JP2005094323A - System and method for notifying event - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make the load of an electric appliance and the burden of a user small. <P>SOLUTION: When an event occurs in the electric appliance 2, an event notification request is transmitted to a management server 3. The management server 3 transmits event information to relay server 4. The relay server 4 edits the event information and returns the edited event information to the management server 3. The management server 3 specifies a receiving device 5 and transfers the edited event information to the specified receiving device 5. Contents of the edited event information are displayed in the receiving device 5. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an event notification system and an event notification method for notifying a user of an event that has occurred in an electrical device.

Conventionally, a state detected by an electric device (for example, occurrence of a fire, human intrusion, etc.) may be notified to the output device and output from the output device.
In order to notify the state detected in the electrical device, for example, the address of the output device that is the notification destination is registered in advance in the electrical device. When the electrical device detects a predetermined state, the electrical device edits the message in the device, and transmits the edited message directly to the output device using the address of the output device registered in advance. And an output device outputs the message received from the electric equipment. Thereby, the user can know the state detected by the electric device.
When there are a plurality of electric devices, the address of the output device that is the notification destination is registered in advance in each electric device (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
JP 10-313370 A

However, it is necessary to manage the address of the output device that is the notification destination in each electric device. Further, since the message is edited in the electric device, it is necessary to manage and edit information necessary for creating the message on the electric device side, and the electric device needs a function of editing the message. As described above, there is a problem that the load on the electric device is large and the burden on the user is large.
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an event notification system and an event notification method in which the load on the electric device and the burden on the user are small.

  The invention according to claim 1 is an electrical device, a receiving device, a processing system that is communicably connected to the electrical device and the receiving device, and notifies the receiving device of an event that occurs in the electrical device. In the event notification system, the electrical device receives an event notification request including an event detection unit that detects the occurrence of an event, information about the event detected by the event detection unit, and a device identifier that is uniquely assigned to the own device. Event notification request transmitting means for transmitting to the processing system, wherein the processing system manages a receiving device for notifying the event in association with a device identifier of the electrical device, Associate editing information used for editing with the device identifier of the electrical device and information about the event Second management means for managing; event notification request receiving means for receiving the event notification request transmitted by the electrical equipment; and the device identifier included in the event notification request received by the event notification request receiving means; Event information creating means for creating event information using the editing information managed by the second management means in association with information related to the event, and the event notification request received by the event notification request receiving means. Receiving device specifying means for specifying the receiving device managed by the first management means in association with the included device identifier, and event information generated by the event information generating means is specified by the receiving device specifying means. Event information transmitting means for transmitting to the receiving device. The receiving device includes event information receiving means for receiving the event information transmitted by the processing system, and event information display means for displaying the contents based on the event information received by the event information receiving means; It is characterized by providing.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electrical device, a gateway device connected to the electrical device, a receiving device, an event that is communicably connected to the gateway device and the receiving device, and that occurs in the electrical device. In the event notification system comprising: a processing system for notifying the receiving device, the electrical device is information relating to an event detected by the event detecting unit with respect to the event detecting unit that detects occurrence of the event and the gateway device. And an event notification means for performing an event notification including a device identifier uniquely assigned to the own device, and the gateway device receives the event notification from the electric device, and The event included in the event notification received by the event notification receiving means. Event notification request transmitting means for transmitting to the processing system an event notification request including information on the event and the device identifier, and the processing system designates a receiving device for notifying the event as the device of the electric device. Transmitted by the gateway device, the first management means for managing in association with the identifier, the second management means for managing the editing information used for editing the event in association with the device identifier of the electrical equipment and the information related to the event, and Event notification request receiving means for receiving the event notification request, and the second management means in association with information related to the device identifier and the event included in the event notification request received by the event notification request receiving means. Event information is created using the editing information And a receiving device specifying unit for specifying the receiving device managed by the first management unit in association with the device identifier included in the event notification request received by the event notification request receiving unit. And event information transmitting means for transmitting event information created by the event information creating means to the receiving device specified by the receiving device specifying means, wherein the receiving device is controlled by the processing system. An event information receiving means for receiving the event information to be transmitted, and an event information display means for displaying the contents based on the event information received by the event information receiving means. .

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electrical device, a gateway device connected to the electrical device, a receiving device, an event that is communicably connected to the gateway device and the receiving device, and that occurs in the electrical device. In the event notification system having a processing system for notifying the receiving device, the gateway device is configured to monitor the event generated in the electrical device, and based on a monitoring result by the event monitoring unit, the electrical device Event notification request transmitting means for transmitting to the processing system an event notification request including information related to an event occurring in the device and a device identifier uniquely assigned to the electrical device, the processing system including an event Related to the device identifier of the electrical device First management means for managing the event, second management means for managing the editing information used for editing the event in association with the device identifier of the electrical device and the information related to the event, and the event transmitted by the gateway device An event notification request receiving unit that receives a notification request, and the second identifier is managed by the second management unit in association with information related to the device identifier and the event included in the event notification request received by the event notification request receiving unit. Event information creating means for creating event information using the editing information and managed by the first management means in association with the device identifier included in the event notification request received by the event notification request receiving means. Receiving device specifying means for specifying the receiving device, and the event information creation Event information transmitting means for transmitting event information created by the means to the receiving device specified by the receiving device specifying means, wherein the receiving device transmits the event transmitted by the processing system. Event information receiving means for receiving information, and event information display means for displaying the contents based on the event information received by the event information receiving means.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the processing system is capable of communicating with the electrical device and the receiving device, the first management unit, the event notification request receiving unit, the receiving device specifying unit, and the event information transmission. A first server provided with means, and a second server provided with the second management means and the event information creation means capable of communicating with the first server, wherein the first management means is the device. A second server that requests creation of an event in association with an identifier or information about the event is further managed, and the first server includes the device included in the event notification request received by the event notification request receiving unit Second server specifying means for specifying the second server managed by the first management means in association with an identifier or information on the event; An event creation request including information related to the device identifier and the event included in the event notification request received by the event notification request receiving means is transmitted to the second server specified by the second server specifying means. An event creation request transmitting means; and an event information reply receiving means for receiving event information returned by the second server, wherein the second server transmits the event created by the first server. It further comprises an event creation request receiving means for receiving a request, and an event information return means for returning event information created by the event information creating means to the first server.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the event notification request further includes a user identifier uniquely assigned to a user of the electrical device, and the first management unit associates the user identifier with the device identifier. And the processing system refers to the management content of the first management means, and the device identifier and the user identifier included in the event notification request received by the event notification request receiving means. And event notification request confirmation means for confirming the validity of the event notification request based on the above.

  The invention according to claim 6 includes: an electrical device; a receiving device; and a processing system that is communicably connected to the electrical device and the receiving device and notifies the receiving device of an event that occurs in the electrical device. In the event notification method to be performed, the electrical device includes an event detection procedure for detecting occurrence of an event, an event notification request including information on an event detected in the event detection procedure and a device identifier uniquely assigned to the own device. An event notification request transmission procedure for transmitting to the processing system, wherein the processing system manages a receiving device that notifies the event in association with a device identifier of the electrical device, Edit information used for editing is associated with the device identifier of the electric device and information related to the event. A second management procedure, an event notification request receiving procedure for receiving the event notification request transmitted by the electrical device, the device identifier included in the event notification request received in the event notification request receiving procedure, and the Included in the event information creation procedure for creating event information using the editing information managed in the second management procedure in association with information related to the event, and the event notification request received in the event notification request receiving procedure A receiving device specifying procedure for specifying the receiving device managed in the first management procedure in association with the device identifier, and the reception information specified in the receiving device specifying procedure for event information generated in the event information generating procedure An event information transmission procedure to be transmitted to the device; The receiving device receives the event information transmitted by the processing system, and the event information display procedure for displaying the content based on the event information received in the event information receiving procedure. And performing.

  The invention according to claim 7 is an electric device, a gateway device connected to the electric device, a receiving device, an event that is communicably connected to the gateway device and the receiving device, and that occurs in the electric device. In the event notification method performed by the processing system for notifying the receiving device, the electrical device relates to an event detection procedure for detecting the occurrence of an event, and an event detected in the event detection procedure for the gateway device. An event notification procedure for performing an event notification including information and a device identifier uniquely assigned to the device itself, and an event notification reception procedure for receiving the event notification from the electrical device, and the event notification. The event included in the event notification received in the reception procedure. An event notification request transmission procedure for transmitting to the processing system an event notification request including information on the device and the device identifier, and the processing system sets the receiving device for notifying the event as the device identifier of the electric device. A first management procedure for managing in association; a second management procedure for managing editing information used for editing an event in association with information about the device identifier of the electrical device and the event; and the event transmitted by the gateway device An event notification request reception procedure for receiving a notification request, and the device identifier and information related to the event included in the event notification request received by the event notification request reception procedure and managed in the second management procedure Event information that uses edit information to create event information A receiving device specifying procedure for specifying the receiving device managed in the first management procedure in association with the device identifier included in the event notification request received in the event notification request receiving procedure; An event information transmission procedure for transmitting event information generated in the information generation procedure to the receiving device specified in the receiving device specifying procedure, and the receiving device transmits the event information transmitted by the processing system. And an event information display procedure for displaying the contents based on the event information received in the event information reception procedure.

  The invention according to claim 8 is an electrical device, a gateway device connected to the electrical device, a receiving device, an event that is communicably connected to the gateway device and the receiving device, and that occurs in the electrical device. In the event notification method performed by the processing system for notifying the receiving device, the gateway device monitors an event occurring in the electrical device, and based on a monitoring result in the event monitoring procedure, An event notification request transmission procedure for transmitting an event notification request including information related to an event occurring in the electric device and a device identifier uniquely assigned to the electric device to the processing system, and the processing system notifies the event Associating the receiving device with the device identifier of the electrical device A first management procedure for managing, a second management procedure for managing editing information used for editing an event in association with a device identifier of the electrical device and information about the event, and the event notification request transmitted by the gateway device The event notification request receiving procedure for receiving the event information, and the editing information managed in the second management procedure in association with the device identifier and the information related to the event included in the event notification request received in the event notification request receiving procedure The event information creating procedure for creating event information using the event information, and the receiving device managed in the first management procedure in association with the device identifier included in the event notification request received in the event notification request receiving procedure Receiving device specifying procedure for specifying the event information and the event information. An event information transmission procedure for transmitting event information created in the creation procedure to the receiving device identified in the receiving device identification procedure, and the receiving device transmits the event information transmitted by the processing system. And an event information display procedure for displaying the contents based on the event information received in the event information reception procedure.

  According to the present invention, an event notification destination receiving device is managed by the processing system and event information is created, so that the load on the electric device and the burden on the user can be reduced.

<< First Embodiment >>
The event notification system according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
First, the configuration of the event notification system according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a system diagram showing a configuration of an event notification system according to the first embodiment.
As shown in FIG. 1, the event notification system 1 includes an electrical device 2: 21, 22, 23, a management server (first server) 3, a relay server (second server) 4: 41, 42, and a receiving device. 5: 51,52. The electric device 2, the management server 3, the relay server 4, and the receiving device 5 are connected to a data communication network 6 such as the Internet, for example. Note that the number of devices is not limited to the number shown, but can be changed as appropriate according to the scale of the system.

Hereinafter, the function of each apparatus in FIG. 1 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of each apparatus.
The electrical device 2 is, for example, a video deck or an audio device. As illustrated in FIG. 2, the electrical device 2 includes a failure type management unit 201, an event detection unit 202, and an event notification request transmission unit 203. In addition, an address such as an IP (Internet Protocol) address of the management server 3 is registered in advance in the electric device 2, and an identifier (device ID) uniquely assigned to the own device is registered. Also, the user ID (user ID) is registered at the time of setup or the like.

The failure type management unit 201 manages information indicating a failure type (failure type ID: information on an event) for each type of device failure (device failure) such as a power failure or a program failure. This management is realized, for example, by using a table having fields of failure type (power failure or program abnormality) and failure type ID.
The event detection unit 202 detects the occurrence of an event to be notified to the receiving device 5 (a state in which the device has failed and this failure is notified to the receiving device 5).

  The event notification request transmission unit 203 refers to the management content of the failure type management unit 201, creates an event notification request based on the event detection result by the event detection unit 202, and sends the created event notification request to the management server 3. Send to. This event notification request includes the user ID of the user of the own device, the device ID of the own device, the failure type ID of the failure that has occurred in the own device, and the like.

As shown in FIG. 2, the management server 3 includes an information management unit (first management unit) 301, an event notification request reception unit 302, a user authentication unit (event notification request confirmation unit) 303, and a relay server identification unit. (Second server specifying unit) 304, event information transmitting / receiving unit (event information transmitting unit, event creation request transmitting unit, event information return receiving unit) 305, and receiving device specifying unit 306.
The information management unit 301 manages information necessary for user authentication, relay server specification, and reception device specification. For example, the information management unit 301 includes a user ID of an electric device user, an electric device ID, an address such as a URL (Uniform Resource Locator) or IP (Internet Protocol) address of a relay server that edits event information, In addition, an address such as an Internet mail address of a receiving device that displays the edited event information is associated and managed.
In the first and later-described embodiments, the information management unit 301 manages an information management table shown as an example in FIG. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of an information management table managed by the information management unit 301. This information management table has fields of “user ID”, “device ID”, “relay server URL”, and “reception device address”.

  The event notification request receiving unit 302 receives an event notification request transmitted from the electric device 2 via the data communication network 6. In the second and third embodiments to be described later, an event notification request transmitted by the gateway device is received via the data communication network 6.

The user authentication unit 303 refers to the correspondence between the user ID and the device ID managed by the information management unit 301, and the user ID included in the event notification request received by the event notification request reception unit 302 And a device ID, it is determined whether the request is a valid event notification request (user authentication is performed).
The relay server identification unit 304 refers to the correspondence between the device ID managed by the information management unit 301 and the relay server URL, and sets the device ID included in the event notification request received by the event notification request reception unit 302. The corresponding relay server URL is specified. That is, the relay server that edits the event information is specified.

  The event information transmitting / receiving unit 305 transmits event information (event creation request) to the relay server 4 using the relay server URL specified by the relay server specifying unit 304. This event information includes the device ID and failure type ID included in the event notification request received by the event notification request receiving unit 302. Further, the event information transmission / reception unit 305 receives the event information edited from the relay server 4. The edited event information includes handling information and a reference URL. Furthermore, the event information transmitting / receiving unit 305 transfers the edited event information received from the relay server 4 to the receiving device 5 using the receiving device address specified by the receiving device specifying unit 306.

  The receiving device specifying unit 306 corresponds to the device ID included in the event notification request received by the event notification request receiving unit 302 with reference to the correspondence relationship between the device ID managed by the information management unit 301 and the receiving device address. Specify the receiving device address. That is, the receiving device 5 to which the event information received from the relay server 4 is transferred is specified.

As shown in FIG. 2, the relay server 4 includes an edit information management unit (second management unit) 401, an event information transmission / reception unit (event creation request reception unit, event information return unit) 402, and an event information editing unit (event Information creation means) 403. Note that the relay server 4 may be installed by an electrical equipment manufacturer, for example.
The edit information management unit 401 manages information necessary for editing event information. For example, the editing information management unit 401 manages the device ID, failure type ID, handling information, reference URL, and the like of the electric device in association with each other. Here, the handling information is, for example, a method for dealing with a failure that has occurred in an electrical device, command information that can be remotely operated, and the like. Further, the reference URL is a URL of a site on which detailed information on a troubleshooting method is posted.
The edit information management unit 401 manages an edit information management table shown as an example in FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the editing information management table. The edit information management table shown in FIG. 4 has fields of “device ID”, “failure type ID”, “handling information”, and “reference URL”.

The event information transmission / reception unit 402 receives event information transmitted by the management server 3. Further, the event information transmission / reception unit 402 transmits the event information edited by the event information editing unit 403 to the management server 3.
The event information editing unit 403 refers to the correspondence relationship between the device ID, the failure type ID, the handling information, and the reference URL managed by the editing information management unit 401, and sets the event information received by the event information transmission / reception unit 402. The handling information and the reference URL corresponding to the included device ID and failure type ID are specified. Then, the event information editing unit 403 edits the event information received by the event information transmission / reception unit 402 based on the identified handling information and the reference URL, and the edited event including the identified handling information and the reference URL Create information. When editing, for example, in the event information, information for notifying the user of the electrical device in which the failure has occurred (such as “the device with the customer's device ID 3 has issued an alarm”), and handling information If is command information, operation method information ("Select the following and click to restart the device and become normal.") Is included.

The receiving device 5 is, for example, a mobile phone or a PDA (Personal Digital Assistants). As illustrated in FIG. 2, the receiving device 5 includes an event information receiving unit 501 and an event information display unit 502.
The event information receiving unit 501 receives the edited event information transmitted from the management server 3 via the data communication network 6.
The event information display unit 502 displays the contents based on the edited event information received by the event information receiving unit 501. An example is shown in FIG. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a display example of events. “Http://10.10.10.12/reboot” in FIG. 5 corresponds to the handling information, and “http://www.abc.co.jp” corresponds to the reference URL. Are linked. In the example of FIG. 5, “http://10.10.10.12/reboot” is a remote operation command, and by using this, a failure can be dealt with by remote operation.

Hereinafter, event notification processing performed in the event notification system having the above-described configuration will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is a sequence diagram showing event notification processing.
In the electrical device 2, when a power failure or a program abnormality occurs (abnormality occurrence), the event detection unit 202 detects the occurrence of an event (step S101). Then, the event notification request transmission unit 203 transmits an event notification request to the management server 3 based on the detection result (step S102). The event notification request transmitted in step S102 includes a user ID, a device ID, and a failure type ID.

In the management server 3, when the event notification request reception unit 302 receives the event notification request transmitted in step S102, the user authentication unit 303 determines whether the request is a valid event notification request (user authentication). At the same time, the relay server specifying unit 304 specifies the relay server URL of the relay server 4 that edits the event information (relay server specification) (step S103). Note that the event notification system 1 is constructed so that the subsequent processing is not performed when it is determined that the user authentication is not a valid event notification request in step S103. The same applies to the second and third embodiments described later.
The event information transmission / reception unit 305 transmits the event information to the relay server 4 using the relay server URL specified in step S103 (step S104). The event information transmitted in step S104 includes a device ID and a failure type ID included in the event notification request received from the electrical device 2.

  In the relay server 4, when the event information transmission / reception unit 402 receives the event information transmitted in step S104, the event information editing unit 403 edits the event information received from the management server 3 (step S105). The event information obtained by editing in step S105 includes handling information and reference URL managed by the editing information management unit 401 corresponding to the device ID and failure type ID included in the event information received from the management server 3. And are included. Subsequently, the event information transmitting / receiving unit 402 returns the event information edited in step S105 to the management server 3 (step S106).

  In the management server 3, when the event information transmitting / receiving unit 305 receives the event information (edited) returned in step S106, the receiving device specifying unit 306 receives the receiving device 5 of the receiving device 5 that transfers the edited event information. An address is specified (step S107). Subsequently, the event information transmission / reception unit 305 transfers the event information (edited) received from the relay server 4 to the receiving device 5 using the receiving device address specified in step S107 (step S108). This transferred event information includes handling information and a reference URL.

  In the receiving device 5, when the event information receiving unit 501 receives the event information (edited) transferred in step S108, the event information display unit 502, based on the received event information (edited), The contents are displayed (step S109). Thereby, the user of the electric device 2 can deal with an abnormality that has occurred in the electric device 2 by referring to the display content.

According to the event notification system 1 described above, the information management unit 301 of the management server 3 manages the address of a receiving device that is a notification destination of an event that has occurred in the electrical device 2. For this reason, it becomes unnecessary to manage the address of the receiving device 5 that is the notification destination in the electric device 2.
Further, the handling information and the reference URL used for editing the event information are managed by the editing information management unit 401 of the relay server 4. Then, the event information editing unit 403 edits the event information using the handling information and the reference URL managed by the editing information management unit 401. Because of this configuration, the electrical device 2 does not need a function for managing information used for editing event information or a function for editing event information using the managed information.
Further, the handling information and the reference URL are managed by the editing information management unit 401 of the relay server 4. For this reason, when the management information or the reference URL is changed, if the administrator who manages the relay server 4 updates the management content of the editing information management unit 401 as one of the services, The user does not need to update the handling information and the reference URL by himself / herself.
Accordingly, it is possible to reduce the load on the electric device 2 and the burden on the user of the electric device 2.

<< Second Embodiment >>
The event notification system according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the component which performs the process substantially the same as the component of 1st Embodiment, and since the description of 1st Embodiment is applicable, the description is abbreviate | omitted.
First, the configuration of the event notification system according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 7 is a system diagram illustrating a configuration of an event notification system according to the second embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the event notification system 1a includes an electrical device 2a: 21a, 22a, 23a, 24a, 25a, 26a, a management server (first server) 3, and a relay server (second server) 4:41. , 42, receiving devices 5:51, 52, and gateway devices 7:71, 72. The management server 3, the relay server 4, the receiving device 5, and the gateway device 7 are each connected to the data communication network 6. The electric devices 21a, 22a, and 23a are each connected to the gateway device 71, and the electric devices 24a, 25a, and 26a are each connected to the gateway device 72. Note that the number of devices is not limited to the number shown, but can be changed as appropriate according to the scale of the system.

Hereinafter, the function of each apparatus in FIG. 7 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing the configuration of each apparatus.
The management server 3 includes the units 301 to 306 and is substantially the same as that of the first embodiment. The relay server 4 includes the respective units 401 to 403, which are substantially the same as those in the first embodiment. Furthermore, the receiving device 5 includes units 501 and 502, which are substantially the same as those in the first embodiment.

As illustrated in FIG. 8, the electrical device 2 a includes a failure type management unit 201, an event detection unit 202, and an event notification unit 211. In the electric appliance 2a, the address of the gateway device 7 is registered in advance, and the device ID uniquely assigned to the own device is registered.
The event notification unit 211 refers to the management content of the failure type management unit 201 and transmits event information (event occurrence notification) to the gateway device 7 based on the detection result by the event detection unit 202. This event information includes a device ID of the electric device 2a and a failure type ID such as a failure that has occurred in the electric device 2a.

As illustrated in FIG. 8, the gateway device 7 includes an event notification reception unit 701 and an event notification request transmission unit 702. In the gateway device 7, the address of the management server 3 is registered in advance, and the user ID of the electric device 2a connected to the own device is registered.
The event notification receiving unit 701 receives event information from the electrical device 2a.
The event notification request transmission unit 702 transmits an event notification request based on the event information received from the electrical device 2a to the management server 3. This event notification request includes a user ID, a device ID, and a failure type ID. The device ID and the failure type ID are included in the event information received from the electric device 2a.

Hereinafter, event notification processing performed in the event notification system having the above-described configuration will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 9 is a sequence diagram showing event notification processing.
When a power failure or a program abnormality occurs in the electrical device 2a (abnormality occurrence), the event detection unit 202 detects the occurrence of an event (step S201). Then, the event notification unit 211 transmits event information to the gateway device 7 (step S202). This event information includes a device ID and a failure type ID corresponding to the abnormality that has occurred.

  In the gateway device 7, when the event notification receiving unit 701 receives the event information transmitted in step S202, the event notification request transmitting unit 702 transmits an event notification request to the management server 3 (step S203). The event notification request transmitted in step S203 includes a user ID, a device ID (device ID included in event information received from the electrical device 2), and a failure type ID (event information received from the electrical device 2). Failure type ID).

  In the management server 3, the same processing as in steps S <b> 103 to S <b> 104 is performed, the user authentication and the relay server 4 for editing the event information are specified (step S <b> 204), and event information is stored in the specified relay server 4. It is transmitted (step S205). The event information transmitted in step S205 includes the device ID and failure type ID included in the event request notification received from the gateway device 7.

  The relay server 4 performs the same processing as in steps S105 to S106, the event information is edited (step S206), and the edited event information is returned to the management server 3 (step S207). The edited event information includes handling information and a reference URL.

In the management server 3, the same processing as in steps S107 to S108 is performed, and the receiving device 5 to which the edited event information is transferred is specified (step S208), and the event information edited for the specified receiving device 5 is specified. Is transferred (step S209). The transferred event information includes countermeasure information and a reference URL.
The receiving device 5 performs the same process as in step S109, and the edited event information content is displayed on the event information display unit 502 (step S210).

  According to the event notification system 1a described above, substantially the same effect as that shown in the first embodiment can be obtained. In addition, since the gateway device 7 is arranged in front of the electric device 2a, notification to the receiving device 5 of events occurring in the plurality of electric devices 2a connected to the gateway device 7 can be centrally managed by the gateway device 7. .

<< Third Embodiment >>
The event notification system according to the third embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Note that the same reference numerals are given to components that perform substantially the same processing as the components of the first and second embodiments, and the description of the first and second embodiments can be applied to the description thereof. Is omitted.
First, the configuration of the event notification system according to the third embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 10 is a system diagram showing a configuration of an event notification system according to the third embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 10, the event notification system 1b includes an electric device 2b: 21b, 22b, 23b, 24b, 25b, 26b, a management server (first server) 3, and a relay server (second server) 4:41. , 42, receiving devices 5:51, 52, and gateway devices 7b: 71b, 72b. The management server 3, the relay server 4, the receiving device 5, and the gateway device 7b are each connected to the data communication network 6. The electric devices 21b, 22b, and 23b are each connected to the gateway device 71b, and the electric devices 24b, 25b, and 26b are each connected to the gateway device 72b. Note that the number of devices is not limited to the number shown, but can be changed as appropriate according to the scale of the system.

Hereinafter, the function of each apparatus of FIG. 10 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing the configuration of each device.
The management server 3 includes the units 301 to 306 and is substantially the same as that of the first embodiment. The relay server 4 includes the respective units 401 to 403, which are substantially the same as those in the first embodiment. Furthermore, the receiving device 5 includes units 501 and 502, which are substantially the same as those in the first embodiment.

As illustrated in FIG. 11, the electrical device 2 b includes a failure type management unit 201, a state detection unit 221, and a response unit 222. In the electric appliance 2b, the address of the gateway device 7b is registered in advance, and the device ID uniquely assigned to the own device is registered.
The state detection unit 221 detects an abnormality of the own device.
When there is an inquiry about whether a failure or the like has occurred from the gateway device 7b, the response unit 222 makes a response to the inquiry based on the detection result by the state detection unit 221 and the management content of the failure type management unit 201. In this response, when a failure occurs, the device ID and the failure type ID (the failure type ID managed by the failure type management unit 201 corresponding to the failure of the electric device 2b detected by the state detection unit 221) It is included.

As illustrated in FIG. 11, the gateway device 7b includes an event monitoring unit 721 and an event notification request transmission unit 702b. In the gateway device 7b, the address of the management server 3 is registered in advance, and the user ID of the electric device 2a connected to the own device is registered.
The event monitoring unit 721 periodically monitors the failure state of the electric device 2b connected to the gateway device 7b. For example, the event monitoring unit 721 periodically inquires of the electric device 2b whether there is a failure in the electric device 2b, and monitors the failure state of the electric device 2b based on a response from the electric device 2b to the inquiry.
The event notification request transmission unit 702b transmits an event notification request based on a response from the electrical device 2b to the management server 3. This event notification request includes a user ID, a device ID, and a failure type ID. The device ID and the failure type ID are included in the response from the electric device 2a.

Hereinafter, event notification processing performed in the event notification system having the above-described configuration will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 12 is a sequence diagram showing event notification processing.
In the gateway device 7b, the event monitoring unit 721 monitors the failure of the electric device 2b by periodically inquiring whether one or more electric devices 2b connected to the gateway device 7b have an abnormality. This is performed (step S301). It should be noted that the subsequent processing is not performed when there is no abnormality in the electrical device 2b.

  When a power supply failure or a program abnormality occurs in the electrical device 2b (abnormality occurrence), the state detection unit 221 detects a failure of the electrical device 2b (step S302), and the response unit 222 is an event monitoring unit of the gateway device 7b. It responds to the inquiry that 721 periodically makes (step S303). This response includes the device ID and the failure type ID managed by the failure type management unit 201 in association with the failure detected by the state detection unit 221.

  In the gateway device 7b, when the event monitoring unit 721 receives a response including the device ID and the failure type ID from the electrical device 2, it detects that a failure has occurred in the electrical device 2b and an event to notify the receiving device 5 has occurred ( Step S304). Subsequently, the event notification request transmission unit 702b transmits an event notification request to the management server 3 (step S305). This event notification request includes a user ID, a device ID (device ID included in the response of the electric device 2b), and a failure type ID (failure type ID included in the response of the electric device 2b). ing.

  In the management server 3, the same processing as in steps S <b> 103 to S <b> 104 is performed, the user authentication and the relay server 4 for editing the event information are specified (step S <b> 306), and event information is stored in the specified relay server 4. It is transmitted (step S307). The event information transmitted in step S307 includes a device ID and a failure type ID included in the event notification request received from the gateway device 7b.

  In the relay server 4, the same processing as in steps S105 to S106 is performed, the event information is edited (step S308), and the edited event information is returned to the management server 3 (step S309). The edited event information includes handling information and a reference URL.

In the management server 3, the same processing as in steps S107 to S108 is performed, the receiving device 5 to which the edited event information is transferred is specified (step S310), and the event information edited for the specified receiving device 5 is specified. Is transferred (step S311). The transferred event information includes countermeasure information and a reference URL.
The receiving device 5 performs the same process as step S109, and the edited event information is displayed on the event information display unit 502 (step S312).

  According to the event notification system 1b in the third embodiment described above, an effect substantially similar to the effect shown in the first embodiment can be obtained. In addition, since the gateway device 7b is arranged in front of the electric device 2b, notification to the receiving device 5 of events occurring in the plurality of electric devices 2b connected to the gateway device 7b can be managed centrally by the gateway device 7b. .

The preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above. However, the present invention is not limited to the first, second, and third embodiments described above, and may be various as long as they are described in the claims. Design changes are possible.
For example, in the above-described first, second, and third embodiments, the management server 3 and the relay server 4 are respectively configured by different servers. The functions of the relay server 4 may be realized by a single server. In this case, the necessary components are an information management unit 301, an event notification request reception unit 302, a user authentication unit 303, an event information transmission / reception unit 305, a reception device identification unit 306, and an editing information management unit 401. And an event information editing unit 403. However, the event information transmission / reception unit 305 need only have a function of transmitting the event information edited by the event information editing unit 403 to the receiving device 5. Further, the information managed by the information management unit 301 need only be information necessary for user authentication and identification of the receiving device (for example, in the case of FIG. 3, the field of “relay server URL” is unnecessary). .
In the first, second, and third embodiments, the information about the failure that has occurred in the electric device is displayed on the event display unit 502 of the receiving device 5. May be.
Furthermore, in the first, second, and third embodiments, the relay server 4 is specified using the device ID included in the event notification request. However, the failure type ID, the relay server URL, May be prepared, and the relay server URL associated with the failure type ID may be specified based on the failure type ID included in the event notification request.

  Further, by recording a program for realizing the functions of the respective processing units of the event processing system described above on a computer-readable recording medium, causing the computer system to read and execute the program recorded on the recording medium Event notification processing may be performed. The “computer system” here includes an OS and hardware such as peripheral devices. The “computer system” includes a WWW system having a homepage providing environment (or display environment). The “computer-readable recording medium” refers to a storage device such as a flexible medium, a magneto-optical disk, a portable medium such as a ROM and a CD-ROM, and a hard disk incorporated in a computer system. Further, the “computer-readable recording medium” refers to a volatile memory (RAM) in a computer system that becomes a server or a client when a program is transmitted via a network such as the Internet or a communication line such as a telephone line. In addition, those holding programs for a certain period of time are also included.

  The program may be transmitted from a computer system storing the program in a storage device or the like to another computer system via a transmission medium or by a transmission wave in the transmission medium. Here, the “transmission medium” for transmitting the program refers to a medium having a function of transmitting information, such as a network (communication network) such as the Internet or a communication line (communication line) such as a telephone line. The program may be for realizing a part of the functions described above. Furthermore, what can implement | achieve the function mentioned above in combination with the program already recorded on the computer system, and what is called a difference file (difference program) may be sufficient.

The system which shows the structure of the event notification system in 1st Embodiment. The block diagram which shows the structure of each apparatus of FIG. The figure which shows an example of an information management table. The figure which shows an example of an edit information management table. The figure which shows the example of a display of an event. The sequence diagram which shows the event notification process in 1st Embodiment. The system which shows the structure of the event notification system in 2nd Embodiment. The block diagram which shows the structure of each apparatus of FIG. The sequence diagram which shows the event notification process in 2nd Embodiment. The system which shows the structure of the event notification system in 3rd Embodiment. The block diagram which shows the structure of each apparatus of FIG. The sequence diagram which shows the event notification process in 3rd Embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

1, 1a, 1b Event notification system, 2, 2a, 2b Electrical equipment, 3 Management server, 4 Relay server, 5 Receiving equipment, 6 Data communication network, 7, 7b Gateway device, 201 Failure type management section, 202 Event detection section 203, 702, 702b event notification request transmission unit, 211 event notification unit, 221 state detection unit, 222 response unit, 301 information management unit, 302 event notification request reception unit, 303 user authentication unit, 304 relay server identification unit, 305 event information transmission / reception unit, 306 reception device identification unit, 401 editing information management unit, 402 event information transmission / reception unit, 403 event information editing unit, 501 event information reception unit, 502 event information display unit, 701 event notification reception unit, 721 event Monitoring unit

Claims (8)

In an event notification system comprising: an electric device; a receiving device; and a processing system that is communicably connected to the electric device and the receiving device and notifies the receiving device of an event that occurs in the electric device.
The electrical equipment is
Event detection means for detecting the occurrence of an event;
Event notification request transmitting means for transmitting to the processing system an event notification request including information on an event detected by the event detection means and a device identifier uniquely assigned to the own device;
With
The processing system includes:
First management means for managing a receiving device for notifying an event in association with a device identifier of the electrical device;
Second management means for managing editing information used for editing an event in association with a device identifier of the electrical device and information related to the event;
Event notification request receiving means for receiving the event notification request transmitted by the electrical device;
Event information is created using the editing information managed by the second management unit in association with the device identifier and the information related to the event included in the event notification request received by the event notification request receiving unit. Event information creation means;
Receiving device specifying means for specifying the receiving device managed by the first management means in association with the device identifier included in the event notification request received by the event notification request receiving means;
Event information transmitting means for transmitting event information created by the event information creating means to the receiving device specified by the receiving device specifying means;
With
The receiving device is
Event information receiving means for receiving the event information transmitted by the processing system;
Based on the event information received by the event information receiving means, event information display means for displaying the contents,
An event notification system comprising: An electrical device; a gateway device connected to the electrical device; a receiving device; a processing system that is communicably connected to the gateway device and the receiving device and notifies the receiving device of an event that occurs in the electrical device; In an event notification system having
The electrical equipment is
Event detection means for detecting the occurrence of an event;
Event notification means for performing event notification including information on an event detected by the event detection means and a device identifier uniquely assigned to the own device to the gateway device;
With
The gateway device is
Event notification receiving means for receiving the event notification from the electrical device;
Event notification request transmitting means for transmitting to the processing system an event notification request including information related to the event included in the event notification received by the event notification receiving means and the device identifier;
With
The processing system includes:
First management means for managing a receiving device for notifying an event in association with a device identifier of the electrical device;
Second management means for managing editing information used for editing an event in association with a device identifier of the electrical device and information related to the event;
Event notification request receiving means for receiving the event notification request transmitted by the gateway device;
Event information is created using the editing information managed by the second management unit in association with the device identifier and the information related to the event included in the event notification request received by the event notification request receiving unit. Event information creation means;
Receiving device specifying means for specifying the receiving device managed by the first management means in association with the device identifier included in the event notification request received by the event notification request receiving means;
Event information transmitting means for transmitting event information created by the event information creating means to the receiving device specified by the receiving device specifying means;
With
The receiving device is
Event information receiving means for receiving the event information transmitted by the processing system;
Based on the event information received by the event information receiving means, event information display means for displaying the contents,
An event notification system comprising: An electrical device; a gateway device connected to the electrical device; a receiving device; a processing system that is communicably connected to the gateway device and the receiving device and notifies the receiving device of an event that occurs in the electrical device; In an event notification system having
The gateway device is
Event monitoring means for monitoring events occurring in the electrical equipment;
Event notification request transmitting means for transmitting an event notification request including information related to an event occurring in the electrical device and a device identifier uniquely assigned to the electrical device to the processing system based on a monitoring result by the event monitoring unit. When,
With
The processing system includes:
First management means for managing a receiving device for notifying an event in association with a device identifier of the electrical device;
Second management means for managing editing information used for editing an event in association with a device identifier of the electrical device and information related to the event;
Event notification request receiving means for receiving the event notification request transmitted by the gateway device;
Event information is created using the editing information managed by the second management unit in association with the device identifier and the information related to the event included in the event notification request received by the event notification request receiving unit. Event information creation means;
Receiving device specifying means for specifying the receiving device managed by the first management means in association with the device identifier included in the event notification request received by the event notification request receiving means;
Event information transmitting means for transmitting event information created by the event information creating means to the receiving device specified by the receiving device specifying means;
With
The receiving device is
Event information receiving means for receiving the event information transmitted by the processing system;
Based on the event information received by the event information receiving means, event information display means for displaying the contents,
An event notification system comprising: The processing system includes:
A first server comprising the first management means, the event notification request receiving means, the receiving equipment specifying means, and the event information sending means, capable of communicating with the electrical equipment and the receiving equipment;
A second server provided with the second management means and the event information creation means, capable of communicating with the first server;
Have
The first management means further manages a second server that requests creation of an event in association with the device identifier or information about the event,
The first server is
Second server specifying means for specifying the second server managed by the first management means in association with the device identifier or the information related to the event included in the event notification request received by the event notification request receiving means When,
An event creation request including information related to the device identifier and the event included in the event notification request received by the event notification request receiving unit is transmitted to the second server specified by the second server specifying unit. An event creation request transmission means;
Event information return receiving means for receiving event information returned by the second server;
Further comprising
The second server is
Event creation request receiving means for receiving the event creation request transmitted by the first server;
Event information return means for returning event information created by the event information creation means to the first server;
The event notification system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising: The event notification request further includes a user identifier uniquely assigned to a user of the electrical device,
The first management means further manages a user identifier in association with the device identifier;
The processing system includes:
With reference to the management content of the first management means, the validity of the event notification request is determined based on the device identifier and the user identifier included in the event notification request received by the event notification request receiving means. The event notification system according to claim 1, further comprising an event notification request confirmation unit for confirming. In an event notification method performed by an electrical device, a reception device, and a processing system that is communicably connected to the electrical device and the reception device and notifies the reception device of an event that occurs in the electrical device,
The electrical equipment is
An event detection procedure for detecting the occurrence of an event;
An event notification request transmission procedure for transmitting to the processing system an event notification request including information on an event detected in the event detection procedure and a device identifier uniquely assigned to the own device;
And
The processing system includes:
A first management procedure for managing a receiving device for notifying an event in association with a device identifier of the electrical device;
A second management procedure for managing editing information used for editing an event in association with a device identifier of the electric device and information related to the event;
An event notification request reception procedure for receiving the event notification request transmitted by the electrical device;
An event for creating event information using the editing information managed in the second management procedure in association with the device identifier and the information related to the event included in the event notification request received in the event notification request reception procedure Information creation procedure,
A receiving device specifying procedure for specifying the receiving device managed in the first management procedure in association with the device identifier included in the event notification request received in the event notification request receiving procedure;
An event information transmission procedure for transmitting event information created in the event information creation procedure to the receiving device identified in the receiving device identification procedure;
And
The receiving device is
An event information receiving procedure for receiving the event information transmitted by the processing system;
Based on the event information received in the event information reception procedure, an event information display procedure for displaying the contents,
An event notification method characterized by: An electrical device; a gateway device connected to the electrical device; a receiving device; a processing system that is communicably connected to the gateway device and the receiving device and notifies the receiving device of an event that occurs in the electrical device; In the event notification method performed by
The electrical equipment is
An event detection procedure for detecting the occurrence of an event;
An event notification procedure for performing an event notification including information related to the event detected in the event detection procedure and a device identifier uniquely assigned to the own device to the gateway device;
Done
The gateway device is
An event notification receiving procedure for receiving the event notification from the electrical device;
An event notification request transmission procedure for transmitting an event notification request including information related to the event included in the event notification received in the event notification reception procedure and the device identifier to the processing system;
And
The processing system includes:
A first management procedure for managing a receiving device for notifying an event in association with a device identifier of the electrical device;
A second management procedure for managing editing information used for editing an event in association with a device identifier of the electric device and information related to the event;
An event notification request reception procedure for receiving the event notification request transmitted by the gateway device;
An event for creating event information using the editing information managed in the second management procedure in association with the device identifier and the information related to the event included in the event notification request received by the event notification request reception procedure Information creation procedure,
A receiving device specifying procedure for specifying the receiving device managed in the first management procedure in association with the device identifier included in the event notification request received in the event notification request receiving procedure;
An event information transmission procedure for transmitting event information created in the event information creation procedure to the receiving device identified in the receiving device identification procedure;
Done
The receiving device is
An event information receiving procedure for receiving the event information transmitted by the processing system;
Based on the event information received in the event information reception procedure, an event information display procedure for displaying the contents,
An event notification method characterized by: An electrical device; a gateway device connected to the electrical device; a receiving device; a processing system that is communicably connected to the gateway device and the receiving device and notifies the receiving device of an event that occurs in the electrical device; In the event notification method performed by
The gateway device is
An event monitoring procedure for monitoring an event occurring in the electrical device;
An event notification request transmission procedure for transmitting an event notification request including information related to an event occurring in the electrical device and a device identifier uniquely assigned to the electrical device to the processing system based on a monitoring result in the event monitoring procedure When,
Done
The processing system includes:
A first management procedure for managing a receiving device for notifying an event in association with a device identifier of the electrical device;
A second management procedure for managing editing information used for editing an event in association with a device identifier of the electric device and information related to the event;
An event notification request reception procedure for receiving the event notification request transmitted by the gateway device;
An event for creating event information using the editing information managed in the second management procedure in association with the device identifier and the information related to the event included in the event notification request received in the event notification request reception procedure Information creation procedure,
A receiving device specifying procedure for specifying the receiving device managed in the first management procedure in association with the device identifier included in the event notification request received in the event notification request receiving procedure;
An event information transmission procedure for transmitting event information created in the event information creation procedure to the receiving device identified in the receiving device identification procedure;
And
The receiving device is
An event information receiving procedure for receiving the event information transmitted by the processing system;
Based on the event information received in the event information reception procedure, an event information display procedure for displaying the contents,
An event notification method characterized by:

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