JP2002247035A - Information communication system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an information communication system capable of informing the outside of the system of fault information by connecting the system to a radio communication network as a backup communication route when abnormality is generated in a wired communication route. SOLUTION: At least one of a plurality of communication routes is prepared as a wired communication network 5 which is connected to a store controller 3 through a communication line 7 different from a LAN 4 and the other communication route is prepared as a radio communication network 12 which is connected to the controller 3 through a radio communication part. The radio communication part consists of a 1st radio communication equipment 9 connected to the LAN 4 and a 2nd radio communication equipments 10, 11 connected to the radio communication network 12. When the wired communication network 5 can not be used, fault information is transmitted to the 1st radio communication equipment 9 which transmits the fault information to the 2nd equipments 10, 11 to inform the outside of the system of the fault information from the 2nd equipments 10, 11.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a PO that connects a plurality of information processing apparatuses to each other via a home communication network such as a LAN (Local Area Network).
The present invention relates to an information communication system such as an S (Point Of Sales) system.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A plurality of Ps having a function of registering sales products
Wired or wireless LAN between the OS terminal and the store controller having a host function of each POS terminal
And an information communication system in which the store controller collects and totals the information of the merchandise registered at each POS terminal via the LAN, and centrally manages information on sales, loss, etc. of the entire store. , So-called POS
The system is widely used in mass retailers such as supermarkets and convenience stores.

[0003] In a chain store in which the headquarters manages a plurality of stores among these mass merchandising stores, the host computer of the headquarters and the POS system of each store are ISD.
N (Integrated Services Digital Network: Integrated Digital Communication Network) or other wired communication network, the host computer at the headquarters collects information on sales and ordering from each store from the POS system at each store via the wired communication network. Also, information transmitted from the headquarters to each store is distributed from a host computer to a POS system of each store via a wired communication network.

In general, a POS system connected to a wired communication network such as an ISDN is subject to a system error, which is difficult for an operator to repair, and a fault such as an abnormal operation of equipment.
When an error occurs in the OS terminal, the failure information is automatically notified to the outside of the system, such as a maintenance service base, via the communication network. In this case, as a route for notifying the fault information, a route for notifying the fault information to the outside of the system by connecting the POS terminal which has detected the error or the fault by itself to the communication network, and other POs
The S terminal is notified of the failure information via the LAN, and the POS terminal receiving the notification connects to the communication network to notify the failure information to the outside of the system, and notifies the store controller of the failure information via the LAN. There are three possible routes for the POS terminal receiving the notification to connect to the communication network and notify the failure information to the outside of the system.

Conventionally, in this type of information communication system, when a failure occurs, an available communication path is determined from three communication paths, and when a plurality of paths are available, a preset priority is set. Select the communication path with the highest priority and notify the failure information to the outside of the system. If the notification fails, select the communication path with the next highest priority and notify the failure information to the outside of the system. There has been known a technology capable of notifying failure information to a maintenance service base or the like outside the system with a high probability (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-1995).
No. 57008).

[0006]

However, in this type of conventional information communication system, there are three communication routes for notifying fault information generated inside the system to a maintenance service base or the like outside the system. Since both paths are common to the path from the line terminating device provided at the exit of the system to connect to the wired communication network to the outside of the system, an abnormality occurs in the line terminating device itself, or the line terminating device and the wired There has been a problem that failure information cannot be notified to the outside of the system when a disconnection occurs in a transmission line connecting to a communication network.

For example, there has been a case where an information processing device such as a line terminating device or the like inside the system has an abnormality due to the influence of lightning, and failure information cannot be notified outside the system. Also, if the wired communication network itself is cut off due to a natural disaster such as an earthquake, heavy snowfall, or typhoon, or if the transmission line connecting the line terminating device and the wire communication network is cut off, a failure occurred in the system. Information could not be communicated outside the system.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a communication system for a normally used wired system in which an abnormality has occurred and fault information generated in the system is transmitted to the wired system. Even if it becomes impossible to notify the outside of the system through the communication path of the system, the failure information can be notified to the outside of the system by connecting to the wireless communication network as a backup communication path, and the failure notification can be performed more reliably. It is an object of the present invention to provide an information communication system capable of performing such operations.

[0009]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, a system is constructed by connecting a plurality of information processing apparatuses to each other via a home communication network, and communicates with the outside of the system via a plurality of communication paths. In an information communication system that detects failure occurrence in the system and notifies failure information to the outside using one of the communication paths, at least one of the plurality of communication paths is a wired communication network. A wired communication network is connected via a communication line different from the home communication network, and another one is connected as a wireless communication network to this wireless communication network via a wireless communication unit. In addition, the wireless communication unit includes a first wireless communication device connected to the home communication network and a second wireless communication device connected to the wireless communication network. When notifying failure information, it is determined whether or not a wired communication network is available among a plurality of communication paths, and if it is available, the failure information is transmitted to the outside of the system via the wired communication network. Notice. On the other hand, when it is unavailable, the failure information is transmitted to the first wireless communication device via the home communication network, and the first wireless communication device transfers the failure information to the second wireless communication device, and the second wireless communication device transmits the failure information to the second wireless communication device. Wireless communication device notifies failure information to the outside of the system via a wireless communication network.

With this configuration, if the wired communication network is unavailable when notifying the fault information, the fault information is transmitted to the first wireless communication device via the home communication network. The failure information is transferred from the first wireless communication device to the second wireless communication device, and further transmitted from the second wireless communication device to the outside of the system via the wireless communication network.
Failure information is notified outside the system.

[0011] In the present invention, as in the second aspect of the present invention, the wireless communication unit includes a first wireless communication device connected to the home communication network and a second wireless communication device connected to the wireless communication network. In a single housing.

Further, as in the invention described in claim 3 of the present application,
A wireless communication unit that is connected to at least one of the plurality of information processing devices;
A first wireless communication device provided in one information processing device;
It may be constituted by a second wireless communication device connected to a wireless communication network. In this case, when the wired communication network is unavailable, the failure information is transmitted to the information processing device provided with the first wireless communication device via the home communication network, and the information processing device provided with the first wireless communication device is provided. Transfers the failure information to the second wireless communication device via the first wireless communication device, and the second wireless communication device notifies the outside of the system via the wireless communication network of the failure information.

In the invention described in claim 1 or 3 of the present application, the second wireless communication device is a portable telephone, a PHS (Pe
rsonal Handyphone System), PDA (Personal Digit)
al Assistants) and the like, and when notifying failure information, searches for a portable wireless terminal device connectable to the first wireless communication device and finds the found portable wireless terminal device. The fault information is transferred from the first wireless communication device to the portable wireless terminal device only when the portable wireless communication device is a specific portable wireless communication device registered in advance in the system. It is preferable to configure so as to notify the failure information to the outside.

[0014] In this case, when a failure occurred in the system is not notified to the outside,
The information stored in the second wireless communication device is transferred to the first wireless communication device, and the information is transmitted to any of the information processing devices via a home communication network. After performing the information processing described above, it is convenient to notify the information accompanying the processing result to the outside of the system via a wired communication network.

Further, in the present invention, a home communication network connecting a plurality of information processing apparatuses to each other may be a wireless LAN.

[0016]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. First, a first embodiment corresponding to the first and fourth aspects of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 1 is an overall view of a system according to the first embodiment, in which 1 indicates a store. That is, the store 1 has a plurality of n POs having a function of registering sales products.
An S terminal 2 (2-1,..., 2-n) and a store controller 3 having a host function for each POS terminal 2 are provided, and each POS terminal 2 and the store controller 3 are a home communication network. A POS system is constructed by being connected by a wired LAN 4. Further, the store 1 is provided with a line termination device 6 for connecting to a wired public network 5 such as an ISDN or a telephone network, which is a wired communication network. Are connected by the home data line 7 respectively. The line terminating device 6 and the wired public network 5 are connected by a communication line 8 such as an ISDN line or a telephone line.

A first wireless communication device 9 is connected to the LAN 4.
Is connected. The first wireless communication device 9 is located within a range where its own radio wave can reach.
It is possible to perform wireless communication with 0 and 11, and for example, Bluetooth (Bluetooth) is used as a wireless transmission method. Second wireless communication device 10, 11
Is a portable wireless terminal device that can be connected to a wireless public network 12 such as a mobile phone network or a PHS network, which is a wireless communication network, and a wireless handy terminal for inventory management is used.
For convenience of description, one second wireless communication device 10 is referred to as a first portable wireless terminal 10, and the other second wireless communication device 11 is referred to as a second portable wireless terminal 11.

The wired public network 5 and the wireless public network 12 have P
As an external notification destination for failure information that has occurred in the OS system,
A service company that performs maintenance and inspection of the POS terminal 2 and a host device of a store headquarters, and a dedicated telephone or an information communication device of a police, a fire department, a security company, and the like are selectively connected. In addition, the wired public network 5 and the wireless public network 12
Are connected to each other by a network connection communication line 13.

Hereinafter, in this embodiment, the wired public network 5
A failure information notification destination that can be connected to both the wireless public network 12 and the wireless public network 12 is referred to as a service base A, and a failure information notification destination that can be connected only to the wired public network 5 is referred to as a service base B. And P
The case where the OS terminal 2-1 detects a failure that has occurred in the POS system and notifies the service base A or B of the corresponding failure information will be specifically described.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the main configuration of the POS terminal 2-1. The POS terminal 2-1 has a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 21 as a control unit main body.
Is provided. Also, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 22 in which fixed data such as programs are stored in advance, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 23 in which various memory areas for registering product sales data are formed, and a non-volatile storage medium. HDD (Hard Disk Drive) device 2
4, a clock unit 25 for measuring the date and time, the LAN 4
That controls data communication with each unit connected through the LAN
N controller 26, keyboard interface 2
7, signal input / output units such as a display interface 28, a printer interface 29, an I / O port 30, and a communication interface 31 are provided. The CPU 21, the ROM 22, the RAM 23, and the HDD device 2
4, a clock unit 25, a LAN controller 26, and signal input / output units 27 to 31 are connected by a bus line 20 such as an address bus and a data bus.

The keyboard interface 27 has a keyboard 3 on which various keys for registering goods are arranged.
3 are connected. Display interface 28
Includes the product name, price,
A display 34 for displaying the total amount and the like is connected. The printer interface 29 is connected to a printer 35 for performing receipt printing and journal printing. A drawer 36 for storing cash or the like is connected to the I / O port 30. The line interface device 6 is connected to the communication interface 31 via the in-home data line 7.

In the POS terminal 2-1 having such a configuration, for example, the following five routes (1) to (5) can be considered as communication routes for notifying the service base A of fault information.

(1) The POS terminal 2-1 accesses the wired public network 5 by itself and connects the line with the service base A, and the in-home data line 7, the line terminating device 6, and the wired public network 5
The failure information is notified to the service base A via the service. (First
(Route) (2) The POS terminal 2-1 transmits the fault information to the store controller 3 via the LAN 4, and the store controller 3 accesses the wired public network 5 to provide the service base A.
And notifies the service base A of the fault information via the in-home data line 7, the line terminating device 6, and the wired public network 5. (2nd route) (3) The POS terminal 2-1 transmits the failure information to the adjacent POS terminal 1-2 via the LAN 4, and
The S terminal 1-2 accesses the wired public network 5 to connect the line with the service base A, and notifies the service base A of the fault information via the in-home data line 7, the line terminating device 6, and the wired public network 5. I do. (Third Path) (4) The POS terminal 2-1 transmits the failure information to the first wireless communication device 9 via the LAN 4, and the first wireless communication device 9 is the second wireless communication device. The failure information is transferred to the first portable wireless terminal 10 or the second portable wireless terminal 11, and the first portable wireless terminal 10 or the second portable wireless terminal 11 accesses the wireless public network 12 and communicates with the service base A. And notifies the service base A of the fault information via the wireless public network 12. (Fourth Path) (5) The POS terminal 2-1 transmits the failure information to the first wireless communication device 9 via the LAN 4, and the first wireless communication device 9 is the second wireless communication device. The failure information is transferred to the first portable wireless terminal 10 or the second portable wireless terminal 11, and the first portable wireless terminal 10 or the second portable wireless terminal 11 is connected to the wired public network 5 via the wireless public network 12. The access point connects the line with the service base A, and notifies the service base A of the failure information via the wireless public network 12 and the wired public network 5. (Fifth Route) Incidentally, the fourth route is effective when the notification destination is directly connected to the wireless public network 12 like the service base A, and the fifth route is the wireless destination like the service base B. This is effective when not directly connected to the network 12.

Therefore, the RAM 2 of the POS terminal 2-1
3, a wired public network communication disable flag F0 that is set to “1” when it is not possible to notify failure information using the wired public network 5, as shown in FIG. The first path communication disable flag F1 that is set to “1” when the used fault information cannot be notified, and “1” when the fault information cannot be notified using the second path.
And a third path communication disable flag F3 set to "1" when the failure information cannot be notified using the third path. . Further, an area 41 for storing a time HH (hour): MM (minute) when it is determined that communication using the wired public network 5 is impossible, an area 42 for a communication retry counter R for counting the number of communication retries, An area 43 of an empty wireless terminal search timer T for measuring the search time of the empty portable wireless terminal 11 or 12 is formed.
The flags F0 to F3 and the areas 41 to 43 are
“0” when system reset such as power ON
Is cleared.

As shown in FIG. 4, the HDD 24 has a connection number (telephone number) in the wired public network 5 and a connection number (mobile phone number or PHS number, etc.) and a first portable wireless terminal 10 or a second portable wireless terminal usable as a second wireless communication device interposed on the fourth route or the fifth route. 11
Mobile wireless terminal table 5 in which the terminal numbers of the mobile terminals are set and registered in advance
2 is stored. The above service base table 51
Are also stored in the storage devices of the other POS terminals 2-2 to 2-n and the store controller 3.

Thus, the CPU of the POS terminal 2-1
21 detects a failure that has occurred in its own POS system, and starts the failure notification processing shown in the flowchart of FIG. 5 when the failure is a failure for which failure information must be notified to the service base A or B. It is program controlled to

That is, when starting the failure occurrence notifying process, the CPU 21 first determines whether or not the wired public network communication impossible flag F0 is set to "1" as ST (step) 1. Here, if the wired public network communication disable flag F0 is not set to "1", since the wired public network 5 was available at the time of the previous failure occurrence notification processing, the process proceeds to ST5, where the wired public network is used. A failure occurrence notification process using the network 5 is executed.

On the other hand, the wired public network communication disabled flag F
If “0” is set to “1”, the wired public network 5 cannot be used at the time of the previous failure occurrence notification processing, so the current time measured by the clock unit 25 as ST2 is set. Then, an elapsed time P from the wired public network communication disabled time stored in the RAM area 41 is calculated. Then, as ST3, it is determined whether or not the elapsed time P exceeds a predetermined time. Here, if the elapsed time P does not exceed the specified time, the process proceeds to ST7, and a failure occurrence notification process using the wireless public network 12 is executed.

On the other hand, if the elapsed time P exceeds the specified time, there is a possibility that the wired public network 5 unusable at the time of the previous failure occurrence notification processing has been restored. Proceeding to ST4, the wired public network communication impossible flag F0 is updated to "2". Thereafter, a failure occurrence notification process using the wired public network 5 is executed as ST5. Then, when the failure notification processing using the wired public network 5 is completed, it is determined again whether or not the wired public network communication disable flag F0 is set to "1" in ST6. Here, if the wired public network communication disabled flag F0 has been reset to “0”, the failure information could be notified to the service base A or B using the wired public network 5, and the current processing ends. I do.

On the other hand, if the wired public network communication disable flag F0 has been reset to "1" in ST6, the failure information is notified to the service base A or B in the failure occurrence notification processing using the wired public network 5. Since it could not be performed, the process proceeds to ST7, and a failure occurrence notification process using the wireless public network 12 is executed. Thereafter, when the failure occurrence notifying process using the wireless public network 12 ends, the current process ends.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart specifically showing the failure occurrence notifying process using the wired public network 5 in ST5 in FIG. That is, when starting the failure occurrence notification processing using the wired public network 5, the CPU 21 sets the wired public network communication disabled flag F0 to “0”, that is, when the failure occurrence notification processing is performed last time, the wired communication is disabled. When the public network 5 is available, the failure information can be notified using any one of the first route, the second route, and the third route. Then, the route in which the failure information can be notified is searched for in the priority order of the third route. Specifically, ST
It is determined whether or not the first path communication disable flag F1 is set to "1" as 11, and if it is set to "1", the first path is used at the time of the previous failure occurrence notification processing. Since notification of failure information was impossible, ST12
It is determined whether or not the second path communication disable flag F2 is set to “1”. Then, if the second path communication disable flag F2 is also set to "1", it is impossible to notify the failure information using the second path at the time of the previous failure occurrence notification processing. It is determined whether or not the third path communication disable flag F3 is set to "1".

In this way, for example, if it is confirmed in ST11 that the first route communication disable flag F1 has been reset to "0", a failure occurrence notifying process using the first route is executed in ST14. As a result, if the first path communication disable flag F1 is set to “1” in ST15, that is, if the failure occurrence notification processing using the first path has failed, the process proceeds to ST12, and the second path communication disable flag F2 Check.

At ST12, the second route communication disable flag F2
Is confirmed to have been reset to "0", a failure occurrence notification process using the second route is executed in ST16. As a result, if the second path communication impossible flag F2 is set to "1" in ST17, that is, if the failure occurrence notification processing using the second path has failed, the process proceeds to ST13, and the third path communication impossible flag F3 Check.

At ST13, the third route communication disabled flag F3
Is confirmed to have been reset to "0", a failure occurrence notification process using the third route is executed in ST18. As a result, if the third-path communication disable flag F3 is set to “1” in ST19, that is, if the failure occurrence notifying process using the third path has failed, the process proceeds to ST20, and the data is read from the clock unit 25. The current time is written in the RAM area 41 as the wired public network communication disabled time. Also, as ST21, the wired public network communication disable flag F
When "0" is set to "1", the failure occurrence notifying process using the wired public network 5 is terminated.

On the other hand, when the first route communication disable flag F1 is still reset to "0" in ST15, or in the second route communication disable flag F2 in ST17.
Remains reset to "0", or
When the third route communication disabled flag F3 is still reset to "0" at T18, the failure information is transmitted to the service base outside the system using any one of the first route, the second route, and the third route. Since notification has been made to A or B, a message indicating that the failure information has been notified using the wired public network 5 is displayed on the display 34 in ST22. If the message is printed out on the journal paper by the printer 55, the wired public network 5
Terminates the failure occurrence notification processing using.

On the other hand, if the wired public network communication disabled flag F0 has been updated to "2", that is, if the specified time has passed since the wired public network 5 became unusable, the first route Regardless of the state of the communication impossible flag F1, the second path communication impossible flag F2, and the third path communication impossible flag F3, first, a failure occurrence notification process using the first path is executed. Then, if the failure notification fails, that is, S
If the first path communication disable flag F1 has been set to "1" at T15, then a failure occurrence notification process using the second path is executed. Then, if the failure notification has failed again, that is, if the second path communication disable flag F1 has been set to "1" in ST17, then a failure occurrence notification process using the third path is executed. . If the failure notification fails again, that is, if the third-path communication disable flag F3 is set to "1" in ST19, the process proceeds to ST21, and the wired public network communication disable flag F0 is set to "1". Then, the failure occurrence notifying process using the wired public network 5 ends. Incidentally, at this time, the process of ST20 is not performed. Therefore, in the RAM area 41, the wired public network communication disabled time at which the wired public network 5 was disabled last time is stored and held.

On the other hand, when the failure information can be notified to the service base A or B outside the system by using any one of the first route, the second route and the third route,
As described above, a message indicating that the failure information has been notified using the wired public network 5 is displayed on the display 34. The message is printed out on a journal sheet by the printer 55. After that, if the wired public network communication disable flag F0 is reset to “0” in ST23, the failure occurrence notifying process using the wired public network 5 is ended.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart specifically showing the fault occurrence notifying process using the first route in ST14 in FIG. That is, when starting the failure occurrence notifying process using the first path, the CPU 21 first resets the communication retry counter R to “0” in ST31. Next, ST32
As a result, the connection number of the wired public network of the service base A or B to which the failure information is notified is acquired from the service base table 51. Then, if the wired public network connection number is obtained, S
At T33, a line connection to the service base A or B is made through the communication path of the communication interface 31, the in-home data line 7, the line terminating device 6, the communication line 8, and the wired public network 5 using the wired public network connection number. Then, in ST34, it is determined whether or not the line connection is successful.

Here, if the line connection is successful, S
As T35, the corresponding failure information is transmitted to the service base A or B through the connected line. And S
At T36, it is determined whether or not the failure information has been normally transmitted to the service base A or B. If a response signal to the effect that the failure information has been received from the service base A or B to which the failure information has been received is returned within a predetermined time, it is recognized that the transmission has been normally performed, and a line with the service base A or B is determined as ST37. Disconnect. Thereafter, when the count value of the communication retry counter R is written in the error log file formed in the HDD device 24 together with the current time and the failure information in ST38, the failure occurrence notifying process using the first route is ended. .

On the other hand, if the line connection fails in ST34 and the failure information transmission fails in ST35, the communication retry counter R is counted up by "1" in ST39. Thereafter, as ST40, it is determined whether or not the communication retry counter R has exceeded a preset specified value. If it does not exceed, the process returns to ST33, and the line connection is made again through the same communication path.

If the communication retry counter R exceeds the specified value in ST40, the failure occurrence notifying process using the first route has failed, and the error log file indicates an error indicating the first route transmission error in ST41. Write data with current time. When the first path communication disable flag F1 is set to "1", the failure occurrence notifying process using the first path ends.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart specifically showing the failure occurrence notifying process using the second route in ST16 in FIG. That is, when starting the failure occurrence notifying process using the second path, the CPU 21 first resets the communication retry counter R to “0” in ST51. Next, ST52
As a result, the corresponding fault information notification request is transmitted to the store controller 3 via the LAN controller 26 and the LAN 4. As a result, if a permission response is returned from the store controller 3 in ST53, the corresponding fault information is transmitted to the store controller 3 via the LAN controller 26 and the LAN 4 in ST54.

The store controller 3 having received the failure information performs the same processing as ST32 to ST35 of the failure occurrence notification processing using the first route shown in FIG. That is, a line connection is established with the service base A or B via the in-home data line 7, the line terminating device 6, and the wired public network 5, and if the line is connected, the failure information received from the POS terminal 2-1 is provided as a service. Notify the base A or B. Then, if the notification is successful, a transmission completion notification is transmitted to the POS terminal 2-1 via the LAN 4.

Therefore, the CPU 21 of the POS terminal 2-1
Waits for a transmission completion notification from the store controller 3 as ST55. If the transmission completion notification is received within a predetermined time, the count value of the communication retry counter R is written in the error log file together with the current time and the failure information in ST56, and the failure occurrence notification processing using the second route is performed. finish.

On the other hand, if the corresponding fault information notification request is transmitted to the store controller 3 but there is no permission response (NO in ST53), the communication retry counter R is counted up by "1" in ST57. Thereafter, as ST58, it is determined whether or not the communication retry counter R has exceeded a predetermined value. And
If not exceeded, the process returns to ST52 to transmit a failure information notification request to the store controller 3 again.

If the communication retry counter R exceeds the specified value in ST58, or if the transmission completion notification cannot be received within a predetermined time in ST55, the failure occurrence notification processing using the second route fails. Therefore, as ST59, error data indicating the second route transmission error is written in the error log file together with the current time. ST6
If the second path communication disable flag F2 is set to "1" as "0", the failure occurrence notification processing using the second path is terminated.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart specifically showing the failure occurrence notification processing using the third route in ST18 in FIG. This process transits in substantially the same way as the fault occurrence notification process using the second route shown in FIG. That is, when starting the failure occurrence notifying process using the third route, the CPU 21 first resets the communication retry counter R to “0” in ST61. Next, as ST62, a notification request of the failure information corresponding to the preset POS terminal 2-2 is transmitted via the LAN controller 26 and the LAN4. As a result, the adjacent P
If a permission response is returned from the OS terminal 2-2, the LAN controller 26 and the LAN
4, the corresponding fault information is transmitted to the adjacent POS terminal 2-2.

The POS terminal 2-2 which has received the fault information performs the same processing as ST32 to ST35 of the fault notification processing using the first route shown in FIG. That is, a line connection is established with the service base A or B via the in-home data line 7, the line terminating device 6, and the wired public network 5, and if the line is connected, the failure information received from the POS terminal 2-1 is provided as a service. Notify the base A or B. Then, if the notification is successful, a transmission completion notification is transmitted to the POS terminal 2-1 via the LAN 4.

Therefore, the CPU 21 of the POS terminal 2-1
Waits for the transmission completion notification from the adjacent POS terminal 2-2 in ST65, and if the transmission completion notification is received within a predetermined time, in ST66, stores the count value of the communication retry counter R in the error log file and the current time. This is written together with the failure information, and the failure occurrence notification processing using the third route is terminated.

On the other hand, if a notification request for the corresponding fault information is transmitted to the adjacent POS terminal 2-2, but there is no permission response (NO in ST63), the communication retry counter R is set to "1" in ST67. Count up. Thereafter, as ST68, the communication retry counter R
Is determined to have exceeded a predetermined value. If not, return to ST62,
The failure information notification request is transmitted again to the adjacent POS terminal 2-2.

When the communication retry counter R exceeds the specified value in ST68, and when the transmission completion notification cannot be received within a predetermined time in ST65, the failure occurrence notification processing using the third route fails. Therefore, as ST69, error data indicating the second path transmission error is written in the error log file together with the current time. ST7
If the third route communication disable flag F3 is set to "1" as "0", the failure occurrence notifying process using the third route is ended.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart specifically showing the failure occurrence notifying process using the wireless public network 12 in ST7 in FIG. That is, when starting the failure occurrence notification process using the wireless public network 12, the CPU 21 first starts an idle wireless terminal search timer T in ST71. Next, as ST2, the LAN controller 26 and LAN4
To control the first wireless communication device 9 connected via
A call signal of the second wireless communication device is transmitted by radio, and a search is made to determine whether the first portable wireless terminal 10 or the second portable wireless terminal 11 exists within a range where radio waves of the first wireless communication device 9 can reach. .

If it is detected in step ST73 that the first wireless communication device 9 has received a response signal from the portable wireless terminal to the call signal, the process proceeds to step ST74 where the portable wireless terminal included in the response signal is detected. The terminal number is obtained from the first wireless communication device 9 via the LAN 4.
Then, in ST75, it is determined whether or not the obtained terminal number is registered in the portable wireless terminal table 52 in advance. Here, if the terminal number is not registered in the portable wireless terminal table 52, the portable wireless terminal that has responded is the first portable wireless terminal 10 or the first portable wireless terminal 10 that is set in advance as the second wireless communication device. Second portable wireless terminal 11
Then, the process returns to ST72, and the call signal of the second wireless communication device is transmitted again by radio to search for the second wireless communication device.

If the terminal number of the portable wireless terminal included in the response signal is registered in the wireless terminal table 52 in ST75, the portable wireless terminal is set to the first wireless communication device set in advance as the second wireless communication device. Is the portable wireless terminal 10 or the second portable wireless terminal 11, the service base A or B to which the failure information is to be notified is sent to the wireless public network 1 in ST 76.
It is determined from the information in the service base table 51 whether or not it is directly connected to the service base 2. Here, if the connection number in the wireless public network is registered for the service base A or B of the failure information notification destination, it is determined that the connection number is directly connected to the wireless public network 12, and if it is not registered, It is determined that it is not directly connected to the wireless public network 12. If it is determined that the terminal is directly connected to the wireless public network 12, the process proceeds to ST77 and the fourth
When a failure occurrence notification process using the route is performed and it is determined that the connection is not directly connected to the wireless public network 12, a failure occurrence notification process using the fifth route is performed in ST78.
The failure notification processing using the wireless public network 12 is terminated.

In step ST73, without detecting that the first wireless communication device 9 has received the response signal from the portable wireless terminal to the calling signal, the time measured by the idle wireless terminal search timer T is set in advance in step ST79. If the time-out period reaches the specified time-out, the failure occurrence notification process using the wireless public network 12 has failed. Therefore, in ST80, error data indicating a wireless public network transmission error is written in the error log file together with the current time. ST
A message 81 is displayed on the display 34 indicating that failure information could not be notified to the corresponding service base A or B. Further, the message is printed out on the journal paper, and the failure occurrence notifying process using the wireless public network 12 ends.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart specifically showing the failure occurrence notifying process using the fourth route in ST77 in FIG.
That is, when starting the failure occurrence notifying process using the fourth route, the CPU 21 first resets the communication retry counter R to “0” in ST91. Next, ST
As 92, the wireless public network connection number of the service base A or B of the failure information notification destination is acquired from the service base table 51. When the wireless public network connection number is obtained, the wireless public network connection number is assigned to the LAN controller 26 and the LAN 4 together with the corresponding fault information in step ST93.
Is transmitted to the first wireless communication device 9 via the.

As a result, the first wireless communication device 9 transmits the wireless public network connection number, the failure information, and the like to the first portable wireless terminal 10 or the second portable wireless terminal 11 which has responded to the call signal. To transfer. The first portable wireless terminal 10 or the second portable wireless terminal 11 establishes a line connection with the service base A or B via the wireless public network 12 using the wireless public network connection number received from the first wireless communication device 9. Do. If the line connection is successful, the first wireless communication device 9
Is transmitted to the service base A or B through the connected line. Here, when the notification of the failure information is normally performed, the transmission completion response signal is wirelessly transmitted to the first wireless communication device 9. The first wireless communication device 9 transmits the transmission completion response signal received from the second wireless communication device (the first portable wireless terminal 10 or the second portable wireless terminal 11) to the POS terminal 2-1 via the LAN 4. Send.

Then, the CPU 21 waits for a transmission completion response signal to be sent from the first wireless communication device 9 in ST94. When the transmission completion response signal is received within a predetermined time, the failure information can be notified to the service base A or B outside the system using the wireless public network 12, so that the error information is transmitted to the error log file as ST95. The count value of the retry counter R is written together with the current time and the failure information, and a message indicating that the failure information has been notified using the wireless public network 12 is displayed on the display 34 in ST96. When the message is printed out on the journal paper by the printer 55, the failure occurrence notifying process using the fourth path is terminated.

On the other hand, if the transmission completion response signal cannot be received within the predetermined time in ST94, the communication retry counter R is counted up by "1" in ST97. Thereafter, as ST98, the communication retry counter R
Is determined to have exceeded a predetermined value. If not, the process returns to ST93,
The same wireless public network connection number and fault information are transmitted to the first wireless communication device 9 again.

If the communication retry counter R exceeds the specified value in ST98, the failure occurrence notifying process using the fourth route has failed, and the error log file indicates an error indicating the fourth route transmission error in ST99. Write data with current time. In ST100, a message indicating that failure information could not be notified to service base A or B is displayed on the display 34. When the message is printed out on the journal paper by the printer 55, the failure occurrence notifying process using the fourth path is terminated.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart specifically showing the fault occurrence notifying process using the fifth route in ST78 in FIG.
This process transits in substantially the same way as the fault occurrence notification process using the fourth route shown in FIG. That is, the CPU 21
Starts the failure occurrence notification process using the fifth route, first, as ST101, the communication retry counter R
Is reset to “0”. Next, as ST102, the connection number of the wired public network of the service base A or B to which the failure information is notified is acquired from the service base table 51. Then, if the wired public network connection number is obtained, ST103
As a first example, the wired public network connection number is used together with the corresponding fault information via the LAN controller 26 and the LAN 4.
To the wireless communication device 9.

As a result, the first wireless communication device 9 transmits the wired public network connection number, the failure information, and the like to the first portable wireless terminal 10 or the second portable wireless terminal 11 which has responded to the call signal. To transfer. The first portable wireless terminal 10 or the second portable wireless terminal 11 connects the wireless public network 12, the inter-network communication line 13 and the wired switching network 5 with the wired public network connection number received from the first wireless communication device 9. A line connection with the service base A or B is made via the Internet. Then, if the line connection is successful, the failure information received from the first wireless communication device 9 is transmitted to the service base A or B via the connected line. Here, when the notification of the failure information is normally performed, the transmission completion response signal is wirelessly transmitted to the first wireless communication device 9. The first wireless communication device 9 transmits the transmission completion response signal received from the second wireless communication device (the first portable wireless terminal 10 or the second portable wireless terminal 11) to the POS terminal 2-1 via the LAN 4. Send.

Then, the CPU 21 waits for a transmission completion response signal to be sent from the first wireless communication device 9 in ST104. If the transmission completion response signal is received within a predetermined time, the failure information is transmitted to the service base A outside the system using the wireless public network 12 and the wired public network 5.
Or B was notified, the count value of the communication retry counter R is written in the error log file together with the current time and the failure information in ST105, and
At T106, a message indicating that the failure information has been notified using the wireless public network 12 is displayed on the display. When the message is printed out on the journal paper by the printer 55, the failure occurrence notifying process using the fifth path is terminated.

On the other hand, if a transmission completion response signal cannot be received within a predetermined time in ST104, the communication retry counter R is counted up by "1" in ST107. Thereafter, as ST108, it is determined whether or not the communication retry counter R has exceeded a predetermined value. If not, the process returns to ST103 to transmit the same wired public network connection number and fault information to the first wireless communication device 9 again.

If the communication retry counter R exceeds the specified value in ST108, the failure notification processing using the fifth route has failed, and an error indicating the fifth route transmission error is stored in the error log file in ST109. Write data with current time. In ST110, a message indicating that failure information could not be notified to service base A or B is displayed on the display 34. When the message is printed out on the journal paper by the printer 55, the failure occurrence notifying process using the fifth path is terminated.

In the present embodiment configured as above, it is assumed that the POS terminal 2-1 has detected a failure to be notified to the service base A in the system. Note that RA
It is assumed that all the communication disable flags F0 to F3 of M23 have been reset to “0”.

In this case, the POS terminal 2-1 first executes a failure occurrence notification process using the wired public network 5. Specifically, a failure occurrence notification process using the first route is executed. That is, if the line to the service base A is connected via the in-home data line 7, the line terminating device 8, and the wired public network 5 directly connected to the self, and the line is connected,
The corresponding fault information is notified to the service base A.

Here, if the failure information cannot be notified to the service base A, a failure occurrence notification process using the second route is executed. That is, a line to the service base A is connected via the LAN 4, the store controller 3, the in-home data line 7, the line terminating device 8, and the wired public network 5, and if the line is connected, the corresponding fault information is transmitted to the service base. Notify A.

Here, if the failure information cannot be notified to the service base A even if the second route is used, then a failure occurrence notification process using the third route is executed. That is, a line to the service base A is connected via the LAN 4, the adjacent POS terminal 2-2, the in-home data line 7, the line terminating device 8, and the wired public network 5, and if the line is connected, The information is notified to the service base A.

Here, if the failure information cannot be notified to the service base A even when the third route is used, the notification of the failure information using the wired public network 5 has failed. RAM area 4 as network communication unavailable time
1 is stored. Further, the communication network communication disable flag F0 is set to "1". At this time, the first path communication impossible flag F1, the second path communication impossible flag F2, and the third path communication impossible flag F3 are all set to "1".

After that, the process proceeds to the failure occurrence notifying process using the wireless public network 12. Specifically, the first portable wireless terminal 10 or the second portable wireless terminal 1 is set within a range where radio waves of the first wireless communication device 9 connected via the LAN 4 reach.
Investigate whether 1 exists. And the first time within a certain time
If the portable wireless terminal 10 or the second portable wireless terminal 11 is detected, the service base A is directly connected to the wireless public network 12, so that the first wireless communication device 9 transmits the failure information to the wireless base of the service base A. It is transmitted via the LAN 4 together with the public network connection number.

Thus, the failure information and the wireless public network connection number are transferred from the first wireless communication device 9 to the first portable wireless terminal 10 or the second portable wireless terminal 11, and the first portable wireless terminal 10 or The line between the second portable wireless terminal 11 and the service base A is connected via the wireless public network 12, and the fault information is notified to the service base A.

If the service base to which the failure information is to be notified is not the service base A directly connected to the wireless public network 12 but the service base B not directly connected to the wireless public network 12, the POS terminal From 2-1, the wired public network connection number of the service base B is transmitted to the first wireless communication device 9 together with the failure information. Thus, the failure information and the wired public network connection number are transferred from the first wireless communication device 9 to the first portable wireless terminal 10 or the second portable wireless terminal 11, and the first portable wireless terminal 10 or the second The line between the portable wireless terminal 11 and the service base B is connected via the wireless public network 12, the inter-network connection communication line 13, and the wired public network 5, and the fault information is notified to the service base B.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the wired communication paths (the first path, the second path, and the third
Route), the failure information generated in the system cannot be notified to the service base A or B outside the system through the wired communication route.
By connecting to the wireless communication network 12 as a backup communication path, the failure information can be notified to the service base A or B. Therefore, even if an abnormality occurs in the line terminating device 6 itself or a disconnection occurs in the communication line 8 connecting the line terminating device 6 and the wired communication network 5, the failure information is notified to the service base A or B. Can be.

In particular, a fault due to a lightning strike or the like is likely to occur in a wired communication device and a communication network which are susceptible to induced lightning. Even after the lightning ceases, the device remains affected and may hinder communication. Although not a few, according to the present embodiment, since the wireless communication path is provided as a backup system, the above-described failure in the wired system can be easily avoided. In addition, natural disasters such as earthquakes, heavy snowfalls, and typhoons,
Since the communication path is likely to be interrupted due to an artificial vandalism or the like and hindering communication, it is a wired communication network, and therefore, the present embodiment is provided with a wireless communication network as a backup system. Is relatively resistant to these disorders.

In the present embodiment, the second wireless communication device for accessing (connecting) to the wireless public network 12 is a portable wireless terminal (the first portable wireless terminal 10 or the second portable wireless terminal 11). ). Therefore, even if a failure occurs in the second wireless communication device, the device can be replaced relatively easily. In this case, a portable terminal or PHS, which has a very large number of terminals spread, can be used as a backup device, so that there are many alternative devices, and resistance to troubles is high. Also, a portable wireless terminal for accessing the wireless public network 12 is prepared only when a failure occurs in the wired communication network, and the portable wireless terminal is not always provided during normal business operations without a failure. Can take. Therefore, it is possible to save the operation cost and management time of the system.

Further, in the present embodiment, the terminal number (telephone number, etc.) of the portable radio terminal that can be used is set and registered in the portable radio terminal table 52 in advance, and when notifying the trouble information, the first radio communication is performed. The mobile wireless terminal that can be connected to the device 9 is searched, and it is determined whether or not the terminal number of the searched mobile wireless terminal is registered in the mobile wireless terminal table 52 in advance. Only when the mobile communication terminal is the mobile communication terminal, the failure information is transferred from the first wireless communication device 9 to the mobile communication terminal, and the wireless communication network
, Failure information is notified to the service base A or B outside the system. Therefore, a terminal other than a specific portable wireless terminal in which a terminal number is registered, such as a customer's mobile phone or PHS, is used to notify failure information without permission, and an unrelated person is charged. Can be prevented.

In the above embodiment, in the fault occurrence notifying process shown in FIG. 5, if the elapsed time from the wired public network communication unavailable time exceeds a specified time, the fault occurrence notifying process using the wired public network 5 is performed. However, this is a measure to prepare for the possibility that the wired public network 5 has been restored. For this reason, if there is a mechanism in which the recovery of the wired public network 5 is notified to the POS system by another means, the processing of this part becomes unnecessary. That is,
If the wired public network communication disabled flag F0 is reset to "0" in ST1, the wired public network 5 is recognized to be normal, and a failure occurrence notification process using the wired public network 5 in ST5 is executed. , The wired public network communication disabled flag F0 is “1”
If it is set to, it is only necessary to recognize that the wired public network 5 has not been restored, and execute the failure notification processing using the wireless public network 12 in ST7.

When the failure occurrence notifying process shown in FIG. 5 is started, a test signal is always transmitted to the wired public network 5 via the in-home data line 7 and the line terminating device 6, and a normal response is returned. Then, a failure occurrence notification process using the wired public network 5 may be executed, and if a normal response is not returned, a failure occurrence notification process using the wireless public network 12 may be executed.

In the above embodiment, the wired public network 5
Although the priority order of the failure occurrence notification processing using is described in the order of the first route, the second route, and the third route, the priority order of the processes is not necessarily limited to this order. For example, regarding this processing, as described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-57008, the order may be changed based on information stored in the priority information storage unit.

In the failure notification processing using the wireless public network 12 (failure notification processing using the fourth path or failure generation notification processing using the fourth path), the PO
The data transmitted from the S terminal 2-1 to the first wireless communication device 9 may include a communication charge inquiry signal addressed to the wireless public network 12. Thus, when a series of communication is completed, the communication fee information required for the communication is transmitted from the wireless public network 12 to the first wireless communication device 9 and further transmitted to the POS terminal 2 via the LAN 4. Transferred to -1. Therefore, the POS terminal 2-1 transmits the communication fee information to the store controller 3 and also transmits the charging information (information corresponding to money such as electronic money) corresponding to the amount to the second wireless communication related to the communication. The data is transmitted to the device (the first wireless communication terminal 10 or the second wireless communication terminal 11). Thus, the owner of the second wireless communication device does not bear the communication fee of the wireless public network 12 and the wired public network 5 (in the case of the fifth route) used in accordance with the series of failure information notifications. The owner of the POS system, that is, the store manager, bears the burden.

Next, a second embodiment corresponding to the second aspect of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 13 is an overall view of a system according to the second embodiment, in which the same parts as those in FIG. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals. That is, the second embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that the wireless communication unit connected to the wireless communication network 12 is different from the first embodiment in that the first wireless communication unit connected to the LAN 4 is used. In contrast to the communication device 9 and the second wireless communication device that accesses (connects to) the wireless communication network 12, the second embodiment has only the wireless communication device 14 connected to the LAN 4. That is the point. The wireless communication device 14 is an integrated wireless device in which a first wireless communication device 9 and a second wireless communication device, that is, a first portable wireless terminal 10 or a second portable wireless terminal 11 are integrated in one housing. Communication equipment 1
4.

Therefore, the CP of the POS terminal 2-1
The failure notification processing executed by U21 is almost the same as the processing shown in the flowcharts of FIGS. 5 to 12 described in the first embodiment. However, in the case of the second embodiment, the portable wireless terminal table 52 is unnecessary because the second wireless communication device searched for by the first wireless communication device is fixed. Further, the processing of ST74 and ST75 of the failure occurrence notification processing using the wireless public network 12 shown in FIG. 10 is omitted.

Next, a third embodiment corresponding to the invention described in claims 1, 4 and 6 of the present application will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 14 is an overall system diagram according to the third embodiment, in which the same parts as those in FIG. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals. That is, the third embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that each of the POS terminals 2-1 to 2-n includes:
A home communication network connecting with the store controller 3
In the first embodiment, the wired LAN 4 is used.
This embodiment is characterized in that a wireless LAN is used. Specifically, each of the POS terminals 2-1 to 2-n is provided with a wireless station 15-1 to 15-n, and
A wireless base station 16 is set in which the wireless base stations 16-1 to 15-n are located in the wireless zone.
Connect via N4. The first wireless communication device 9 is connected to the LAN 4.

In the third embodiment, when the POS terminal 2-1 that has detected a system failure notifies the failure information, access to the store controller 3 in the case of the second route is restricted by the third route. In case of route, adjacent POS
In the case of accessing the terminal 2-2 via the fourth route and the fifth route, access to the first wireless communication device 9 is executed via the wireless LAN, respectively. The processing shown in the flowcharts of FIGS. 5 to 12 can be used as it is in the third embodiment as it is in the first embodiment.

Next, a fourth embodiment corresponding to the second and sixth aspects of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 15 is an overall system diagram in the fourth embodiment, and the same parts as those in FIG. 14 are denoted by the same reference numerals. That is, the fourth embodiment is different from the third embodiment in that the wireless communication unit connected to the wireless communication network 12 is different from the first embodiment in that the first wireless communication unit connected to the LAN 4 in the third embodiment. In contrast to the device 9 and the second wireless communication device that accesses (connects to) the wireless communication network 12, the fourth embodiment has a single wireless communication device 17.
This is the only point. As in the second embodiment, the wireless communication device 17 connects the first wireless communication device 9 and the first portable wireless terminal 10 or the second portable wireless terminal 11 as the second wireless communication device. It is an integrated wireless communication device 17 integrated in one housing, and furthermore, each POS terminal 2-1 to
The wireless slave stations 15-1 to 15-n provided in the 2-n and the wireless slave station 18 provided in the store controller 3 also have a function as a wireless base station.

In the fourth embodiment, when the POS terminal 2-1 that has detected a system failure notifies failure information, access to the store controller 3 is performed in the case of the second route, and access to the store controller 3 is performed in the third route. In case of route, adjacent POS
In the case of accessing the terminal 2-2 via the fourth route and the fifth route, access to the first wireless communication device 9 is executed via the wireless LAN, respectively. There is no difference from the second embodiment.

Next, a fifth embodiment corresponding to the third and fourth aspects of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 16 is an overall view of a system according to the fifth embodiment, in which the same parts as those in FIG. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals. That is, the fifth embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that the wireless communication unit connected to the wireless communication network 12 is at least one of the POS terminals 2-1 to 2-n ( In FIG. 16, the wireless communication devices 19A and 19B provided at the POS terminal 2-1 and the POS terminal 2-2 adjacent to the POS terminal 2-1 and the second wireless communication device (first device) connected to the wireless communication network 5 are provided. And the second portable radio terminal 11). The wireless communication devices 19A and 19B perform the same operation as the first wireless communication device 9 in the first embodiment.

Therefore, for example, the POS terminal 2-1
Notifies the service base A or B of the failure information,
When the wired communication path is not available, first, the second communication device under its control via the wireless communication device 19A provided for itself.
By transmitting the failure information and the public network connection number of the service base A or B to the portable wireless terminal 11, the failure information is notified using the wireless public network 5. The failure information is transmitted to the adjacent POS terminal 2-2, and the failure information and the service base A are transmitted to the first portable wireless terminal 10 under the wireless communication device 19B provided in the POS terminal 2-2. Alternatively, by transmitting the public network connection number of B, failure information can be notified using the wireless public network 5.

As described above, according to the fifth embodiment,
For example, even if the wireless communication device 19A owned by itself has failed and the failure notification processing using the wireless public network 5 cannot be performed, the failure notification is performed via the wireless communication device 19B owned by the adjacent POS terminal. Therefore, the failure information can be notified more reliably.

In the fifth embodiment, it goes without saying that the LAN 4 connecting the POS terminals 2-1 to 2-n and the store controller 3 may be a wireless LAN.

By the way, in each of the first and third embodiments described above, when no fault has occurred in the POS system, that is, when a fault that has occurred in the system is not notified to the outside, the second Wireless communication device (first portable wireless terminal 10 or second portable wireless terminal 11)
Transfer the information stored in the first wireless communication device 9,
Further, the information is stored in one of the POS terminals 2 by LA.
After transmitting the information via the N4 and performing predetermined information processing at the POS terminal 2, the information accompanying the processing result is transmitted to the outside of the system via the in-home data line 7, the line terminating device 6, and the wired line network 5. It is possible to notify.

Therefore, for example, the information relating to the payment of money stored in a mobile phone or the like is transmitted to the POS terminal 2 and necessary accounting processing is completed in the POS terminal 2 before being settled to a host device of an external related business entity. Payment system for transmitting information about the payment.
More specifically, it is shown as the following example.

When a customer with a portable telephone or other portable wireless terminal having stored therein data as a substitute for a billing slip relating to payment of a utility bill such as electricity, gas, water, etc. in a memory therein, comes to these wireless portable telephones. The data is transmitted from the terminal and is taken into the POS terminal 2 via the first wireless communication device 9. Thereby, POS terminal 2
Displays the billed amount on the display 34 according to the received data, and requests selection input of a payment method. For example,
Select whether to pay by cash, use a card payment such as a credit card or debit card, or to exchange money by exchanging electronic information equivalent to money such as electronic money stored in the portable wireless terminal. Let it. If cash payment is selected, cash is received from the customer on the spot and the amount of payment is keyed into the POS terminal 2. This payment amount information is stored in the memory of the store controller 3 and transmitted and notified to the company to be paid through the wired public network 5 at the same time. When cards are selected as the payment method, payment information is transmitted and notified to the financial institution to be settled via the wired public network 5 in addition to the above. In the case of electronic money, payment information is transmitted to the portable wireless terminal, and the payment amount is subtracted from the balance.

It should be noted that such a settlement system can cope with not only the payment of public utilities but also the payment of various goods sales using the Internet by a similar mechanism.

[0101]

As described above in detail, according to each of the first to fourth and sixth aspects of the present invention, a failure occurs in a normally used wired communication path, and fault information generated in the system is obtained. Even if it becomes impossible to notify the outside of the system through the wired communication path, the failure information can be notified to the outside of the system by connecting to the wireless communication network as a backup communication path, and the notification at the time of occurrence of the failure can be further improved. An information communication system that can be performed reliably can be provided.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention,
During normal business operations when there is no failure in the system, there are advantages such as the construction of a payment system using the same system, and a backup system for notifying failure information when a failure occurs is settled using a wireless mobile terminal. Since it can be shared with the system, there is also an effect that the system construction can be realized at very low cost.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall view of a system according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a main configuration of the POS terminal in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a main memory area formed in a RAM of a POS terminal.

FIG. 4 is a view showing a main data table formed in the HDD device of the POS terminal.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a main part of a failure occurrence notification process executed by the CPU of the POS terminal.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart specifically showing a wired public network use process in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart specifically showing a first route use process in FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a flowchart specifically showing a second route use process in FIG. 6;

FIG. 9 is a flowchart specifically showing a third route use process in FIG. 6;

FIG. 10 is a flowchart specifically showing a wireless public network use process in FIG. 5;

FIG. 11 is a flowchart specifically showing a fourth route use process in FIG. 10;

FIG. 12 is a flowchart specifically showing a fifth route use process in FIG. 10;

FIG. 13 is an overall view of a system according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is an overall system diagram according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is an overall system diagram according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 16 is an overall system diagram according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Store 2 (2-1 to 2-n) ... POS terminal (information processing device) 3 ... Store controller 4 ... LAN (home communication network) 5 ... Wired public network (wired communication network) 6 ... Line terminating device 7 ... Home data line 8 Communication line 9, 19A, 19B First wireless communication device 10, 11 First and second portable wireless terminal (second wireless communication device) 12 Wireless wireless network (wireless communication network) 13: Network connection communication line 14, 17: Integrated wireless communication device 15-1 to 15-n, 18: Wireless slave station 16: Wireless base station

Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat II (reference) H04L 29/14 H04L 13/00 311 F term (reference) 5K021 BB10 CC05 CC11 CC14 DD01 5K030 GA12 HC14 HD06 JA08 JL01 JT09 MB01 5K033 CB08 DA06 DA19 EA04 EC03 5K035 CC06 JJ01 5K067 AA26 BB04 DD28 DD51 EE03 EE10 EE16 EE35

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A system in which a plurality of information processing apparatuses are connected to each other via a home communication network to construct a system, and can communicate with the outside of the system via a plurality of communication paths, and detects occurrence of a failure in the system. Then, in an information communication system for notifying the failure information to the outside using one of the communication paths, at least one of the plurality of communication paths is a wired communication network, and the wired communication network is different from the home communication network. , And another one is connected as a wireless communication network to the wireless communication network via a wireless communication unit, and the wireless communication unit is connected to a first wireless communication network connected to the home communication network. The communication device and the second wireless communication device connected to the wireless communication network, when notifying the failure information, whether the wired communication network is available among the plurality of communication paths Judgment, when usable, the failure information is notified to the outside of the system via the wired communication network, and when not usable, the first wireless communication device is notified via the home communication network. Transmitting the failure information, the first wireless communication device transferring the failure information to the second wireless communication device, and the second wireless communication device being outside the system via the wireless communication network. An information communication system, wherein the failure information is notified. 2. A wireless communication unit comprising: an integrated device in which a first wireless communication device connected to a home communication network and a second wireless communication device connected to a wireless communication network are housed in a single housing; The information communication system according to claim 1, wherein 3. A system in which a plurality of information processing apparatuses are connected to each other via a home communication network to construct a system, and can communicate with the outside of the system via a plurality of communication paths, and detects occurrence of a failure in the system. Then, in an information communication system for notifying the failure information to the outside using one of the communication paths, at least one of the plurality of communication paths is set as a wired communication network, and the wired communication network is different from the home communication network. Connected via a communication line, and another one is connected as a wireless communication network to the wireless communication network via a wireless communication unit, and the wireless communication unit is connected to at least one of the plurality of information processing devices. When notifying the failure information, it is assumed that the plurality of communication devices include a first wireless communication device provided in the information processing device and a second wireless communication device connected to the wireless communication network. Determine whether the wired communication network is available in the path, and if it is available, notify the failure information to the outside of the system via the wired communication network; if not available, The failure information is transmitted to an information processing device provided with the first wireless communication device via a home communication network, and the information processing device provided with the first wireless communication device is connected to the information processing device via the first wireless communication device. Transferring the failure information to the second wireless communication device, and the second wireless communication device notifies the failure information to the outside of the system via the wireless communication network. Information communication system. 4. A portable wireless terminal device, wherein the second wireless communication device is a portable wireless terminal device, and a portable wireless terminal device connectable to the first wireless communication device when notifying failure information is searched for. Only when the portable wireless terminal device is a specific portable wireless communication device registered in the system in advance, the failure information is transferred from the first wireless communication device to the portable wireless terminal device. 4. The information communication system according to claim 1, wherein the failure information is notified to the outside of the system via a wireless communication network. 5. Except when notifying a failure that has occurred in the system to the outside, the information stored in the second wireless communication device is transferred to the first wireless communication device, and the information is further transmitted. Transmitting the information via the home communication network to the information processing apparatus, performing predetermined information processing on the information processing apparatus, and then notifying the information accompanying the processing result to the outside of the system via the wired communication network. The information communication system according to claim 4, wherein: 6. The information communication system according to claim 1, wherein a home communication network connecting the plurality of information processing apparatuses to each other is a wireless LAN.