JP2002157358A - Method for facilitating measures to failure and method for processing data and device for the same and electrical appliance and information storage medium - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To facilitate measures to the failure of an electrical appliance while reducing the loads of a general user and a maintenance organization. SOLUTION: An electrical appliance 30 of a general user detects its own failure, and communicates it from a communication network to a data processing device 20 of a maintenance organization, and the data processor 20 judges the failure contents and returns both the failure contents and maintenance contents to the electrical appliance 30. Thus, this electrical appliance 30 announces the failure contents and the maintenance contents to the general user so that it is not necessary for the general user to explain the symptom of the failure or the like to the maintenance organization, and that it is not necessary for the maintenance organization to explain the maintenance contents to the general user.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a failure handling method for dealing with a failure of an electric appliance manufactured by a manufacturer and sold to a general user, a data processing method and an apparatus used for the failure handling method, and the data processing. The invention relates to an information storage medium in which software for the computer of the device is stored.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art At present, various electric appliances are manufactured and sold to general users, and there are many electric appliances connected to a communication network for use. For example, telephones, facsimile machines and the like are electric appliances used by connecting to telephone lines, and personal computers are generally used by connecting to the Internet at present. However, when a general user uses such an electric appliance, a failure such as a failure may occur in the electric appliance.

When a general user requests restoration of a failure of the electric appliance, for example, the general user transfers the electric appliance to a sales store, explains the symptoms of the trouble to the sales store, and requests a restoration. Then, at the sales store, the symptoms described are written on a dedicated entry form and attached to the electric appliance, and the electric appliance is transported together with the entry form to the manufacturer.

[0004] The manufacturer estimates the contents of the failure from the symptoms described on the entry sheet, and inspects the electric appliance based on the estimation. When the details of the failure are identified, the failure is restored by repairing the parts or replacing the parts, and a bill is created. Since the electric appliance is returned from the manufacturer to the sales store together with the bill, the sales store notifies the general user of the completion of the restoration. Therefore, the general user goes to the sales store, pays the restoration fee, and receives the electric appliance.

A general user who has transferred the electric appliance to the sales store sets an upper limit of the restoration cost, and has the manufacturer estimate the restoration cost before executing the restoration work. In some cases, restoration work may be stopped. Similarly, a general user also requests a sales outlet to notify of the restoration cost, and has the manufacturer estimate and contact the restoration cost before executing the restoration work, and determine whether the restoration work is to be performed based on the restoration cost. Sometimes. When the general user gives up the restoration work of the electric appliance as described above, the ordinary user usually purchases an equivalent electric appliance newly as necessary.

In general, a manufacturer guarantees an electric appliance for a predetermined period such as one year from the date and time of sale, and a failure that occurs naturally during this period is restored free of charge by the manufacturer. Further, in the case of a large electric appliance or the like which is difficult to transfer, a maintenance staff visits the user's home from the manufacturer in response to a general user's contact, and the maintenance staff may recover the electric appliance failure at the user's home. .

[0007]

In the above-described method for dealing with a failure, the general user who is not familiar with the electric appliance notifies the manufacturer of the failure from the sales store to the manufacturer. Therefore, it is difficult for the manufacturer to detect the failure. There are many things. Furthermore, even if the manufacturer inspects the electric appliance, no failure is found, and the cause may be an erroneous operation by a general user.

[0008] Even if the failure of the electric appliance is a misconception of the general user, the general user who cannot recognize the failure is to transfer the electric appliance to a sales store and request the manufacturer to restore the electric appliance. The sales store and the manufacturer perform wasteful work.

Also, if a general user sets the upper limit of the restoration cost and gives up the restoration work as a result, in this case also, the electric appliance is transferred from the general user to the manufacturer through a sales store, where the appliance is manufactured. Since the restoration cost is estimated and returned to the general user via the sales store, the general user, the sales store, and the manufacturer also perform useless work.

[0010] Further, as described above, when a general user gives up the restoration work of an electric appliance, it is usual to purchase an equivalent electric appliance newly if necessary, but in this case, the manufacturer differs. General users often buy new appliances. Considering this from the manufacturer's point of view, the general user purchased the electric appliance of another company as a result of performing the work such as the inspection of the electric appliance, the estimation of the restoration cost and the transfer at the request of the general user free of charge. .

[0011] In addition, even if a failure has occurred in an electric appliance, it may not be recognized by a general user, and may be recognized after a warranty period has expired. For example, current personal computers are probably multifunctional, and do not use the FDD (Floppy Disc Drive) damaged at the time of purchase until the warranty period expires.
In some cases, an attempt is made to use the DD, and the user may recognize damage.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and has a failure handling method capable of automatically detecting a failure of an electric appliance and appropriately dealing with the failure, and a data processing method used for the failure handling method. Another object of the present invention is to provide at least one of an apparatus and an information storage medium storing software for a computer of the data processing apparatus.

[0013]

According to the failure handling method of the present invention, an electric appliance of a general user and a data processing device of a handling organization are connected by a communication network. In such a state, in the first invention, the electric appliance monitors the occurrence of a failure for each of the plurality of functional components thereof, and when the occurrence of the failure is detected, generates failure data of the corresponding content. Since the generated fault data is transmitted from the communication network to the data processing device of the countermeasure institution by the electric appliance, the data processing device determines the content of the fault for each functional component from the fault data. In response to this determination result, the data processing device generates response data for notifying the details of the failure or the response, and notifies the general user of the generated response data.

In the second invention, the data processing device of the coping organization monitors the occurrence of a failure for each of the plurality of functional components of the electric appliance from the communication network, and determines the content of the failure when the failure is detected. In response to the result of the determination, the control unit generates data for notifying the details of the failure or the response, and notifies the general user of the generated response data.

Therefore, according to the failure handling method of the present invention, when a failure occurs in the electric appliance, the data to be dealt with is notified to the general user from the data processing device of the responding organization. The coping method and the like will also be notified. For example, the general user will cope with the failure of the electric appliance in accordance with the coping data.

Further, the data processing device also notifies and outputs the response data to the response personnel of the response organization, so that the response personnel is also notified of the failure of the electric appliance and the response method. You will have to deal with appliance failures in response to the data.

Further, the data processing device transmits the coping data to the electric appliance, and the electric appliance notifies and outputs the coping data to the general user, thereby notifying the general user of the coping method or the like according to the electric appliance in which the failure has occurred. Will be done.

When the general user who confirms the response data inputs the response data to the electric appliance, the electric appliance transmits the response data to the data processing device, and the data processing device transmits the response data to the response device. By outputting the notification to the personnel, the response of the general user to the response data generated by the data processing device is notified to the response personnel. For example, the response personnel responds to the response data to deal with the failure of the electric appliance. Will be.

When the general user who has confirmed the response data inputs the response data to the electric appliance, the electric appliance transmits the response data to the data processing device, and the data processing device responds to the response data by the data processing device. By generating the second countermeasure data, the data processing device and the general user perform data communication in an interactive manner regarding the failure of the electric appliance and the countermeasure.

Further, the data processing device determines whether or not the functional component or the electric appliance can be restored. If the result of the judgment indicates that the restoration is not possible, the data processing device notifies the replacement of the functional component or the electric appliance as at least a part of the handling data. When the failure of the functional component or the electric appliance cannot be recovered, the replacement is automatically notified to the general user.

Further, the data processing device generates the cost notification as at least a part of the handling data, so that the general user is automatically notified of the cost required to deal with the failure of the electric appliance.

It should be noted that the electric appliance referred to in the present invention may be any electronic device which is composed of a plurality of functional components and is connected to a communication network and used by general users. For example, a personal computer and a telephone are allowed. However, at present, there are refrigerators and automobiles connected to the communication network irrespective of the main functions, and these are also permitted as the electric appliances of the present invention. The functional component means a component of an electric appliance that generates a predetermined function, and in practice, hardware that can be replaced in units is preferable. For example, a personal computer includes an HDD or a RAM. Allow.

The data processing device may be any device that can execute various data processing by a computer and can communicate with an electric appliance over a communication network. For example, a network server or a host computer is allowed.
The communication network may be any network that can mediate mutual communication between the electric appliance and the data processing device, and may be a wired line, a wireless line, or a combination thereof. For example, a telephone line or the Internet is allowed.

The failure of a functional component means that the functional component cannot normally perform a predetermined function, and in addition to a so-called failure, exhaustion of consumables is allowed. Restoration of a fault means that the functional component can normally generate a predetermined function, and replenishment of consumables is allowed in addition to so-called repair. The response agency means a human agency that responds to electrical appliance failures, for example, a manufacturer that manufactures electrical appliances, a store that sells electrical appliances, a maintenance company that performs maintenance of electrical appliances, These combinations and the like are allowed.

The handling data is data that can inform the general user of at least the content of the fault that has occurred in the electric appliance and information for coping with the fault. For example, a guidance text of the fault content and the coping method is provided. E-mail, etc., displayed on the display of the appliance.

Further, the various means referred to in the present invention may be formed so as to realize their functions. For example, a dedicated hardware for generating a predetermined function, a computer provided with a predetermined function by a program , Predetermined functions realized inside the computer by the program, combinations thereof, and the like.

The information storage medium referred to in the present invention may be any hardware in which a program for causing a computer to execute various processes is stored in advance as software. Fixed ROM (Read Only Memory) or HDD (Hard
Disc Drive), CD (Compact Disc) -ROM, FD, etc., which are removably mounted in a device that includes a computer.

The computer according to the present invention may be any device that can read a program composed of software and execute the corresponding processing operation.
A PU (Central Processing Unit) is mainly used, and ROM, RAM (Random Access Memory) and I / F (Inter
face) and other devices are connected if necessary.

Note that causing the computer to execute various operations corresponding to software in the present invention also allows the computer to control operations of various devices. For example, when a computer stores various data, the RA is connected to the computer in advance.
M, various kinds of data can be stored in an internal memory provided as a part of the computer, and the information storage medium of the present invention can be stored in an FD.
In such a case, it is permitted that the computer stores various data therein.

[0030]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the data communication system 10 according to the present embodiment, as shown in FIG.
And the electric appliance 30 are connected to the Internet 40 which is a communication network.

The data processing device 20 is composed of a network server of a manufacturer, which is a coping organization that handles the manufacture, sale, and maintenance of the electric appliance 30, and is used for data management of various businesses. Here, the electric appliance 30 is formed of a personal computer of a general user, and is used for data communication on the Internet 40 and the like.

The data processing device 20 has a CPU 101 as hardware serving as a main body of a computer.
ROM 103, RAM 104, HDD 105, FD10
FDD107, CD-ROM in which 6 is exchangeably loaded
A CD drive 109, a keyboard 110, a mouse 111, a display unit 112, and a communication I / F 1 connected to the Internet 40, which are interchangeably mounted.
13 are connected as functional components.

The data processing apparatus 20 composed of a network server and the electric appliance 30 composed of a personal computer are different in the specifications and performance of each part, but have basically the same hardware configuration. The same names and reference numerals are used for the device 20 and the electric appliance 30, and the detailed description is omitted.

In the data processing device 20 and the electric appliance 30 of the present embodiment, the ROM 103, the RAM 104, the HD
D105, interchangeable FD106, interchangeable CD-R
Hardware such as the OM 108 corresponds to an information storage medium, and at least one of them stores a control program and various data necessary for various operations as software.

For example, a control program for causing the CPU 101 to execute various processing operations includes the FD 106 and the CD-RO.
It is stored in advance in M108. Such software is installed in the HDD 105 in advance,
When the data processing device 20 is activated, the data is copied to the RAM 104 and read by the CPU 101.

As described above, the CPU 101 reads the appropriate program data and executes various processing operations. As shown in FIG. 1, the data processing device 20 according to the present embodiment Various units such as a judgment unit 22, a countermeasure generation unit 23, a countermeasure notification unit 24, a response reception unit 25, and a response output unit 26 are logically provided as various functions, and the electric appliance 30 of the present embodiment is Fault detecting means 31, fault generating means 32, fault notifying means 33,
Response receiving means 34, response output means 35, response input means 3
6. Various means such as a response transmitting means 37 are logically provided as various functions.

The failure detecting means 31 of the electric appliance 30
The CPU 101 corresponds to a function of recognizing an operation state of the FDD 107 or the like in accordance with a control program such as the M104 or the like, and monitors the occurrence of a failure for each of a plurality of functional components. More specifically, the functional components to be monitored for the occurrence of a failure here are, for example, the FDD 107 and the CD drive 109, and the CPU 101 detects such a malfunction as the occurrence of a failure.

The fault generating means 32 corresponds to a function for the CPU 101 to execute predetermined data processing corresponding to the above-mentioned control program, and outputs fault data having a content corresponding to the fault occurrence detected by the fault detecting means 31. Generate data.
The failure notifying unit 33 corresponds to a function of controlling the operation of the communication I / F 113 by the CPU 101 in accordance with the control program, and transmits the failure data generated by the failure generating unit 32 to the data processing device 20 via the Internet 40. I do.

More specifically, when a failure such as rotation failure occurs in the FDD 107, the CPU 10 detects the failure.
1 generates an e-mail in which the identification code of the electric appliance 30, the identification code of the FDD 107, the content of the detected failure, the date and time of occurrence of the failure, and the like are set in a predetermined format, and this e-mail is used as predetermined data as the failure data. The data is transmitted from the communication I / F 113 to the data processing device 20 by the mail address.

The failure receiving means 2 of the data processing device 20
1 is a CP corresponding to a control program in the RAM 104 or the like.
The U 101 corresponds to a function of recognizing data received from the communication I / F 113, and receives failure data from the electric appliance 30 via the Internet 40.

The fault determining means 22 corresponds to the function of executing predetermined data processing by the CPU 101 in accordance with the above-mentioned control program. The fault data for each functional component is obtained from the fault data received by the fault receiving means 21. Is determined. The countermeasure generation unit 23 also corresponds to a function of the CPU 101 executing predetermined data processing corresponding to the control program, and responds to the determination result of the fault determination unit 22 to notify at least the fault content and the countermeasure data. Generate data.

More specifically, in the data processing apparatus 20 of the present embodiment, a database is constructed in advance with a data file of a large number of failure contents and a large number of countermeasures,
In the data file of this database, the content of the fault and the content of the response are set as guidance text that can be recognized by general users and response personnel.

When the data processing device 20 receives an e-mail of the failure data from the electric appliance 30, various setting data corresponding to a predetermined format is detected from the e-mail, and a predetermined data corresponding to the detected data is detected. The algorithm selects at least one of a number of pieces of handling data.

Further, at least one of a large number of countermeasures is selected by a predetermined algorithm in accordance with the selected fault content, and countermeasure data is generated based on the guidance text of the fault content and the countermeasure content. In addition,
Since the guidance text of the coping content also includes the cost notification, the coping data sets the cost notification for each coping content.

Countermeasure notification means 24 of data processing device 20
Corresponds to a function of the CPU 101 for controlling the operation of the display 112 and the communication I / F 113 in accordance with the control program. Data is transmitted to the electric appliance 30.

The response receiving means 34 of the electric appliance 30
CPU 101 communicates with communication program I / F 1
It corresponds to the function of recognizing 13 received data.
The countermeasure data is received by the Internet 40 from the data processing device 20 that has transmitted the failure data.
The response output unit 35 corresponds to a function of controlling the operation of the display 112 by the CPU 101 in accordance with the control program, and outputs the response data received by the response receiving unit 34 to a general user.

More specifically, the coping data generated as the guidance text of the content of the fault and the content of the coping as described above is displayed on the display 112 of the data processing device 20 as shown in FIG. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 1, the response data is notified and output to the response personnel.

Further, the handling data is transmitted as an e-mail from the data processing device 20 to the corresponding electric appliance 30, and the electric appliance 30 also displays the display 11.
2, the same countermeasure data is notified and output to the general user.

The response input means 36 corresponds to a function of recognizing the input data of the keyboard 110 by the CPU 101 in accordance with the control program. The response data corresponding to the response data notified and output by the response output means 35 is generally used. Data is input from the user.

The response transmitting means 37 of the electric appliance 30
U101 responds to the control program by the communication I / F 113
The response data input to the response input means 36 is transmitted to the data processing device 20 via the Internet 40.

Reply receiving means 2 of this data processing device 20
5 indicates that the CPU 101 performs communication I in accordance with the control program.
/ F 113 corresponds to a function of recognizing the received data, and receives response data via the Internet 40 from the electric appliance 30 to which the response data has been transmitted.
The response output unit 26 corresponds to a function of controlling the operation of the display 112 by the CPU 101 in accordance with the control program, and outputs the response data received by the response reception unit 25 to the response staff.

More specifically, as described above, the electric appliance 30
The response data transmitted as an e-mail is also accompanied by the response data input format, so that the general data confirming the response data can be used to input the desired content text data with the keyboard 110 to the response data. E-mail is generated.

When the general user transmits the electronic mail of the response data from the Internet 40 to the data processing device 20 by the electric appliance 30, the response mail is notified to the response staff by the display output of the display 112 in the data processing device 20. Is output.

The various means of the data processing device 20 and the electric appliance 30 as described above are realized by using hardware such as the HDD 105 if necessary.
CPU 10 which is computer hardware corresponding to software stored in an information storage medium such as
1 functions.

The software of the data processing device 20 is, for example, transmitted from the electric appliance 30 to the Internet 40.
Receiving the fault data by the communication I / F 113 or the like, determining the fault content for each functional component from the received fault data, and notifying at least the fault content and the handling content in accordance with the determination result Generating response data to be performed, notifying and outputting the generated response data to response personnel on the display output of the display 112, and transmitting the data to the appliance 30 via the Internet 40, and transmitting the response data to the data The control program for causing the CPU 101 or the like to execute a processing operation such as receiving response data from the electrical appliance 30 through the Internet 40, outputting the received response data to a response staff, etc. It is stored in an information storage medium.

The software of the electric appliance 30 monitors the occurrence of a failure for each of a plurality of functional components such as the FDD 107, generates failure data having contents corresponding to the detected failure, Data transmission of the generated fault data from the communication I / F 113 or the like to the data processing device 20 via the Internet 40, reception of the response data from the data processing device 20 that transmitted the fault data via the Internet 40, Notifying and outputting the received response data to the general user on the display output of the display 112 or the like, accepting the data input by the keyboard 110 or the like of the response data corresponding to the notified and output response data, Response data to Internet 4 Stored in the RAM104 of the information storage medium as a control program to be executed by the data transmission until the data processing apparatus 20, the processing operation equal to CPU101, etc. by.

A method for dealing with a failure in the data communication system 10 according to the present embodiment in the above configuration will be described below. First, the manufacturer manufactures the electric appliance 30 and sells it to a general user. This general user connects the purchased electric appliance 30 to the Internet 40 and uses it.

In this case, in the electric appliance 30 composed of a personal computer, as shown in FIG.
Various functional components such as are normally controlled by the CPU 101 to execute a normal operation (step S1). During the execution of the normal operation, a failure occurs for each functional component.
(Step S2).

When the occurrence of the failure is detected, failure data having the corresponding content is generated (step S).
3), this failure data is sent as an electronic mail
Is transmitted to the data processing device 20 of the coping organization through the Internet 40 (step S4).

In this data processing device 20, as shown in FIG. 6, when an electronic mail of fault data is received,
(Step T2), determine the failure content from the set content
(Step T3), countermeasure data is generated corresponding to the failure content (step T4).

For example, when the rotation failure occurs in the FDD 107 in the electric appliance 30, the electronic mail of the trouble data generated in response to the failure includes the identification code of the electric appliance 30, the identification code of the FDD 107, and the detected trouble. Is set in a predetermined format.

Therefore, in the data processing device 20 which has received the failure data e-mail, the above-mentioned setting data is extracted in accordance with a predetermined format, and the data is extracted as shown in FIG.
As shown in the figure, the corresponding "FDD motor breakage"
And countermeasure data such as "power failure from power supply to FDD" are selected by a predetermined algorithm.

Further, corresponding contents such as "motor replacement" and "FDD replacement" are selected by a predetermined algorithm in accordance with the selected failure content, and the response data is provided in the guidance text of the failure content and the response content. Data is generated. Note that the guidance text for this response includes the cost notification for the part price such as "2000 yen" and the work price such as "800 yen". Will be done.

The response data generated as described above is displayed on the display 112 of the data processing device 20 for display to the response personnel, and the response personnel is notified that a failure has occurred in the general user's electric appliance 30. Then, the functional component in which the failure has occurred, the content of the expected failure, the content of the response corresponding to the content of the failure, the cost of executing the content of the response, and the like, are checked at once as a list.

Further, as shown in FIG. 6, the data processing device 20 transmits the above-described handling data as electronic mail to the electric appliance 30 (step T6), and as shown in FIG. The received response data is displayed and output to the general user on the display 112.

Thus, the general user executes the fault of his / her own electric appliance 30, the functional component in which the fault has occurred, the anticipated fault, the countermeasure corresponding to the fault, and the countermeasure. In this case, the coping cost and the like in the case of performing the operation are checked in a list at once.

As shown in FIG. 4, the electric appliance 3
Since the response data displayed on the display 112 of the “0” is also accompanied by the input format of the response data, the general user can input the response data to the electric appliance 30 by the input operation of the keyboard 110 as desired.

In the case of the electric appliance 30 to which the reply data has been input as described above (step S7), the reply data is transmitted to the data processing device 20 (step S7).
8) This means that the general user has notified the manufacturer of the desired response in response to the confirmed response data.

When the response data is received by the data processor 20 (step T7), the response data is displayed on the display 112 for the response personnel (step T8), and the response personnel confirms the request of the general user. In such a case, countermeasures such as on-site repairs are performed.

In the method for dealing with a failure in the data communication system 10 according to the present embodiment, as described above, the electric appliance 30 automatically detects the occurrence of its own failure and contacts the data processing device 20 of the manufacturer. The data processing device 20 automatically determines the content of the failure and, together with the content of the response, the electric appliance 3
Answer 0.

Then, the electric appliance 30 displays and outputs the responded response data to the general user.
In addition to the occurrence of a failure in the device 0, the general user can confirm at once the details of the failure and the details of the measures.
In particular, since the electric appliance 30 notifies the general user of its own trouble, it is possible to make the general user easily recognize the part and the contents of the trouble.

Further, since the electric appliance 30 automatically detects a failure of the functional component without requiring the recognition of the general user, for example, the damage of the functional component at the time of purchase is generally terminated after the warranty period ends. It is possible to prevent the user from recognizing. Then, as the countermeasures, it is suggested that the functional component in which the fault has occurred is to be replaced, and the general user can promptly order this.

Further, since the general user is notified of the replacement cost of the functional component and the like by the handling data, the general user can easily and quickly determine the handling after confirming the cost. In particular, when the general user confirms the cost and gives up the restoration, there is no need to perform the work of transporting the electric appliance 30 to the manufacturer and inspecting it, so that the burden on the general user and the manufacturer is greatly reduced. can do.

Further, since the data processing device 20 also notifies the response data of the response data to the response personnel of the response organization, the response personnel can also confirm the same failure content and response content as the general user. It is possible to respond to a general user's consultation according to the content.

Further, since it is not necessary for a general user who is not familiar with the electric appliance 30 to explain the symptoms of the trouble to the coping staff, the burden on the general user and the coping staff can be reduced. In addition, since the first stage inspection is completed when the failure is found in the electric appliance 30, it is easy for the responding person to check and deal with the failure.

As described above, the electric appliance 30 including the personal computer displays the handling data on the display 112.
Can be displayed and output to the general user, the response data can be easily and reliably notified to the general user, and the response data is input-operated with the keyboard 110, so that the input of the response data by the general user can be performed easily and reliably. can do.

The electric appliance 30 transmits the input response data to the data processing device 20, and the data processing device 20 notifies the response data of the response data to the response personnel of the response organization. It is possible to promptly notify the response staff of the request of the general user.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and allows various modifications without departing from the gist of the present invention. For example, in the above embodiment, a personal computer is assumed as the electric appliance 30 and the Internet 40 is assumed as the communication network. However, the present invention can be applied to various home appliances used by being connected to the communication network.

However, the home electric appliance 30 composed of a personal computer can display the response data on the display 112, input the response data with the keyboard 110, and operate the various means 31 to 37 by the software.
101 is preferable because it can be realized.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the case where one independent electric appliance 30 monitors a failure of a functional component such as its own FDD 107 by its own CPU 101 or the like has been described as an example. It is also possible to monitor the occurrence of a failure with the electric appliance 30 as described above as a functional component.

In this case, it is possible for the appliance 30 to monitor the power supply to other appliances with dedicated hardware or the like, and to predict the abnormality of the appliance from the abnormality of the power supply. Further, when another electric appliance is operated by the wireless remote controller, the electric operation can be controlled by the electric appliance 30 to predict the abnormality from the response state.

As described above, the electric appliance 30 detects the occurrence of an abnormality in its own functional component, and
In the method of notifying data to the user, it is difficult to cope with a case where an abnormality occurs in a function of detecting an abnormality of the electric appliance 30 or an abnormality occurs in a communication function.

Therefore, if this poses a problem, a failure detection means 31 and the like are provided in the data processing device 20, and the data processing device 20 monitors occurrence of a failure for each of a plurality of functional components of the electric appliance 30 by data communication. Is preferred.
However, in this case, it is necessary for the data processing device 20 to always execute complicated data communication with a huge number of electric appliances 30, and the above two methods have advantages and disadvantages mutually, and In this case, it is preferable to select one in consideration of various conditions.

In the above-described embodiment, the case where the data processing device 20 generates the response data of the response content such as the component replacement has been exemplified. However, the response data of the product replacement can be generated as such response content. As this product exchange, in addition to the exchange of the same product, it is also possible to recommend a new product having the same contents.

For example, even if the content of the failure is a damaged part, the replacement part may not be in a discontinued number and may not exist. Even if the content of the failure can be dealt with, the cost of the repair may correspond to the actual price of the electric appliance 30. . In such a case, it is practical to determine that the product cannot be recovered. Therefore, it is preferable to recommend a product replacement to a general user, and it is possible to recommend a new product to a general user who is willing to purchase.

Further, in the above embodiment, when the response data is input to the appliance 30 by the general user who has confirmed the response data, the response data is transmitted to the data processing device 20 and is reported to the response personnel. But,
The data processing device 20 can also generate second response data in response to the response data and return the data to the appliance 30. In this case, the general user and the data processing device 20 can interact with each other in an interactive manner. Since the data communication can be repeated, it is possible to automatically generate the coping data satisfying the general user.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the manufacturer that executes the manufacture, sale, and maintenance of the electric appliance 30 is exemplified as the handling organization. However, for example, a sales store that sells the electric appliance of each company is the handling organization. It is also possible, and a maintenance company that maintains the electric appliances of each company can be the coping organization.

Further, in the above embodiment, various means are logically realized as various functions of the data processing device 20 and the home electric appliance 30 by the operation of the CPU 101 according to the control program stored as software in the RAM 104 or the like. Illustrated. However, it is also possible to form each of these various means as unique hardware, and it is also possible to store a part of the various means as software in the RAM 104 or the like and form a part as hardware.

In the above embodiment, the software installed in the HDD 105 in advance from the CD-ROM 108 or the like is copied to the RAM 104 when the data processing device 20 or the home electric appliance 30 is started, and the software stored in the RAM 104 is copied to the CPU 101. Is assumed to be read by the
Can be used by the CPU 101 while stored in the
It is also possible to fixedly store in M103 in advance.

Further, software is stored in the FD 106 or the CD-ROM 108 which is an information storage medium that can be handled alone, and the FD 106 and the HDD 105
Although it is possible to install software in the AM 104, it is also possible for the CPU 101 to directly read the software from the FD 106 or the like and execute the processing operation without performing such installation.

The method of supplying the software described on the information storage medium to the CPU 101 is not limited to loading the information storage medium directly into the data processing device 20 or the home electric appliance 30. That is, when various means of the data processing device 20 and the home appliance 30 of the present invention are realized by software, the software
It suffices that 1 is in a state where it can read data and execute a corresponding operation.

It is also possible to form a control program for realizing the various means as described above by combining a plurality of software. In this case, the information storage medium as a single product stores the data of the present invention. Only the minimum necessary software for realizing the processing device 20 and the home appliance 30 may be stored.

For example, a data processing device 20 or a home appliance 30 on which an existing operating system is mounted
In the case where application software is provided by an information storage medium such as a CD-ROM 108, software for implementing various means of the data processing device 20 and the home appliance 30 of the present invention is implemented by a combination of application software and an operating system. Therefore, the software depending on the operating system can be omitted from the application software of the information storage medium.

[0094]

According to the first failure handling method of the present invention, an electric appliance monitors the occurrence of a failure for each of a plurality of functional components thereof,
When the occurrence of the failure is detected, corresponding data of the failure data is generated, and the generated failure data is transmitted from the communication network to the data processing device of the coping organization by the electric appliance. The content of the failure is determined for each functional component, and in response to the result of the determination, the data processing device generates response data for notifying the content of the failure or the response, and notifies the general user of the generated response data. Thereby, the general user can be automatically notified of the troubleshooting method together with the failure of the electric appliance, so that, for example, the general user can promptly respond to the failure of the electric appliance.

In the second failure handling method according to the present invention, the data processing device of the handling agency monitors the occurrence of a failure for each of a plurality of functional components of the electric appliance from the communication network, and when the occurrence of the failure is detected, the content of the failure is determined. In response to this determination result, the user generates data to notify the details of the failure or the response, and notifies the general user of the generated response data. Can be automatically notified, for example, it is possible to prompt a general user to quickly deal with a failure of an electric appliance.

Further, since the data processing device also notifies and outputs the response data to the response personnel of the response organization, the response personnel can be notified of the failure of the electric appliance and the response method. You can deal with obstacles quickly.

Further, the data processing device transmits the coping data to the electric appliance, and the electric appliance notifies the general user of the coping data and outputs the coping data to the general user, thereby notifying the general user of the coping method and the like with the electric appliance in which the failure has occurred. Since it is possible, the general user can clearly confirm the abnormality and the coping method.

When the general user who confirms the response data inputs the response data to the electric appliance, the electric appliance transmits the response data to the data processing device, and the data processing device transmits the response data to the response organization. By outputting the notification to the personnel, the response of the general user to the response data generated by the data processing device can be notified to the response personnel. For example, the response personnel can respond to the request of the general user to deal with the failure of the electric appliance. You can do it.

When the general user who confirms the response data inputs the reply data to the electric appliance, the electric appliance transmits the reply data to the data processing device, and the data processing device responds to the reply data. By generating the second response data, the data processing device and the general user perform data communication in an interactive manner regarding the failure of the electric appliance and the countermeasure. For example, the response data satisfying the general user by repeating the data communication. Can be generated as data.

Further, the data processing device determines whether or not the functional component or the electric appliance can be restored. If the result of the judgment indicates that the restoration is not possible, the data processing device notifies the replacement of the functional component or the electric appliance as at least a part of the handling data. By generating data, it is possible to automatically notify a general user of replacement when a failure of a functional component or an electric appliance is irrecoverable, so that a general user can quickly replace an unrecoverable functional component or an electric appliance. be able to.

Further, since the data processing device generates the cost notification as at least a part of the handling data, the general user can be automatically notified of the cost required to deal with the failure of the electric appliance. The general user can be made aware of the cost required before the execution.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a logical structure of a data communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a physical structure of a data communication system.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a physical structure of a data processing device and an electric appliance.

FIG. 4 is a front view showing handling data displayed and output on a display;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a data processing method for an appliance.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a data processing method of the data processing device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 10 data communication system 20 data processing device 21 failure receiving means 22 failure determining means 23 response generating means 24 response notification means 25 response receiving means 26 response output means 30 appliances 31 failure detecting means 32 failure generating means 33 failure notification means 34 response receiving Means 35 Response output means 36 Reply input means 37 Reply transmission means 40 Internet which is a communication network 101 CPU which is a main body of a computer 103 ROM which is an information storage medium 104 RAM which is an information storage medium 105 HDD which is an information storage medium 106 Information storage FD108 which is a medium CD-ROM which is an information storage medium

Claims (19)

[Claims] 1. An electronic appliance connected to a communication network and used by a general user, for each of a plurality of functional components that generate a predetermined function and monitor the occurrence of a failure. Fault data having contents corresponding to the data is generated by the product, and the generated fault data is transmitted from the communication network to the data processing device of a predetermined countermeasure by the appliance, and the fault data is transmitted by the data processing device. From the above, the content of the fault for each functional component is determined, and corresponding data for notifying at least the content of the fault and the content of the response is generated by the data processing apparatus in accordance with the result of the determination. A failure handling method in which data is notified to the general user by a data processing device. 2. An electric appliance comprising a plurality of functional parts, each of which generates a predetermined function, is connected to a communication network and used by general users, and a data processing device of a predetermined countermeasure institution supplies the electric appliance from the communication network. The occurrence of a failure is monitored for each of a plurality of functional components, and the content of the failure is determined by the data processing device that has detected the occurrence of the failure, and at least the content of the failure and the content of the response are notified by the data processing device in accordance with the determination result. A failure handling method, wherein troubleshooting data is generated, and the generated handling data is reported to the general user by the data processing device. 3. The failure handling method according to claim 1, wherein the handling data is also output to the handling staff of the handling organization by the data processing device. 4. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the response data is transmitted to the appliance by the data processing device, and the response data is reported to the general user by the appliance. The failure handling method described. 5. The response data is input to the appliance by the general user who has confirmed the response data, and the response data is transmitted to the data processing device by the appliance, and the response is transmitted by the data processing device. The fault handling method according to claim 4, wherein the data is notified and output to a handling person of the handling organization. 6. The response data is input to the appliance by the general user who has confirmed the response data, and the response data is transmitted to the data processing device by the appliance, and the response is transmitted by the data processing device. The failure handling method according to claim 4, wherein the second handling data is generated corresponding to the data. 7. The data processing device determines whether or not the functional component can be restored. If the result of the determination indicates that the functional component cannot be recovered, the data processing device notifies the functional component as at least a part of the handling data by exchanging the functional component. Is generated as data.
The failure handling method according to any one of the above. 8. The data processing device determines whether or not restoration of the appliance is possible. If the result of the determination is that restoration is not possible, the data processing device notifies the appliance of replacement of the appliance as at least a part of the handling data. Is generated as data.
The failure handling method according to any one of the above. 9. The failure handling method according to claim 1, wherein the data processing device generates a cost notice as at least a part of the handling data. 10. The data processing method of the data processing device used in the failure handling method according to claim 1, wherein the data is received from the appliance via the communication network, and the received failure is received. The failure content of each functional component is determined from the data, response data for notifying at least the failure content and the response content is generated in accordance with the determination result, and the generated response data is notified to the general user. Data processing method. 11. A data processing method of the data processing device used in the failure handling method according to claim 2, wherein a failure occurrence is monitored from the communication network for each of a plurality of functional components of the electrical appliance. When the occurrence of a failure is detected, the content of the failure is determined. In response to the determination result, at least the response data for notifying the failure content and the response content is generated, and the generated response data is notified to the general user. Data processing method. 12. The data processing method for the electrical appliance used in the failure handling method according to claim 1, wherein a failure occurrence is monitored for each of the plurality of functional components, and the failure detected thereby is detected. Generating fault data having a content corresponding to the occurrence; transmitting the generated fault data to the data processing device; receiving the countermeasure data from the data processing device; A data processing method for notifying and outputting data to the general user. 13. The data processing apparatus used in the failure handling method according to claim 1, wherein: the failure receiving means receives data of the failure data from the electric appliance via the communication network; Failure determination means for determining the failure content of each functional component from the received failure data; and a measure for generating response data for notifying at least the failure content and the response content in accordance with the determination result of the failure determination means A data processing apparatus comprising: a generating unit; and a notifying unit that notifies the general user of the coping data generated by the coping generating unit. 14. The data processing apparatus used in the failure handling method according to claim 2, wherein: a failure monitoring unit that monitors the occurrence of a failure from the communication network for each of a plurality of functional components of the electrical appliance; A failure judging means for judging the contents of a failure when the failure monitoring means detects the occurrence of a failure; A data processing apparatus comprising: a generating unit; and a notifying unit that notifies the general user of the coping data generated by the coping generating unit. 15. The appliance used in the failure handling method according to claim 1 or 4, wherein the failure detection means monitors a failure occurrence for each of the plurality of functional components, and the failure detection means detects the failure. Fault generating means for generating fault data having contents corresponding to the detected fault occurrence; fault notifying means for transmitting the fault data generated by the fault generating means to the data processing device; and fault notifying means. A response receiving unit that receives the response data from the data processing device that has transmitted the failure data, and a response output unit that notifies the general user of the response data received by the response receiving unit, and outputs the response data. An appliance equipped with. 16. A data communication system comprising: the data processing device according to claim 13; the electric appliance according to claim 15; and a communication network connecting the data processing device and the electric appliance. . 17. An information storage medium storing software for a computer of the data processing apparatus used in the failure handling method according to claim 1, wherein the failure data is transmitted from the electric appliance to the communication network. Receiving the data, determining the content of the failure for each functional component from the received failure data, generating response data for notifying at least the content of the failure and the content of the response in response to the determination result, An information storage medium storing a program for causing the computer to execute the data notification to the general user of the generated coping data. 18. An information storage medium storing software for a computer of the data processing device used in the failure handling method according to claim 2, wherein the information processing medium is provided for each of a plurality of functional components of the electric appliance. Monitoring the occurrence of a failure from the communication network, determining the content of the failure when the occurrence of the failure is detected, generating response data for notifying at least the content of the failure and the content of the response in response to the determination result; An information storage medium storing a program for causing the computer to execute the data notification to the general user of the generated coping data. 19. An information storage medium storing software for the electric appliance computer used in the failure handling method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a failure occurrence is detected for each of the plurality of functional components. Monitoring, generating data of fault data having a content corresponding to the detected fault occurrence, transmitting the generated fault data to the data processing device, from the data processing device to the handling data An information storage medium storing a program for causing the computer to execute the following steps: receiving the data, and notifying and outputting the received response data to the general user.