when a predetermined condition is satisfied. The notification information generation unit 326 extracts necessary information from the device information management unit 324 according to the notification, and outputs the extracted information to the HTTP client unit 327.

[0006] The HTTP client unit 327 transfers the information from the notification information generation unit 326 to the TCP / IP protocol control unit 328. The TCP / IP protocol control unit 328 controls input and output of data according to the TCP / IP protocol, and transmits information from the HTTP client unit 327 to the LAN interface unit 323 and the LAN.
3 to the Internet. In addition, LAN3
Is provided with, for example, a gateway device (not shown), and each terminal device in the LAN 3 can be connected to the Internet via the gateway device.

[0007] A maintenance center for performing remote maintenance includes:
It has a WWW server function, and LA
It can communicate with each terminal device in N3. Therefore, the maintenance center can collect various device information of the terminal device.

The terminal device further includes a device information management unit 32
4, a device information control unit 331 for registering, changing, and deleting information managed by the device 4, a homepage management unit 332 for converting information managed by the device information management unit 324 into an html format,
And an HTTP server unit 333 for outputting requested information.

[0009] The homepage management section 332 creates a homepage including information managed by the apparatus information management section 324. Therefore, if another terminal device connected to LAN3 has a WWW browser, LAN3, LAN3
Via the interface unit 323, the TCP / IP protocol control unit 328, and the HTTP server unit 333, the device information of the terminal device can be obtained from the homepage management unit 332.

When the maintenance center analyzes the information sent from the terminal device shown in FIG. 15 and determines that some setting change (for example, change of a dip switch) is necessary, An instruction for setting change is transmitted to the HTTP server unit 333 of the terminal device via the Internet. Upon receiving such an instruction, the HTTP server unit 333 outputs the instructed setting change request to the device information control unit 331. Device information control unit 33
1 changes the corresponding item in the information managed by the device information management unit 324 according to the request. Similarly, the maintenance center can delete or add information managed by the device information management unit 324.

[0011]

Since the conventional remote maintenance system is configured as described above, communication between the terminal device and the maintenance center can be performed via the LAN and the Internet. Required maintenance cost can be reduced. In particular, since the setting change of the terminal device can be performed without the maintenance staff having to go, cost reduction is realized and it is convenient for both the maintenance side and the user side. On the other hand, since the setting of the terminal device can be changed via the Internet, there is concern about security. For example, the setting information may be altered by a third party device other than the maintenance center. Further, the setting information may be altered due to an operation error or the like in the maintenance center. Even if the setting information is altered, the terminal device will not break down,
For example, the usability of the terminal device may deteriorate.

In other words, it is meaningful to provide a configuration that enables remote maintenance via the Internet, but when such a configuration is used, there is a problem that security measures become particularly important.

[0013] Accordingly, the present invention provides a terminal device having an HTTP protocol processing function and a remote maintenance system in which security measures for remote maintenance are sufficiently performed in a system for performing remote maintenance of terminal devices via the Internet. Aim.

[0014]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a terminal device capable of inputting / outputting information related to maintenance, comprising: a request receiving unit for receiving a request from a maintenance center via the Internet; An access permission / inhibition determining means for determining, and when there is a request to the request receiving means, output control of device information to the maintenance center in accordance with the access permission information determined by the access permission / inhibition means; And a device information control means for controlling change of device information in response to a request from the maintenance center.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, in the terminal device capable of inputting / outputting information related to maintenance, the access permission / non-permission information is set to be inaccessible, readable or changeable, and the device information control means is not accessible by the access permission / inhibition determining means Is determined, the request from the maintenance center is rejected. If the read permission is determined, the device information change request from the maintenance center is rejected. The device information output control or the device information change control is executed.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the terminal device capable of inputting and outputting information related to maintenance is connected to a LAN,
Information is exchanged with the maintenance center via N.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the terminal device capable of inputting / outputting information related to maintenance, the request receiving means comprises:
A protocol processing unit that has a P / IP protocol processing function and extracts a request command from received data, and an HTTP server unit that notifies the device information control unit of the request command extracted by the protocol processing unit.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the terminal device capable of inputting and outputting information related to maintenance, the HTTP server unit includes:
In response to a request from the maintenance center, the HTML generation unit creates a content corresponding to the device information output from the device information control unit, and outputs the created content to the protocol processing unit.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the terminal device capable of inputting / outputting information related to maintenance, the HTTP server unit comprises:
The HTML generation unit creates a content corresponding to the information indicating the access rejection output from the device information control unit, and outputs the created content to the protocol processing unit.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, the terminal device capable of inputting / outputting information related to maintenance includes a user interface unit for a user to input information, and the access permission / inhibition determining means is input from the user interface unit. This is storage means for storing information indicating that access is not possible, read is possible, or write is possible in accordance with the received information.

In the terminal device capable of inputting and outputting information related to maintenance according to the invention of claim 8, the access permission / non-permission determining means is switch means for setting information indicating access impossibility, read permission or write permission.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in the terminal device capable of inputting and outputting information related to maintenance, the device information control means includes:
The access permission information is determined according to the content of the device information.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, in the terminal device capable of inputting and outputting information related to maintenance, a plurality of communication means with the maintenance center are provided, and the equipment information control means selects the communication means according to the application. .

In the terminal device capable of inputting / outputting information related to maintenance according to the present invention, the device information control means selects a highly confidential communication means when transmitting data including confidential information.

According to a twelfth aspect of the present invention, the remote maintenance system is connectable to the Internet, displays the device information of the terminal device received via the Internet, and outputs a device information output request and a device via the Internet. A maintenance center that transmits an information update request, a request receiving unit that receives a request from the maintenance center via the Internet, an access permission determination unit that determines access permission information, and a request to the request reception unit. Device information control means for controlling output of device information to the maintenance center or controlling change of device information in response to a request from the maintenance center in accordance with the access permission information determined by the access permission determination means when there is a request And a terminal device having the following.

In the remote maintenance system according to the thirteenth aspect, the maintenance center makes a device information output request and a device information update request via a WWW browser.

In the remote maintenance system according to the fourteenth aspect of the present invention, when the maintenance center receives a response indicating access rejection from the terminal device to which the device information is transmitted, the maintenance center displays a message to that effect.

[0028]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram showing a configuration example of a remote maintenance system including a terminal device according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the terminal devices 32 and 34 are connected via a local area network (LAN) 3. Each device on the LAN 3 can be connected to an external network via the gateway 31. Similarly, the terminal devices 42 and 44 are connected via the LAN 4. In this example, the terminal devices 32, 34, 42, and 44 are multifunctional image processing devices having a facsimile transmission / reception function.
Further, the multi-function image processing apparatus may have a copying function and a printer function.

Each device on the LAN 4 has a gateway 41
It can be connected to an external network via. LAN
Various terminals can be connected to 3 and 4, but in FIG.
Personal computers 35 and 3 connected to LAN3
6, and personal computers 45 and 46 connected to the LAN 4. The system 300 using the LAN 3 and the system 400 using the LAN 4
Are systems in one organization such as a company, for example.

In the system 300, the terminals such as the personal computers 35 and 36 can exchange data with each other via the LAN3. In the system 400, the terminals such as the personal computers 45 and 46 exchange data with each other via the LAN4. is there. Also, the terminal device 32,
The data from 34 can be communicated to the maintenance center 1 via the Internet 2. Further, personal computers 35 and 36 and personal computers 45 and
Data can be mutually exchanged with the LAN 46 via the LANs 3 and 4 and the Internet 2.

The maintenance center 1 for executing remote maintenance is
It has a W server function and can communicate with the system 300 and the system 400 via the Internet 2. Although the maintenance center 1 that can be connected to the Internet by itself is illustrated here, a LAN system including the maintenance center 1 exists, and the maintenance center 1 is configured to be connected to the Internet 2 via a LAN. Is also good.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the internal configuration of terminal device 32 shown in FIG. In the terminal device 32,
The LAN interface unit 201 physically connects to the LAN 3, receives information to be received from the LAN 3,
The information to be transmitted is transmitted to N3. The LAN interface unit 201 includes, for example, an Ethernet board, a LAN card, and the like incorporated in a terminal device such as a personal computer for connection to a network.

The user interface unit 206 is an input / output device that allows the user to perform an operation input for using the original function of the terminal device 32 and allows the user to confirm and change the settings related to the terminal device 32. It is composed of a display, a touch panel, buttons and the like. The settings relating to the terminal device 32 include an access mode used to determine whether or not the maintenance center 1 can access the terminal device 32, and a device setting used for initial setting of the terminal device 32 and the like. As shown in FIG. 3, the access modes are “access denied”, “readable”, and “changeable”.
There is.

When "access denied" is selected, all access from the maintenance center 1 to the terminal device 32 is denied. That is, a request for changing the device setting from the maintenance center 1,
The request to read the device information is rejected. "Readable"
Is selected, only reading of device information is permitted. When “changeable” is selected, all access from the maintenance center 1 to the terminal device 32 is permitted. That is, the change of the device setting and the reading of the device information from the maintenance center 1 are permitted.

The device setting is a setting relating to the operation function of the terminal device 32. For example, registration of the telephone number of the transmission destination,
There are communication mode settings and the like. The device information includes information on device settings and management information on the terminal device 32.
FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of the device information. An example of the information on the device setting is shown in the column of the device setting information in FIG.

The management information includes, for example, fee information, number information, communication history information, and the like. The charge information is stored in the terminal 3
2 is information on the communication fee. The number information is information indicating the number of sheets used in the terminal device 32 and the like. The communication history information is information indicating a transmission / reception history in the terminal device 32.

The device information control unit 205 manages an access mode and device information. For example, the access mode is stored inside the access mode management unit 208, and the device information is stored inside the device information management unit 207. The device information control unit 205 may be incorporated in a part of a control unit (for example, a CPU) that controls the entire terminal device 32. Further, it receives a necessary signal from the HTTP server unit 203 and returns a response signal to the HTTP server unit 203. Hereinafter, the response signal is referred to as an access response. The device information may be acquired by the device information control unit 205 monitoring the state of the terminal device 32. The access mode management unit 208 and the device information management unit 207 are configured by a storage medium such as an SRAM and a DRAM.

The protocol control unit 202 has a TCP / IP
Data input / output control is performed according to the protocol. As an example, by analyzing a protocol output from the LAN interface unit 201, an access request to the terminal device 32 is extracted and output to the HTTP server unit 203 as a command. For example, text information including a reserved word (tag) is extracted from HTTP protocol data output from the LAN interface unit 201, and a command is obtained by analyzing the text. The access request is an instruction request from the maintenance center 1 to the terminal device 32, and includes “device setting change”, “device information reading”, and the like.

The HTTP server unit 203 extracts commands related to “device setting change”, “device information reading”, etc. from the command output from the protocol control unit 202, notifies the device information control unit 205 of the command, An access response is received from the unit 205. Then, an access response is output to the HTML generation unit 204.
Here, the access response includes “device information”, “device setting change response”, “access denied”, and the like.

The HTML generation unit 204 converts the access response into HTML, and converts the access response into a content.
02 is notified. The protocol control unit 202
The contents are transmitted to the maintenance center 1 via the LAN interface unit 201 and the LAN 3 according to the CP / IP protocol.

Although the terminal device 32 is illustrated in FIG. 2, the terminal devices 34, 42, and 44 have the same configuration as the terminal device 32.

Next, the operation of the terminal device 32 shown in FIG. 2 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 5 is a sequence diagram showing a flow of information between the inside of the terminal device 32 and the maintenance center 1. FIG. 6 illustrates the device information control unit 205.
5 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of FIG. FIG.
FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of content created by the HTML generation unit 204. FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of an access response displayed on the maintenance center 1. First, processing at the time of changing the access mode will be described.

The device information control unit 205 determines whether or not an instruction to change the access mode (hereinafter, referred to as a user instruction) has been received from the user interface unit 206 (step S601). The user of the terminal device 32 gives a user instruction on the user interface unit 206. For example, instructions such as “change access mode”, “read access mode”, “change device setting”, and “read device information” are performed by operating a touch panel or the like installed on the front portion of the terminal device 32 or the like.

When there is a user instruction (step S60)
1) The device information control unit 205 determines whether the user instruction is “change access mode” (step S6).
21). If the access mode is “change access mode” (step S621), the access mode stored inside the access mode management unit 208 is changed to the user interface unit 206.
(Step S)
622). If the access mode is not “change access mode” (step S621) or after step S622 ends,
The device information control unit 205 determines whether the user instruction is “read access mode” (step S62).
3).

In the case of “access mode read” (step S623), the device information control unit 205 reads an access mode stored inside the access mode management unit 208 (step S624). If it is not “access mode read” (step S623) or after step S624 ends, the device information control unit 205 determines whether the user instruction is “change device setting” (step S625).

In the case of "device setting change" (step S62)
5), the device information control unit 205
Is changed to the device setting instructed from the user interface unit 206 (step S).
626). If it is not “device setting change” (step S625) or after step S626 ends, the device information control unit 205 determines whether the user instruction is “read device information” (step S627).

In the case of “read device information” (step S
627), the device information control unit 205
The device information stored inside the device 07 is read (step S628). If it is not “read device information” (step S627) or after step 628, the device information control unit 205 returns a response to the user instruction to the user interface unit 206 (step S629).

For example, when the user instruction is “access mode read”, the read access mode is returned,
When the user instruction is “access mode change”, confirmation information indicating whether or not the access mode has been changed normally is returned. The confirmation information includes, for example, “access mode change completed”, “access mode change error”, and the like. The same applies to the case where the user instruction is “change device setting” and “read device information”.

The user interface 206 displays a response result to a user instruction based on a response from the device information control unit 205. For example, on a liquid crystal display,
A message such as "Access mode change completed" is displayed. Therefore, according to the response result displayed on the liquid crystal display, the user of the terminal device 32 can give a user instruction by touch panel operation or the like.

When there is no user instruction (step S6)
01), the device information control unit 205, the HTTP server unit 2
It is determined whether a command has been notified from 03 (step S602). Hereinafter, from the maintenance center 1 to the terminal device 32
The case where there is an access request to the server will be described.

The maintenance center 1 incorporates a WWW browser used for connection to a network such as the Internet. The maintenance staff is a WW installed in the maintenance center 1.
By operating the W browser, an access request is issued to the terminal device 32.

The access request is sent to the protocol control unit 202 via the maintenance center 1, the Internet 2, the gateway 31, the LAN 3, and the LAN interface unit 201.
Sent to. Then, the access request is recognized as a command by the protocol control unit 202, and the
The information is transmitted to the device information control unit 205 via the P server unit 203.

When there is a command notification (step S6)
02), the device information control unit 205 reads the access mode stored inside the access mode management unit 208 (step S603). Next, the device information control unit 205
Determines whether the access mode is “access denied” (step S604).

In the case of "inaccessible" (step S60)
4), as shown in FIG. 3, the terminal device 32 rejects all access requests from the maintenance center 1. That is, the request for “read device information” and “change device setting” is rejected.
Therefore, the device information control unit 205 notifies the HTTP server unit 203 of “access denied” as an access response (step S631). If the access mode is not “inaccessible” (step S604), the device information control unit 205 determines whether the access mode is “changeable” (step S605).

If it is "changeable" (step S60)
5), as shown in FIG. 3, the terminal device 32 permits all access requests from the maintenance center 1. Therefore, when the access request is “read device information”, the device information control unit 205 reads the device information stored inside the device information management unit 207 (step S606). Also,
If the access request is "change device setting", the device setting stored inside the device information management unit 207 is changed to the device setting instructed by the maintenance center 1 (step S60).
6).

Then, the device information control unit 205 notifies the HTTP server unit 203 of an access response (step S607). That is, when the access request is “read device information”, the device information is notified to the HTTP server unit 203 when the access request is “device setting change”. I do. The information includes "device setting change completed" and "device setting change error".

When the access mode is not "changeable" (step S605), that is, when the access mode is "readable", as shown in FIG.
2 permits only an access request for “read out device information” from the maintenance center 1. Therefore, the device information control unit 205
Determines whether the access request is “device information read” (step S608).

If it is not “read device information” (step S608), the device information control unit 205 notifies the HTTP server unit 203 of “access denied” (step S631).

In the case of “read device information” (step S
608), the device information control unit 205
The device information stored inside the device 07 is read (step S609). Then, as the access response, "device information"
Is notified to the HTTP server unit 203 (step S610).

If there is no command notification (step S602), step S607, step S610,
After the end of step S629 and step S631, the device information control unit 205 repeats the operation from step S601. That is, the device information control unit 205 cyclically monitors the presence or absence of a user instruction and the presence or absence of a command notification during the idle period. Therefore, the device information control unit 205 can perform an operation according to a user instruction from the user interface unit 206 and a command notification from the HTTP server unit 203.

The HTTP server unit 203 notifies the HTML generation unit 204 of an access response. The HTML generation unit 204 generates HTML content corresponding to the access response, and outputs the generated content to the protocol control unit 202. FIG. 7 shows an example of the content generated by the HTML generation unit 204.

The content shown in FIG. 7 shows an example of device information to be transmitted to the maintenance center 1. Here, it is assumed that the device setting information is selected from the device information shown in FIG. 4 as the device information. At this time, in the terminal device 32, “extended” is selected as the device setting, “A3” is set as the transmission size (upper limit), and “600 dp” is set as the transmission image quality (upper limit).
"i" indicates that "MMR" is selected as the encoding method.

The protocol control unit 202 transmits the content output from the HTML generation unit 204 to the LAN 3 via the LAN interface unit 201 according to the TCP / IP protocol. Then, the content is transmitted to the maintenance center 1 via the LAN 3, the gateway 31, and the Internet 2.

The maintenance center 1 displays the contents of the access response from the terminal device 32 based on the received contents.
For example, the contents of the access response are displayed on the display by the WWW browser analyzing the contents. The content displayed on the display is, for example, as shown in FIG. Here, the content of the content shown in FIG. 7 is displayed. Although not shown, the terminal device 3
It is assumed that when the access is rejected from No. 2, information indicating the access rejection (for example, “the terminal device 32 cannot be accessed”) is displayed on the display. Further, it is assumed that the content of the response to the device setting change (for example, “terminal device 32 device setting change completed”) is also displayed on the display.

Therefore, the maintenance staff can know the contents of the access response from the terminal device 32 by looking at the contents displayed on the display. That is, it is possible to grasp the device information, the device setting response, the information indicating whether access is possible, and the like. As a result, the maintenance person can use the terminal device 3
2 can be grasped, and necessary measures can be performed. For example, it is possible to charge a fee to the user of the terminal device 32 based on the information on the number of sheets used, to grasp the communication history of the terminal device 32, and the like.

In the present embodiment, the case where the access mode is changed by the user of the terminal device 32 is exemplified, but the terminal device 32 may change the access mode as needed. For example, the terminal device 32 changes the access mode to “inaccessible” when a preset number of sheets is used, and changes the access mode to “inaccessible” when an error occurs inside the terminal device 32. May be.

At this time, in response to the access request from the maintenance center 1, the terminal device 32 transmits “access denied” to the maintenance center 1 as an access response. Then, the maintenance staff can grasp the “access denied” and can take necessary measures. For example, a maintenance person can go to the user of the terminal device 32 to collect a fee according to the number of sheets used, or go to maintenance and inspection of the terminal device 32.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the access mode is provided, and the terminal device 32 can impose a restriction on the access request from the maintenance center 1 by referring to the access mode. . In other words, it is possible to impose restrictions on requests such as “change device settings” and “read device settings” of the terminal device 32 from the maintenance center 1. Therefore, it is possible to prevent a change in the device setting of the terminal device 32 due to an error operation by a maintenance person or an illegal operation by a third party on the Internet 2. Further, leakage of the device information of the terminal device 32 to a third party can be prevented. Therefore, security is enhanced as compared with the conventional terminal device.

The access mode includes three modes of “access inaccessible”, “read out” and “modifiable”, and the user of the terminal device 32 can select an arbitrary access mode from these. Therefore, for the convenience of the user of the terminal device 32 or the like, the terminal device 32 can impose a restriction on an access request from the maintenance center 1 to the terminal device 32.

Further, the terminal device 32 returns an access response to the maintenance center 1 so that the maintenance staff can grasp the result of the access request to the terminal device 32. That is, information such as device information, a response to a device setting change, and access denial can be grasped. In the case of access rejection, the maintenance center 1 can prevent useless access to the terminal device, and can reduce useless communication costs.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing another embodiment of the terminal device 32 according to the present invention. Here also, the terminal device 32 is illustrated, but the configuration of the terminal devices 34, 42, and 44 is the same as that of the terminal device 32.

The terminal device 32 shown in FIG. 9 includes a hardware switch 210 instead of the access mode management unit 208 of the terminal device 32 shown in FIG. The user of the terminal device 32 changes the access mode by changing the setting of the hardware switch 210. At this time, it is assumed that the setting of the hardware switch corresponds to the access mode. Examples of the hardware switch 210 include a dip switch and a toggle switch. The hardware switch 210 may be installed inside or outside the terminal device 32 (for example, on a side surface of a housing of the terminal device 32).

FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram showing a flow of information between the inside of the terminal device 32 and the maintenance center 1 shown in FIG. FIG. 11 shows the device information control unit 20 shown in FIG.
5 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of FIG. FIG.
In the flowchart shown in FIG. 1, the same components as those shown in the flowchart of FIG.

Next, the operation of the terminal device 32 shown in FIG. 9 will be described with reference to FIG. 10 and FIG. Here, an operation in the case where an access request is issued from the maintenance center 1 to the terminal device 32 will be described as an example. In the present embodiment, an operation for the terminal device 32 will be described as an example, but the terminal device 3
Operations for 4, 42 and 44 are the same. The device information control unit 205 determines whether there is a user instruction from the user interface unit 206 (Step S60)
1).

When there is a user instruction (step S60)
1) Steps S623 to S629 are executed. In this embodiment, since the access mode is changed according to the setting of the hardware switch 210, the device information control unit 205 itself does not change the access mode. Therefore, the device information control unit 205 does not detect whether the user instruction is “change access mode” (the operation of step S621 shown in FIG. 6).

When there is no user instruction (step S6)
01), the device information control unit 205 determines whether a command has been notified (step S602). When the command is notified (step S602), the device information control unit 2
05 performs reading of the access mode (step S6).
11). Here, the access mode is acquired by reading the setting of the hardware switch 210.
The subsequent operation is the same as the operation shown in the flowchart of FIG. Also, when the command is not notified (step S602), the subsequent operation is the same as the operation shown in the flowchart of FIG.

The access response is transmitted to the maintenance center 1 in the same manner as the terminal device 32 shown in FIG. As a result, the maintenance staff can grasp the contents of the access response as in the case of the terminal device 32 shown in FIG.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, since the terminal device 32 includes the hardware switch 210, the user of the terminal device 32 can quickly change the access mode. The access mode can be recognized by checking the setting of the hardware switch from outside the terminal device 32.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing still another embodiment of the terminal device 32 according to the present invention. In the present embodiment, the terminal device 32 is exemplified, but the terminal device 34,
The configurations of 42 and 44 are the same.

The terminal device 32 shown in FIG. 12 has a configuration in which a communication means selection unit 211 and a line connection unit 212 are added to the terminal device 32 shown in FIG. The communication means selection unit 211 controls data input / output. For example, LA
The data output from the N interface unit 201 is output to the protocol control unit 202, and the data output from the protocol control unit 202 is output to the device information control unit 205.
In accordance with the instruction from the LAN interface unit 201 or the line connection unit 212. The line connection unit 212 controls connection to the telephone line 213. For example, a call operation to the maintenance center 1 is performed.

FIG. 13 is a sequence diagram showing a flow of information between the inside of the terminal device 32 and the maintenance center 1 shown in FIG. FIG. 14 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the device information control unit 205 shown in FIG.
In the flowchart illustrated in FIG. 14, components that perform the same operations illustrated in the flowchart in FIG. 6 are denoted by the same reference numerals as in FIG. 6.

Next, the operation of the terminal device 32 shown in FIG. 12 will be described with reference to FIG. 13 and FIG. Here, too, the case where the maintenance center 1 makes an access request to the terminal device 32 is taken as an example. In the present embodiment,
The operation when the maintenance center 1 makes an access request to the terminal device 32 will be described as an example.
4 is the same as that of the terminal device 32.

Steps S601 to S607,
The operations up to S610, S629 and S631 are shown in FIG.
Is the same as the operation shown in the flowchart of FIG. Therefore, the subsequent operation will be described here.

In the above embodiments, the terminal device 32
Has been transmitted to the maintenance center 1 via the Internet 2. Therefore, the contents of the access response may be grasped by a third party on the Internet 2. In particular, when confidential data is included in the access response, a problem may occur in security. The confidential data includes the telephone number of the transmission destination of the terminal device 32, a password, and the like. Therefore, in the present embodiment, an object is to enhance the security of confidential data by selectively using communication means for an access response according to the purpose.

The device information control unit 205 selects a communication means (step S641). That is, the output destination of the data output from the protocol control unit 202 is the telephone line 21.
3 or LAN3. The user of the terminal device 32 may select the communication means on the user interface unit 206 in a manner similar to the user instruction. Further, the maintenance center 1 may select the communication means in the same manner as the access request. The information is stored inside the device information management unit 207, for example, similarly to the device setting. Then, the device information control unit 205 reads out this information from the device information management unit 207 to determine a communication unit.

As the information, for example, “telephone line”,
There are “LAN”, “line priority”, “LAN priority” and the like.
Next, the device information control unit 205 notifies the communication unit selection unit 211 of the information (step S64).
2).

When confidential data is included in the access response, "telephone line" may be selected. When the “telephone line” is notified, the communication unit selection unit 211 notifies the line connection unit 212 of the telephone number of the maintenance center 1. Also,
The output data from the protocol control unit 202 is output to the line connection unit 212. Then, the line connection unit 212
Transmits an access response to the maintenance center 1 via the telephone line 213 by calling. Therefore, the contents of the access response are not leaked to a third party other than the maintenance center 1, and the security of the confidential data is maintained.

If the access response does not include confidential data, "LAN" may be selected. When “LAN” is notified, the communication means selection unit 211 outputs output data (access response) from the protocol control unit 202 to the LAN interface unit 201. Then LAN
The interface unit 201 sends the access response to LAN3,
The data is transmitted to the maintenance center 1 via the gateway 31 and the Internet 2. At this time, since the Internet 2 is used for communication of the access response, communication cost can be reduced as compared with the case where a telephone line is used.

If the access response does not include confidential data, “LAN priority” or “line priority” may be selected. When “LAN priority” is notified, the communication means selection unit 211 first attempts to connect to the maintenance center 1 via the LAN interface unit 201. When the connection is completed, LAN3, LAN3,
Access response via Internet 2 to maintenance center 1
Send to Also, if the connection fails,
In the same manner as when the "telephone line" is notified, the telephone line 21
Attempt to connect to the maintenance center 1 via 3.

When the "line priority" is notified, the communication means selection unit 211 first notifies the line connection unit 212 of the telephone number of the maintenance center 1 and causes the maintenance center 1 to make a call. When the connection with the maintenance center 1 is successful, an access response is transmitted to the maintenance center 1 via the telephone line 213 as in the case where "telephone line" is designated. If the connection has failed, an attempt is made to connect to the maintenance center 1 via the Internet 2 as in the case where "LAN" is notified.

As described above, when "LAN priority" or "line priority" is selected, communication reliability is improved by trying to connect to the maintenance center via both the telephone line and the LAN.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the access response is transmitted via the telephone line 213 or the LAN 3
Since it is possible to select whether to carry out communication, it is possible to enhance security measures and reduce communication costs. For example, if the access response includes confidential data, the telephone line 2
By selecting 13 as the transmission path, the contents of the confidential data are not leaked to third parties other than the maintenance center 1, and the security is strengthened. When confidential data is not included in the access response, the communication cost can be reduced by selecting the LAN 3 as the transmission path, as compared with the case where the telephone line 213 is used.

[0093] In addition, by transmitting an access response on the route that succeeds in connection first among the telephone line 213 and the LAN 3, the reliability of communication can be improved.

[0094] In this embodiment, the terminal device 32 shown in FIG.
2 and the telephone line 213 are described as an example, but the communication device selection unit 211 and the terminal device 32 shown in FIG.
A configuration in which the line connection unit 212 and the telephone line 213 are added may be adopted.

[0095]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, a request accepting means for accepting a request from the maintenance center via the Internet, an access permission / inhibition determining means for determining access permission / inhibition information, and the request accepting means Control of output of device information to the maintenance center or change control of device information in response to a request from the maintenance center in accordance with the access permission information determined by the access permission determination means when a request is made to And a device information control unit for performing the above-mentioned operations, it is possible to impose a certain restriction on a request from the maintenance center in accordance with the determination of the access permission / inhibition determining unit. Therefore, it is possible to prevent an inadvertent reading of the device information from the maintenance center and a change in the device information.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the access permission / inhibition information is set to be inaccessible, readable or changeable,
The device information control means rejects the request from the maintenance center when the access permission is determined by the access permission determination means, and rejects the device information change request from the maintenance center when the read permission is determined, and the change permission is determined. If the device information is confidential information, all requests from the maintenance center are rejected because control of output of device information or control of change of device information is executed in response to a request from the maintenance center. If the inconvenience occurs only when the device information is changed, only the reading of the device information is permitted.If the inconvenience does not occur even if the device information is changed or disclosed, all the requests are permitted. It is possible to impose a limit on the request from the maintenance center. Therefore, there is an effect that the security of the device information can be enhanced.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the terminal device is connected to the LAN and information is exchanged with the maintenance center via the LAN, the plurality of terminal devices connected to the LAN are maintained. There is an effect that the center can be maintained.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the request receiving means has a TCP / IP protocol processing function and extracts a request command from received data, and a request command extracted by the protocol processing section. The protocol processing unit extracts a request command notified from the maintenance center, and the HTTP server unit notifies the device information control unit of the request command. The information control means has an effect that it is possible to grasp a request from the maintenance center.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the HTTP server unit stores the content corresponding to the device information output from the device information control means in response to a request from the maintenance center as an H.
Since the content created by the TML generation unit and the created content are output to the protocol processing unit, the protocol control unit
According to the CP / IP protocol, the content corresponding to the device information can be transmitted to the maintenance center.

According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, the HTTP server unit causes the HTML generation unit to create the content corresponding to the information indicating the access rejection output from the device information control means, and converts the created content into the protocol processing unit. Therefore, there is an effect that the protocol control unit can transmit the content corresponding to the access rejection to the maintenance center according to the TCP / IP protocol.

According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, the apparatus further comprises a user interface for allowing a user to input information, and the access permission / inhibition determining means determines whether or not access is possible in accordance with the information input from the user interface. Since the storage means stores information indicating permission or writability, the user himself / herself can operate the user interface unit to determine access permission / inhibition information. Therefore, there is an effect that a certain restriction can be imposed on a request from the maintenance center at the convenience of the user.

According to the eighth aspect of the present invention, since the access permission / inhibition determining means is switch means in which information indicating access impossibility, read permission or write permission is set.
The user can change the access permission information quickly, and can confirm the setting of the access permission information by confirming the setting of the hardware switch from outside the terminal device.

According to the ninth aspect of the present invention, the device information control means determines the access permission / prohibition information according to the content of the device information. Can take the necessary measures. For example, the device information control means rejects all requests from the maintenance center by making the access permission information inaccessible when an abnormality occurs inside the terminal device. Then, the maintenance center can recognize that an abnormality has occurred inside the terminal device due to the rejection of the request, and can request dispatch of a maintenance person to the terminal device.

According to the tenth aspect of the present invention, a plurality of communication means for communicating with the maintenance center are provided, and the equipment information control means comprises:
Since the communication means is selected according to the application, there is an effect that the device information control means can select the communication means according to the data content, the line status of the communication means, and the like. For example, when confidential information is included in the data, a telephone line or the like can be selected as the communication means.

According to the eleventh aspect of the present invention, the device information control means selects a highly confidential communication means when transmitting data including confidential information. The effect that it can prevent is produced.

According to the twelfth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to connect to the Internet, display the device information of the terminal device received via the Internet, and output a device information output request and a device information update request via the Internet. , A request receiving unit for receiving a request from the maintenance center via the Internet, an access permission determining unit for determining access permission information, and a request to the request receiving unit. Device information control means for controlling output of device information to the maintenance center according to the access permission information determined by the access permission determination means or changing control of device information in response to a request from the maintenance center. The terminal device is configured to include the terminal device. Therefore it is possible to impose certain restrictions on a request from the maintenance center, maintenance personnel, based on the device information displayed on the maintenance center, an effect that it is possible to remote maintenance of the terminal device.

According to the thirteenth aspect of the present invention, the maintenance center issues a device information output request and a device information update request via the WWW browser. There is an effect that an information output request and a device information update request can be made.

According to the fourteenth aspect of the present invention, when the maintenance center receives a response indicating access rejection from the terminal device to which the device information is transmitted, the maintenance center displays a message to that effect. It is possible to recognize the terminal device and to prevent useless access to the terminal device.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram showing a configuration example of a remote maintenance system including a terminal device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of a terminal device 32 shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a specific example of an access response.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a specific example of device information.

FIG. 5 is a sequence diagram showing a flow of information between the inside of the terminal device 32 and the maintenance center 1.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the device information control unit 205.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a content created by an HTML generation unit 204;

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of an access response displayed on the maintenance center 1.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing another embodiment of the terminal device 32 according to the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram showing a flow of information between the inside of the terminal device 32 shown in FIG. 9 and the maintenance center 1.

11 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of the device information control unit 205 illustrated in FIG.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing still another embodiment of the terminal device 32 according to the present invention.

13 is a sequence diagram showing a flow of information between the inside of the terminal device 32 shown in FIG. 12 and the maintenance center 1.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the device information control unit 205 shown in FIG.

FIG. 15 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a conventional terminal device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Maintenance Center 2 Internet 3 LAN 300 System 31 Gateway 32, 34 Terminal Device 35, 36 PC 4 LAN 400 System 41 Gateway 42, 44 Terminal Device 45, 46 PC

Continued on the front page F-term (reference) 5B089 GA21 GA31 GB04 HA06 HA10 HB02 HB05 JA35 JB02 KA12 KA17 KB04 KB13 5C062 AA02 AA29 AA35 AB38 AC22 AC56 AF00 BA00 5C075 AB90 CD02 CD13 CE12 5K030 GA14 GA15 HB04 HC02 HD02 LD06 JA06 MC09 MD06 9A001 BB04 CC06 CC07 EE03 JJ25 LL03 LL09

Claims (14)

[Claims] 1. A terminal device capable of inputting and outputting maintenance-related information to and from a maintenance center connectable to the Internet, comprising: a request receiving unit for receiving a request from the maintenance center via the Internet; Means for determining access permission / inhibition for determining information; and output of device information to the maintenance center according to the access permission / inhibition information determined by the access permission / inhibition determination means when a request is made to the request receiving means. A terminal device capable of inputting and outputting information related to maintenance, comprising: device information control means for performing control or change control of device information in response to a request from the maintenance center. 2. The access permission / inhibition information is information indicating access impossibility, readout permission, or change permission. When the access permission is determined by the access permission determination means, the device information control means rejects a request from the maintenance center. When the read permission is determined, the device information change request from the maintenance center is rejected. When the change is determined, the device information output control or the device information change control is executed according to the request from the maintenance center. A terminal device capable of inputting and outputting information related to maintenance according to claim 1. 3. The terminal device according to claim 2, which is connected to a LAN and exchanges information with a maintenance center via the LAN. 4. A request receiving unit, which has a TCP / IP protocol processing function and extracts a request command from received data, and an HTTP that notifies the device information control unit of the request command extracted by the protocol processing unit.
4. A terminal device capable of inputting and outputting information related to maintenance according to claim 3, including a server unit. 5. The HTTP server unit causes the HTML generation unit to create content corresponding to the device information output from the device information control unit in response to a request from the maintenance center, and causes the created content to be output to the protocol processing unit. A terminal device capable of inputting and outputting information related to maintenance according to claim 4. 6. The HTTP server according to claim 5, wherein the HTTP server creates a content corresponding to the information indicating the access rejection output from the device information control means in the HTML generator and outputs the created content to the protocol processor. A terminal device that can input and output information about maintenance. 7. A user interface for allowing a user to input information, wherein the access permission / inhibition determining means outputs information indicating access impossibility, read permission, or write permission in accordance with the information input from the user interface. 7. A terminal device capable of inputting and outputting information related to maintenance according to claim 2, which is storage means for storing. 8. The terminal device according to claim 2, wherein the access permission / inhibition determination means is switch means for setting information indicating access impossibility, read permission or write permission. 9. The terminal device according to claim 1, wherein the device information control means determines access permission / prohibition information according to the content of the device information. 10. The terminal device according to claim 9, further comprising a plurality of communication means for communicating with the maintenance center, wherein the equipment information control means selects a communication means according to a use. 11. The terminal device capable of inputting / outputting information related to maintenance according to claim 10, wherein the device information control means selects a communication means having high confidentiality when transmitting data including confidential information. 12. Connectable to the Internet,
A maintenance center that displays device information of the terminal device received via the Internet and transmits a device information output request and a device information update request via the Internet; and a request reception for receiving a request via the Internet from the maintenance center. Means, access permission / non-permission determining means for determining access permission / non-permission information, and, when a request is made to the request receiving means, to the maintenance center in accordance with the access permission / prohibition information determined by the access permission / non-permission determining means. A terminal device having device information control means for performing device information output control or device information change control in response to a request from the maintenance center. 13. The remote maintenance system according to claim 12, wherein the maintenance center issues a device information output request and a device information update request via a WWW browser. 14. The remote maintenance system according to claim 13, wherein when the maintenance center receives a response indicating access rejection from the terminal device to which the device information is transmitted, the maintenance center displays a display to that effect.