JP2002259012A - Equipment device management system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To simplify the instruction selecting operation for remote monitor and operation of equipment devices for realizing menu display corresponding to each user. SOLUTION: Home pages 205 for individual users are prepared where menu components are arranged, based on user characteristic data 201, user segment- menu characteristics relation data 203, and menu use frequency information 204 of users, and users are made to use these home pages.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an equipment management system, and more particularly to a system for remotely controlling or remotely monitoring equipment.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Equipment such as air conditioners is widely used in ordinary houses, apartment houses, hotels, factories, hospitals, stores, and stations. The operation of these equipment is generally controlled by each user at the installation location.

There is known a technique for remotely controlling such equipment using a telephone line or the like. For example, there is a technique in which equipment is connected to a telephone line via a modem, a router, a power line LAN router, or the like, a control signal is transmitted by a push signal of a telephone, and the equipment is remotely controlled from the outside.

However, in such a conventional technique, the user only remotely controls the equipment at his / her own discretion, and is limited to simple controls such as power on / off control and temperature setting of the air conditioner. ing. In addition, it is difficult for the user himself to perform control that requires a lot of data such as current environmental information of the place where the equipment is installed and other complicated controls.

[0005] For this reason, there is provided an equipment management server which enables external monitoring of environmental information of equipment and its installation location, and enables remote control of equipment to an appropriate operation state. Then, it is conceivable that the equipment management server receives instruction information from the user so that the user can individually set information acquisition conditions when performing remote monitoring and control conditions when performing remote operation. .

In this case, the equipment management server opens a web page accessible via the Internet or another communication line, and a menu component for selecting instruction information for remote monitoring / operation of the equipment is provided by a menu. The menu screen prepared and arranged for each item is provided to the accessing user. Users can use their own mobile phones, PHS, and personal digital assistants (PDA: Personal Digita).
l Access the equipment management server using information terminal equipment such as personal computers connected to communication lines via mobile terminal equipment such as Assistants), modems, routers, etc.
A menu item corresponding to the desired operation content is selected from the provided menu display, and the instruction information is transmitted to the equipment management server.

[0007]

With the above configuration, it is considered necessary to prepare a large number of menu items in order to meet the needs of many users. Therefore, for a menu item that cannot be displayed on one menu display screen, it is necessary to display the menu item to be selected by displaying the menu display screen while sequentially shifting the pages. In this case, the ratio of used items among many menu items is significantly reduced. Even if you set the arrangement on the menu display screen according to the frequency of use of menu items by all users,
Depending on the user, the operation until the desired menu item is displayed becomes complicated, and time and labor are wasted. In particular, since the display screen of a portable terminal device such as a mobile phone, PHS, or PDA is small, the number of menu items displayed at a time is small, and it takes time to display the menu item desired to be used, which increases communication costs. ,
Operation becomes complicated.

It is an object of the present invention to simplify the selection of an instruction for remote monitoring and operation of facility equipment, and to realize a menu display corresponding to each user.

[0009]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a menu providing method for a facility equipment management system, wherein instruction information such as remote monitoring and operation of facility equipment transmitted from a user via a communication line is received. A menu providing method for receiving instruction information in an equipment management system that generates and transmits a control signal for equipment,
A component preparation stage for preparing menu components for selecting instruction information such as remote monitoring and operation of the equipment;
A display screen providing step of generating a menu display screen in which menu components are arranged by a menu display method based on personal information of the accessing user and providing the menu display screen to the user.

In this case, by providing a menu display screen based on each user's personal information, a menu with good operability according to each user's needs can be provided, and instructions for remote monitoring and operation can be provided. Selection can be made efficiently.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a menu providing method for an equipment management system according to the first aspect, wherein the personal information input by a user is stored in the personal information. The method further includes a personal information storing step of storing the personal information in the means, and a display method determining step of extracting a corresponding personal information from the personal information storing means and determining a menu display method when there is access from the user.

In this case, it is possible to select a menu display method corresponding to the user based on the personal information stored in the personal information storage means, and it is possible to realize an easy-to-operate menu display.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a menu providing method for an equipment management system, wherein the menu providing method is provided in advance for each user attribute information. The method further includes a segment information preparation step of setting and storing the segment information in the user characteristic data storage means. In the display method determining step, the attribute information of the user is determined from the personal information extracted from the personal information storage means and stored in the user characteristic data storage means. The menu display method provided to the user is determined from the menu display method.

In this case, for example, user segments such as single men, single women, married men, housewives, housewives with babies, elementary school students, and the elderly are provided as user attribute information. It is conceivable to prepare a menu display method in which the priority of a menu component that is assumed to be frequently used is set higher every time. Also, it is possible to change the screen configuration such as reducing the kanji notation on the menu display screen when the accessing user is an elementary school student and increasing the character size when the accessing user is an elderly person.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for providing a menu in an equipment management system, comprising the steps of: Further comprising a homepage registration step of registering the menu display screen in which the menus are arranged as a user homepage that can be used only by the user in the homepage storage means. When the user homepage is set, the user is allowed to use the user homepage.

In this case, by registering a user-friendly menu display screen as a user homepage, each user can perform a remote monitoring / operation instruction of facility equipment by a simple operation, and The operation time can be reduced.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a menu providing method for an equipment management system according to the fourth aspect, wherein the menu component selected by each user during access. Obtaining the usage frequency information of the user and storing it in the usage frequency information storage means, and updating the user homepage registered in the homepage storage means based on the usage frequency information stored in the usage frequency information storage means And an update stage.

In this case, the menu items actually used by the user can be given priorities to form a menu display screen, and the operability of the user can be improved. According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a program for facility equipment management which receives instruction information for remote monitoring and operation of facility equipment transmitted from a user via a communication line, and generates and transmits a control signal for the equipment. A program for providing a menu when accepting instruction information in a system, comprising: a component preparation step of preparing a menu component for selecting instruction information such as remote monitoring / operation of facility equipment; and A program for causing a computer to execute a display screen providing step of generating a menu display screen in which menu components are arranged by a menu display method based on personal information and providing the menu display screen to a user.

In this case, it is possible to provide a menu with good operability according to each user's needs based on personal information of each user, and to efficiently select remote monitoring / operation instructions. Can be provided.

The recording medium according to claim 7 of the present invention receives instruction information such as remote monitoring and operation of facility equipment transmitted from a user via a communication line, and generates and transmits a control signal for the facility equipment. A storage medium storing a program of a menu providing method for receiving instruction information in a facility equipment management system, and a menu component for preparing a menu component for selecting instruction information such as remote monitoring and operation of facility equipment A program for causing a computer to execute a preparation step and a display screen providing step of generating a menu display screen in which menu components are arranged by a menu display method based on personal information of the accessing user and providing the menu display screen to the user is recorded. It is a computer-readable recording medium.

In this case, it becomes possible to package and distribute the program of the equipment management server as described in claim 6. The equipment management server according to claim 8 of the present invention provides monitoring information for monitoring the operating status of the equipment by acquiring the operation information of the equipment and the current environmental information at the installation location of the equipment, An equipment management server that sends control signals for remote control of equipment, selects access accepting means that accepts access from users via communication lines, and selects instruction information such as remote monitoring and operation of equipment. Screen generating means for generating a menu display screen in which menu components for performing the operation are arranged in a menu display method based on the personal information of the user who has received the access, and a menu display screen generated by the display screen generating means on the user side. A menu screen providing unit for transmitting to the user, and an instruction receiving unit for receiving instruction information selected by the user using the menu display screen. Based on the instruction information received by the instruction receiving means and a control signal generating means for generating and transmitting a control signal for the equipment.

In this case, a remote monitoring / operation instruction from a user is received via a communication line, and at that time, a menu with good operability according to the individual needs of the user is provided based on personal information of each user. be able to.

An equipment management server according to claim 9 of the present invention is the equipment management server according to claim 8,
Personal information storage means for acquiring and storing personal information of each user; and personal information extracting means for extracting corresponding personal information from the personal information storage means when there is access from the user. I have.

In this case, a menu display method corresponding to the user can be selected based on the personal information stored in the personal information storage means, and a menu display that is easy to operate can be realized.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the equipment management server according to the ninth aspect, wherein the equipment management server stores segment information for storing a menu display method preset for each user attribute information. Further comprising means,
The display screen generation means is configured to determine the attribute information of the user from the personal information extracted from the personal information storage means and determine the menu display method stored in the segment information storage means.

In this case, a menu display method is provided in which the priority of a menu component that is assumed to be frequently used according to the attribute information of the user is prepared, and the menu display is performed according to the attribute of the accessing user. By configuring to determine the method, it is possible to provide a menu display with good operability according to the characteristics of the user.

[0027] An equipment management server according to claim 11 of the present invention is the equipment management server according to claim 10, wherein a menu display screen on which menu components are arranged by a menu display method for each user is displayed for each user. A homepage storage means for storing only the user homepage which can be used only when the user homepage of the accessing user is stored in the homepage storage means. I have.

In this case, by registering a user-friendly menu display screen as a user homepage, each user can perform a remote monitoring / operation instruction of the equipment by a simple operation. The operation time can be reduced.

According to a twelfth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the equipment management server according to the eleventh aspect, wherein each user stores usage frequency information of a menu component selected during access. The information processing apparatus further includes an information storage unit and a homepage updating unit that updates a user homepage registered in the homepage storage unit based on the usage frequency information stored in the usage frequency information storage unit.

In this case, the menu items actually used by the user can be given priorities to form a menu display screen, and the operability of the user can be improved. The equipment management server according to claim 13 of the present invention is claim 8-
12. The equipment management server according to 12, wherein the server is built in or connected to the equipment, acquires operation information of the equipment and current environmental information at the installation location of the equipment, transmits the acquired information, and transmits a control signal. Can be connected through a communication line to a facility device control device that receives and sends the received information to the facility device, and transmits and receives operation information, environmental information, and control signals via the communication line and the facility device control device.

In this case, it is possible to acquire operation information and environmental information via the equipment control device, and to control the equipment by transmitting a control signal to the equipment control device.

An equipment management system according to claim 14 of the present invention is built in or connected to equipment, acquires and transmits operation information of equipment and current environmental information at a place where the equipment is installed, and transmits the information. To monitor the operation status of the equipment by receiving the control signal for controlling the operation of the equipment and sending it to the equipment, and the operation information and the environmental information from the equipment control device. And a facility equipment management server for providing control information for remotely controlling the facility equipment. In particular, an access receiving means for receiving the access from the user via the communication line by the equipment management server;
Display screen generating means for generating a menu display screen in which menu components for selecting instruction information such as remote monitoring and operation of facility equipment are arranged in a menu display method based on personal information of a user who has received access; Menu screen providing means for transmitting the menu display screen generated by the display screen generating means to the user side; instruction receiving means for receiving instruction information selected by the user using the menu display screen; instruction received by the instruction receiving means Control signal generating means for generating and transmitting a control signal for the equipment based on the information.

In this case, a remote monitoring / operation instruction from a user is received via a communication line, and at that time, a menu having good operability according to each user's individual needs based on personal information of each user is provided. be able to.

A menu providing method according to a fifteenth aspect of the present invention is a menu providing method for providing a menu display screen for accepting instruction information from a user via a communication line. A menu component screen for arranging menu components in a menu display method based on the personal information of the accessing user, and generating a menu component screen for preparing a menu component for selecting the same. Providing a display screen to be provided to the user.

In this case, with respect to menu items that can be designated by the user via the communication line, a menu with good operability according to each user's needs can be provided.
A menu providing method according to a sixteenth aspect of the present invention is the menu providing method according to the fifteenth aspect, wherein a personal information storing step of storing personal information input by a user in a personal information storing means; If there is access,
A display method determining step of extracting corresponding personal information from the personal information storage means and determining a menu display method.

In this case, a menu display method corresponding to the user can be selected based on the personal information stored in the personal information storage means, and a menu display that is easy to operate can be realized.

A menu providing method according to claim 17 of the present invention is the menu providing method according to claim 16, wherein
The method further comprises a segment information preparation step of presetting a menu display method for each user attribute information and storing the menu display method in the user characteristic data storage means, and determining the user attribute information from the personal information extracted from the personal information storage means in the display method determination step. Then, the menu display method provided to the user is determined from the menu display methods stored in the user characteristic data storage means.

In this case, as user attribute information, for example, user segments such as single men, single women, married men, housewives, housewives with babies, elementary school students, and the elderly are provided. It is conceivable to prepare a menu display method in which the priority of a menu component that is assumed to be frequently used is set higher every time. Also, it is possible to change the screen configuration such as reducing the kanji notation on the menu display screen when the accessing user is an elementary school student and increasing the character size when the accessing user is an elderly person.

A menu providing method according to claim 18 of the present invention is the menu providing method according to claim 17, wherein a menu display screen on which menu components are arranged by a menu display method for each user is displayed only by that user. The method further includes a homepage registration step of registering the user homepage as an available user homepage in the homepage storage means. In a display method determining step, if the user homepage of the accessing user is stored in the homepage storage means, the user homepage is stored. To use.

In this case, by registering a menu display screen which is easy for each user to use as a user homepage, each menu item can be designated by a simple operation for each user and the operation time can be reduced. It is possible to do.

A menu providing method according to claim 19 of the present invention is the menu providing method according to claim 18, wherein
Obtaining the usage frequency information of the menu component selected by each user during access and storing the obtained information in the usage frequency information storage means; and storing the home frequency storage means in the usage frequency information storage means based on the usage frequency information stored in the usage frequency information storage means. And updating a user homepage registered in the homepage.

In this case, the menu items actually used by the user can be given priorities to form a menu display screen, and the operability of the user can be improved. A program according to a twentieth aspect of the present invention is a program for causing a computer to execute the program of the menu providing method according to the fifteenth to nineteenth aspects.

In this case, it is possible to construct a server that provides a menu with good operability according to each user's needs for menu items that the user can designate via a communication line.

[0044]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS [Schematic Configuration of System] FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of an equipment management system to which an embodiment of the present invention is applied.

This system is a service system for remotely monitoring or remotely operating equipment 35 installed in a house 3 such as a general house, an apartment house, an office building, a public facility, etc. for a fee. Provided by the operator.

This system is mainly composed of a management server device 21 in a management center 2 operated by a business operator, and a facility device controller 31 installed in each house 3 or the like. The business operator registers a user who wants to remotely monitor and remotely control the equipment 35 for a fee, and operates the system with an annual membership fee or the like.

The management server device 21 installed in the management center 2 is connected to the database 22 and the connection device 23 via the LAN in the management center 2, and is connected to the home via the connection device 23 and the communication line 50. 3 and can communicate with the equipment controller 31 installed therein. As the communication line 50, any of a normal public line network, a wireless line network such as a PHS and a mobile phone, the Internet, a cable TV network, and a dedicated line can be used.

The management server device 21 obtains the operation information of the equipment 35 and the current environment information in the house 3 transmitted from the equipment controller 31 and performs predetermined processing based on the information. A main control server for transmitting a control signal for controlling the equipment 35 based on the conditions to the controller 31 is provided. The main control server is, for example, the equipment 3 transmitted from the equipment controller 31 in response to a request from the portable terminal 41 or the information terminal 32 owned by the user.
5 and the current environmental information in the house 3 are acquired, and the mobile terminal 4
1 and the information terminal device 32. In addition, the main control server generates a control signal for operating the facility device 35 in response to a request from the portable terminal device 41 or the information terminal device 32 owned by the user, and transmits the control signal to the facility device controller 31. The operation information of the equipment 35 transmitted from the equipment controller 31 is appropriately stored in the database 22 as the equipment operation information.

The management server device 21 is provided with a web server for opening web pages accessible via the Internet 51 to users. The web server transmits various information to the portable terminal device 41 or the information terminal device 32 owned by the user, and receives information transmitted from the portable terminal device 41 or the information terminal device 32 via the Internet. Portable terminal device 41
PHS, mobile phones, and personal digital assistants (PDAs: Per
Sonal Digital Assistants) and other terminal devices that can be connected to the Internet can be used. Further, as the information terminal device 32, a personal computer having a communication function capable of Internet connection, a set-top box (STB: SB) connected to a cable TV line or an Internet line.
et Top Box).

The management server 21 is provided with an authentication server for judging the right of use of an accessor who has accessed the web server via the Internet 51. The authentication server refers to the user account and the usage right registered in the database 22 from the user ID input by the accessor, and provides a service according to the usage right.

Further, the management server 21 is provided with a billing server for managing billing information of each user according to the contract contents and the like. The billing server updates the billing information stored in the database 22 according to the contract contents and other conditions.

The database 22 stores customer information entered at the time of registration, billing information indicating a billing state, equipment operating information including the operating state of the equipment 35 transmitted from the equipment controller 31, and a user input by the user. Manages characteristic data, user segment characteristic data which is characteristic data collected for each user attribute, segment-menu characteristic related data for associating user attribute information with menu display, and history information on the use of menu items by each user. Menu usage frequency information, menu display conversion data for managing data conversion information on the menu display screen, homepage information for managing homepage information unique to each user, and the like.

FIG. 5 shows the relationship among data stored in the database 22 and related to menu display. The user characteristic data 201 acquires and accumulates personal information input by the user. For example, personal information such as age, gender, and address can be acquired from the customer information and the like submitted to the management center 2 when the user makes a contract, and can be used as the user characteristic data 201. When the user first accesses the web page, age, gender, address, hobbies, and other personal information can be input and used as the user characteristic data 201. The user characteristic data 201 can be changed when the user accesses the web page.

The user segment characteristic data 202 is characteristic data collected for each attribute of the user, and is various data collected from general situation information, marketing information, and the like. This user segment characteristic data 202
Can be input by an operator at the management center 2 using a terminal, or can be configured to be automatically collected by a web server.

Segment-menu characteristic related data 20
Reference numeral 3 relates the attribute information of the user to the menu display, and is set based on the user segment characteristic data 202. For example, a segment-menu characteristic table as shown in FIG. Here, "Menu A", "Menu B", "Menu C" ... each of the menu items displayed on the menu display screen are referred to as "elementary school boy", "single elderly", " Attribute information such as "housewife with baby", "single single woman", "single single man", etc. is weighted and stored as numerical data.

The menu use frequency information 204 manages history information of each user's use of menu items. The web server sets an individual homepage 205 for each user, and arranges and provides menu components on the homepage 205 in consideration of user operability. Homepage information on each user's homepage 205 is stored in association with the user characteristic data 201. When such a menu component displayed on the homepage 205 is operated, its history information is accumulated as menu use frequency information 204.

The menu display conversion data 206 manages data conversion information on the menu display screen. For example,
Based on the user characteristic data 201, data such as the size and type of characters to be displayed, hiragana, katakana, and the like are stored. On the management center 2 side, the new menu 207
Is created and added to each homepage 205,
A property such as a target user segment or a service price is provided and added to the homepage of the corresponding user. At this time, the menu display conversion data 206
And perform the relevant display conversion.

In the house 3 where the equipment 35 is installed, an equipment controller 31 to which the equipment 35 is connected is installed. The equipment controller 31 is sold or lent to a user, and is connected to the equipment 35 by wire or wirelessly.

The equipment controller 31 is connected to the communication line 5
A communication function capable of communicating with the management center 2 via the communication center 0 is provided, and it is possible to transmit operation information on the operation state of each equipment 35 and environmental information in the house 3 to the management center 2 side. At the same time, a control signal transmitted from the management center 2 is translated into a control command of each equipment 35 and transmitted. The communication between the main control server of the management server device 21 and the equipment device controller 31 is configured to be able to be started or disconnected from either side. The equipment controller 31 may be built in any of the equipment 35.

The equipment controller 31 has storage means for storing the address information of the management center 2 and communicates with the management center 2 using the address data. [Main control server] The equipment 3 of the management server 21
The main control server that performs the remote monitoring and remote control 5 performs control based on a flowchart as shown in FIG.

In step S1, it is determined whether or not there is a remote monitoring / remote operation instruction from the user. When the user wants to check the current operation status of the equipment 35 or the environmental information inside the house 3, or change the current operation state of the equipment 35, the user uses the portable terminal device 41 or the information terminal device 32. It accesses the management server device 21 and sends a signal to that effect. The management server device 21
If an instruction signal from the user is received, step S
Move to 2.

In step S2, remote monitoring / operation processing of the equipment 35 is executed based on the instruction signal received from the user. If the instruction signal received from the user is an instruction to confirm the current operation status of the equipment 35 or the environmental information inside the house 3, the instruction signal is transmitted to the equipment controller 31 via the connection device 23 and the communication line 50. Communication is performed, and the operation information of the corresponding equipment 35 and the house 3
And the like, and transmits it to the portable terminal device 41 or the information terminal device 32. When the instruction signal received from the user is an instruction to change the current operation status of the equipment 35, the communication is performed with the equipment controller 31 via the connection device 23 and the communication line 50, and An instruction signal for changing the operation state of the equipment 35 to be operated is transmitted.

In step S3, a determination is made based on preset conditions, and the equipment 35 is determined based on the determination result.
Is to be determined. For example, equipment 3
5. Schedule management for performing on / off control of 5 based on the day of the week and date and time set by the user, remote environment management for changing the operation state of the equipment 35 based on the thermal environment in the house 3, power consumption set by the user It is determined whether or not each processing condition such as energy saving control for controlling the operation state of the equipment 35 based on the upper limit value has been reached. If it is determined that the condition for changing the operation state of the equipment 35 has been reached, the step is performed. S
Move to 4.

In step S 4, a control signal for the equipment 35 is generated, and this control signal is transmitted to the equipment controller 31 via the communication line 50. Step S5
Then, the equipment controller 31 installed in the house 3
It is determined whether or not an abnormal signal regarding the environment in the equipment 35 or the house 3 has been received from. When an abnormality occurs in the operation of the equipment 35 or in the thermal environment in the house 3,
An abnormal signal is generated by the equipment 31, and the abnormal signal is transmitted to the management center 2 via the communication line 50. When the main control server of the management server 21 receives such an abnormal signal, the process proceeds to step S6.

In step S6, an emergency process based on the occurrence of an abnormality in the house 3 is executed. For example, a process corresponding to the situation is executed, for example, by notifying the portable terminal device 41 owned by the user of the occurrence of an abnormality and transmitting a control for instructing the stoppage of the equipment 35 to the equipment controller 31.

In step S7, it is determined whether or not the operation information of the equipment 35 has been received. Each time the operation state of the equipment 35 is changed, the equipment controller 31 may sequentially generate the operation information and transmit it to the management server 21. The equipment controller 31 stores the operation information of the equipment 35 in units of one day, one week, one month, or the like, and stores the operation information during a time period when the communication line is not congested, such as at night. It can also be configured to transmit to the management server device 21 side. When receiving such operation information, the management server device 21 proceeds to step S8.

In step S8, the device operation information in the database 22 is updated based on the received operation information.
At this time, if it is determined that replacement of consumables or maintenance processing is necessary based on the device operation information of each facility device 35, notification information to that effect is generated, and the portable terminal device 41 owned by the user is generated. The notification information can be transmitted to the device controller 31 or the equipment controller 31 side.

At step S9, another process is executed. [Web Server] An example of the operation of the web server of the management server device 21 that opens a web page accessible through the Internet 51 to the user is shown in the flowchart of FIG.

In step 11 in FIG. 3, it is determined whether or not there is an access from the user. If there is access from the portable terminal device 41 or the information terminal device 32 owned by the user via the Internet 51, step S12 is performed.
Move to

In step S12, an ID input screen for inputting a user ID and a password is transmitted to the accessing user, and the user ID and the password input by the user are authenticated.

When a user accesses from a portable terminal device 41 such as a portable telephone or a PHS, the portable terminal device 4
FIG. 4 shows an example of an ID input screen displayed on the first liquid crystal display device. The ID input screen 101 shown here includes an ID input box 102, a password input box 103, an OK
Operation buttons 105 to 107 corresponding to input buttons 104 and buttons attached to the terminal are provided.
The user inputs his / her own user ID and password set in the ID input box 102 and the password input box 103, and presses an OK input button 104.
The user information can be transmitted by selecting.

When the web server receives the user ID from the user
When the user ID and the password are received, the user ID and the password are passed to the authentication server and collated with the customer information in the database 22. By receiving the collation result, it is determined whether or not the user ID and the password are valid. . The customer information stores the user ID of the manager (owner) of the equipment 35 or the contractor of this service, and the password set for this user ID. By comparing the user ID and password in such customer information with the user ID and password transmitted from the accessing user, it is possible to determine whether the access is legitimate. It is also conceivable that a manager (owner) of the equipment 35 or a contractor of this service assigns a user ID or a password to a permitted person. For example, a family of a contractor, a lessor of a rental house, a facility user of a conference room, and the like may be permitted to remotely monitor and operate the equipment 35. As described above, if there is a person authorized by the manager (owner) of the equipment 35 or the contractor of this service, such a user I
D and password as customer information in the database 22
Can be stored.

If it is determined that the user ID and the password are not valid, the flow shifts to step S13. In step S13, an error process for transmitting a message indicating that the authentication has failed to the user side is executed, and in step S23
Move to If it is determined that the user ID and the password are valid, the process proceeds to step S14.

In the step S14, it is determined whether or not there is a homepage of the user who has accessed. If the user has accessed this web page in the past, the user-specific home page 205 has the user characteristic data 201 (see FIG. 5). The homepage information of the homepage 205 is stored as address data such as a URL indicating a storage location in the database 22 in association with the user characteristic data 201. If there is home page information associated with such user characteristic data 201, the process proceeds to step S15.
In step S15, the homepage of the corresponding user is called based on the homepage information and transmitted to the user.

If it is determined in step S14 that there is no home page of the accessing user, the process proceeds to step S16. In step S16, input of user characteristic data is prompted and acquired. When a manager (owner) of the equipment 35 or a person permitted by a contractor of this service accesses this web page for the first time, the home page of the user is not set,
It is considered that there is no homepage information. For this reason, a user characteristic data input screen for inputting age, gender, address, hobby, and other personal information is transmitted to the user side, and input of each personal information is accepted. The personal information transmitted from the user is stored in the database 22 as user characteristic data 201.

In step 17, an initial home page is created and transmitted to the user. Here, attribute information of the user is determined from the acquired user characteristic data 201, and the user segment-menu characteristic related data 20 is determined.
Referring to FIG. 3, an initial home page 205 of the user is created. For example, the weight of each menu item is compared based on the user segment, and a menu display screen in which the corresponding menu components are arranged in order from the menu item with the highest numerical value is created and transmitted to the user. At this time, menu display conversion is performed corresponding to the user segment to create a menu display screen. For example, as shown in FIG. 7, when arranging a menu component “turn on the air conditioner” on the menu display screen, if the user characteristic data 201 is general, the standard display screen 121 is used. If the child is an elementary school student, the display screen for children 122 will be a kanji notation converted into hiragana, and if the user characteristic data is an elderly person, the display screen 123 for the elderly will be displayed in large characters. When the font size is fixed, such as in a mobile phone or PHS, characters may be displayed using image data. In addition to this, a display method such as displaying in circle letters for female junior and senior high school girls or performing coloring according to age can be considered.

The menu display screen thus set is used as the home page 205 of the user in the database 2
2 is set. The home page information of the home page 205 is a URL indicating a storage location in the database 22.
The address data is stored in association with the user characteristic data 201 as address data.

In step S18, instruction information from the user is received based on the menu display screen transmitted to the user. In the web server, the received equipment 35
Is transmitted to the main control server to execute the control of the equipment 35, receive a reply regarding the execution result, and transmit it to the user side.

In step S19, it is determined whether or not the operation of the user from the menu display screen has been completed. When the operation completion instruction information transmitted from the user is received, the process proceeds to step S20.

In step S20, the line connection with the portable terminal device 41 or the information terminal device 32 owned by the user is terminated, and the history information on the menu items used by the user is stored. Here, of the menu components arranged on the homepage 205, those actually selected by the user are counted, and the menu use frequency information 204 is updated based on this.

In step S 21, the user's home page 205 is updated based on the menu use frequency information 204. For example, if the menu components arranged on the home page 205 are arranged in descending order of the user's use frequency, the updated menu use frequency information 2
Based on 04, the menu components are rearranged to change the configuration of the home page 205.

At step S22, another process is executed.
Based on the update of the user segment characteristic data, the user segment-menu characteristic-related data 203 is sequentially changed, and further, the home page 205 of each user is updated based on the user segment-menu characteristic-related data 203. When a new menu item is added, the corresponding menu component is added to the home page 205 of each user. In this case, the user is added to the homepage 205 of the user in consideration of the target segment, the service price, and the like set for the new menu item. At this time, the menu display conversion data 20
With reference to FIG. 6, display conversion is performed and addition to the homepage 205 is performed. The new menu item is added to the menu usage frequency information 204 as a new menu. When it is determined that the weight of the new menu item is large with reference to the user segment-menu characteristic related data 203, It will be located at the front.

[Other Embodiments] In the above embodiment, the menu for remotely monitoring and operating the equipment has been described. However, the present invention can be applied to various menus provided in a web server or the like. In this case, a menu display screen in which menu components for selecting an operation that can be instructed by the user are prepared, and the menu components are arranged in a menu display method based on personal information of the accessing user. Is generated and provided to the user. Each menu display method can be set based on characteristic information of each user as in the above-described embodiment.

[0084]

According to the menu providing method of the equipment management system according to the first aspect of the present invention, a menu display screen based on personal information of each user is provided, so that operability according to each user's individual needs is achieved. A good menu can be provided, and a remote monitoring / operation instruction can be efficiently selected.

In the menu providing method of the equipment management system according to the second aspect of the present invention, it is possible to select a menu display method corresponding to the user based on the personal information stored in the personal information storage means. Yes, a menu display that is easy to operate can be realized.

According to the menu providing method of the equipment management system according to the third aspect of the present invention, as the attribute information of the user, for example, a single man, a single woman, a married man, a housewife,
Set up user segments such as housewives with babies, elementary school students, the elderly, etc., and prepare a menu display method with a higher priority for menu components that are assumed to be frequently used for each user segment based on information obtained through market surveys and the like. It is conceivable to keep it. Also, it is possible to change the screen configuration such as reducing the kanji notation on the menu display screen when the accessing user is an elementary school student and increasing the character size when the accessing user is an elderly person.

In the method for providing a menu of the equipment management system according to the fourth aspect of the present invention, each user registers a user-friendly menu display screen as a user homepage, so that each user can remotely monitor the equipment. The operation can be instructed by a simple operation, and the operation time can be reduced.

According to the menu providing method of the equipment management system according to the fifth aspect of the present invention, a menu display screen can be provided by giving a priority to a menu item actually used by a user, thereby improving user operability. Can be

In the program according to claim 6 of the present invention,
A menu with good operability according to the needs of each user can be provided based on the personal information of each user, and a system can be provided that allows remote monitoring / operation instructions to be efficiently selected.

In the recording medium according to the seventh aspect of the present invention, it becomes possible to package and distribute the program of the equipment management server as described in the sixth aspect. In the equipment management server according to claim 8 of the present invention, a remote monitoring / operation instruction from a user is received via a communication line, and at that time, an operation according to each user's individual needs based on personal information of each user. A good-quality menu can be provided.

In the equipment management server according to the ninth aspect of the present invention, a menu display method corresponding to the user can be selected based on the personal information stored in the personal information storage means. Easy menu display can be realized.

In the equipment management server according to the tenth aspect of the present invention, a menu display method is provided in which the priority of a menu component which is assumed to be frequently used according to the attribute information of the user is increased. By configuring so that the menu display method is determined according to the attribute of the accessing user, it is possible to provide a menu display with good operability according to the characteristics of the user.

In the equipment management server according to the eleventh aspect of the present invention, each user registers a user-friendly menu display screen as a user homepage, thereby enabling each user to instruct remote monitoring and operation of equipment. Can be performed by a simple operation, and the operation time can be reduced.

In the equipment management server according to the twelfth aspect of the present invention, the menu items actually used by the user can be given priorities to be displayed on the menu display screen, thereby improving the operability of the user. it can.

In the equipment management server according to the thirteenth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to acquire operation information and environmental information via the equipment control device, and to transmit a control signal to the equipment control device. Control of the equipment becomes possible.

In the equipment management system according to the fourteenth aspect of the present invention, a remote monitoring / operation instruction from a user is received via a communication line, and at that time, the user's individual needs based on personal information of each user are met. It is possible to provide a menu with good operability according to the menu.

According to the menu providing method of the present invention, it is possible to provide a menu having good operability according to each user's individual needs for menu items that can be instructed by a user via a communication line.

In the menu providing method according to claim 16 of the present invention, it is possible to select a menu display method corresponding to the user based on personal information stored in the personal information storage means, thereby facilitating operation. Menu display can be realized.

In the menu providing method according to the seventeenth aspect of the present invention, as the attribute information of the user, for example, a single man, a single woman, a married man, a housewife, a housewife with a baby,
Consider setting up user segments for elementary school students, elderly people, etc., and prepare a menu display method with a higher priority for menu components that are expected to be used frequently for each user segment based on information obtained through market research and the like. Can be Also, it is possible to change the screen configuration such as reducing the kanji notation on the menu display screen when the accessing user is an elementary school student and increasing the character size when the accessing user is an elderly person.

In the menu providing method according to the eighteenth aspect of the present invention, each user registers a user-friendly menu display screen as a user homepage, so that each user can specify each menu item by a simple operation. And the operation time can be reduced.

In the menu providing method according to the nineteenth aspect of the present invention, the menu items actually used by the user can be given a priority to display the menu display screen, and the operability of the user can be improved. .

According to the program described in claim 20 of the present invention, it is possible to construct a server which provides a menu with good operability according to each user's needs for menu items that can be designated by a user via a communication line.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of an equipment management system to which an embodiment of the present invention is applied;

FIG. 2 is a control flowchart of a main control server.

FIG. 3 is a control flowchart of a web server.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration of an ID input screen.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a correlation between databases.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of a user segment-menu characteristic association table.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration of a menu display screen.

[Explanation of symbols]

 111 ID input screen 121 Display display screen

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) H04Q 9/00 331 H04Q 9/00 331A F term (Reference) 5E501 AA04 AA19 AA21 AB03 AB15 BA05 CA02 FA05 FA43 5K048 BA08 BA12 BA53 DB01 DC01 DC07 EA16 EB02 EB12 FB10 FC01 HA01 HA02 5K101 KK11 LL01 LL11

Claims (20)

[Claims] 1. Receiving instruction information, such as remote monitoring and operation of facility equipment, transmitted from a user via a communication line,
A menu providing method for receiving the instruction information in an equipment management system that generates and transmits a control signal to the equipment, wherein a menu configuration for selecting instruction information such as remote monitoring and operation of the equipment is provided. A component part preparing step of preparing parts, and a display screen providing step of generating a menu display screen in which the menu component parts are arranged by a menu display method based on personal information of the accessing user and providing the menu display screen to the user. A method for providing a menu of the equipment management system. 2. A personal information storing step of storing personal information inputted by a user in a personal information storing means, and extracting personal information from the personal information storing means when the user accesses the personal information storing step. The menu providing method of the equipment management system according to claim 1, further comprising: a display method determining step of determining a display method. 3. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of: setting the menu display method for each attribute information of the user and storing the segment information in the user characteristic data storage means, wherein the personal information extracted from the personal information storage means in the display method determination step. 3. The menu providing method of the equipment management system according to claim 2, wherein the user attribute information is determined from the information, and the menu display method to be provided to the user is determined from the menu display method stored in the user characteristic data storage unit. 4. A homepage registration step of registering a menu display screen on which the menu components are arranged in a menu display method for each user as a user homepage which can be used only by the user in a homepage storage means. 4. The menu providing method of the equipment management system according to claim 3, wherein, in the determining step, when the user homepage of the accessing user is stored in the homepage storage means, the user homepage is used by the user. 5. A step of obtaining usage frequency information of a menu component selected by each user during access and storing the obtained information in a usage frequency information storage unit, and using the usage frequency information stored in the usage frequency information storage unit. 5. The method according to claim 4, further comprising: updating a homepage registered in the homepage storage means based on the homepage. 6. Receiving instruction information transmitted from a user via a communication line, such as remote monitoring and operation of facility equipment,
A program for a menu providing method for receiving the instruction information in an equipment management system that generates and transmits a control signal to the equipment, the program being a program for selecting instruction information such as remote monitoring and operation of the equipment. A component preparing step of preparing a menu component; a display screen providing step of generating a menu display screen on which the menu components are arranged by a menu display method based on personal information of the accessing user and providing the menu display screen to the user; , A program that causes a computer to execute 7. Receiving instruction information transmitted from a user via a communication line, such as remote monitoring and operation of facility equipment,
A recording medium storing a program of a menu providing method for receiving the instruction information in an equipment management system that generates and transmits a control signal to the equipment, the instruction information including remote monitoring and operation of the equipment. And a menu display screen in which the menu components are arranged by a menu display method based on the personal information of the accessing user, and provided to the user. A computer-readable recording medium recording a program for causing a computer to execute the display screen providing step. 8. Obtaining operation information of equipment and current environmental information at the installation location of the equipment, providing monitoring information for monitoring the operation status of the equipment, and remotely operating the equipment. Equipment management server for transmitting a control signal for access control means for receiving access from a user via a communication line, and a menu structure for selecting instruction information such as remote monitoring and operation of the equipment. Display screen generating means for generating a menu display screen in which components are arranged in a menu display method based on personal information of the user who has received the access, and transmitting the menu display screen generated by the display screen generating means to the user side Menu screen providing means for performing, and instruction receiving means for receiving instruction information selected by a user using the menu display screen And a control signal generating means for generating and transmitting a control signal for the equipment based on the instruction information received by the instruction receiving means. 9. A personal information storage means for acquiring and storing personal information of each user, and extracting personal information from the personal information storage means when the user accesses the personal information storage means. The equipment management server according to claim 8, further comprising: means. 10. A personal computer according to claim 10, further comprising: a segment information storage unit for storing a menu display method preset for each user attribute information, wherein said display screen generating unit includes a user attribute based on personal information extracted from said personal information storage unit. The equipment management server according to claim 9, wherein information is determined to determine a menu display method stored in the segment information storage means. 11. A homepage storage means for storing a menu display screen in which the menu components are arranged by a menu display method for each user as a user homepage which can be used only by the user, wherein the display screen generation means comprises: 11. The equipment management server according to claim 10, wherein when the user homepage of the accessing user is stored in the homepage storage means, the user homepage is used by the user. 12. A usage frequency information storage means for storing usage frequency information of a menu component selected by each user during access, and said home page based on usage frequency information stored in said usage frequency information storage means. The equipment management server according to claim 11, further comprising: a homepage update unit that updates a user homepage registered in the storage unit. 13. A device built in or connected to the equipment, acquires operation information of the equipment and current environmental information at a place where the equipment is installed, transmits the acquired information, and receives the control signal to receive the control signal. 9. The apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the apparatus is connectable to a facility device control device to be transmitted to the facility device through a communication line, and transmits and receives the operation information, environment information, and control signal through the communication line and the facility device control device.
13. The equipment management server according to any one of claims 12 to 12. 14. A control built in or connected to the equipment, for acquiring and transmitting the operation information of the equipment and the current environmental information at the installation location of the equipment, and controlling the operation of the equipment. An equipment control device that receives a signal and sends the signal to the equipment, and receives operation information and environmental information from the equipment control device, and provides monitoring information for monitoring an operation state of the equipment. An equipment management server that transmits a control signal for remotely controlling the equipment, wherein the equipment management server receives an access from a user via a communication line. A receiving means, and a menu component for selecting instruction information such as remote monitoring / operation of the facility equipment, the user receiving the access. A display screen generating means for generating a menu display screen arranged by a menu display method based on the personal information of the user; a menu screen providing means for transmitting the menu display screen generated by the display screen generating means to the user side; An instruction receiving unit that receives instruction information selected by a user using a menu display screen, and a control signal generating unit that generates and transmits a control signal to the equipment based on the instruction information received by the instruction receiving unit, Equipment management system equipped with. 15. A menu providing method for providing a menu display screen for receiving instruction information from a user via a communication line, wherein a menu for selecting an operation that can be instructed by the user is provided. A component preparing step for preparing a component, a display screen providing step of generating a menu display screen on which the menu components are arranged by a menu display method based on personal information of the accessing user and providing the menu display screen to the user, Menu providing method comprising: 16. A personal information storing step of storing personal information input by a user in a personal information storing means, and extracting personal information from the personal information storing means when the user accesses the menu. The menu providing method according to claim 15, further comprising: a display method determining step of determining a display method. 17. A method according to claim 17, further comprising the step of preparing said menu display method for each user attribute information and storing said segment information in said user characteristic data storage means, wherein said personal information extracted from said personal information storage means in said display method determination step. 17. The method according to claim 16, further comprising: determining attribute information of the user from the information; and determining a menu display method to be provided to the user from a menu display method stored in the user characteristic data storage unit.
Menu provision method described in. 18. A homepage registration step of registering a menu display screen on which the menu components are arranged in a menu display method for each user as a user homepage that can be used only by the user in a homepage storage means. 18. The menu providing method according to claim 17, wherein in the determining step, when the user homepage of the accessing user is stored in the homepage storage means, the user homepage is used by the user. 19. A step of obtaining usage frequency information of a menu component selected by each user during access and storing the obtained information in a usage frequency information storage means, and using the usage frequency information stored in the usage frequency information storage means. 20. The menu providing method according to claim 18, further comprising: updating a homepage registered in the homepage storage means based on the homepage. 20. A program for causing a computer to execute the program of the menu providing method according to claim 15.