JP2005236575A - Primary diagnostic apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce the processing load of a secondary diagnostic apparatus in a wide area network. <P>SOLUTION: A primary diagnostic apparatus 4 performs the primary diagnosis of an electronic apparatus on the basis of environmental information transmitted from the electronic apparatus without intermediary of an internet 5, performs a secondary diagnosis the electronic apparatus on the basis of its environmental information by transmitting the environmental information to a secondary diagnostic apparatus 7 through the internet 5 when a secondary diagnosis different from the primary diagnosis is required, receives the secondary diagnostic result through the internet 5, can thereby avoid the concentration of inquiry of the secondary diagnosis to the many electronic apparatuses to the secondary diagnostic apparatus 7, and can thus avoid the increase in the processing load in the case of the secondary diagnosis to the secondary diagnostic apparatus 7 in the network 5. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a primary diagnostic apparatus, and is suitable for application to, for example, diagnosing various electronic devices in a home.

  In the conventional failure diagnosis system, the operation terminal is connected to the video tape recorder connected thereto, the power supply voltage inside the video tape recorder, the received signal level of the tuner, playback, fast forward, rewind and recording operations, clock data, etc. Receive status data.

In the fault diagnosis system, when the operation terminal receives the status data from the video tape recorder, it accesses the Internet, connects to the server, and transfers the status data to the server. A diagnosis result obtained by diagnosing the tape recorder is received and displayed on the display (for example, see Patent Document 1).
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-40200 (page 3, FIG. 1, FIG. 3)

  However, in the fault diagnosis system having such a configuration, when a video tape recorder is diagnosed by a single server on the Internet, when requests for diagnosis of the video tape recorder are concentrated from a number of operation terminals to the server, the server There has been a problem in that the processing load increases significantly.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and proposes a primary diagnostic apparatus capable of avoiding an increase in processing load when diagnosing an electronic device with respect to a diagnostic apparatus on a wide area network. It is what.

  In order to solve such a problem, in the present invention, in the primary diagnosis device, when the environment information indicating the processing execution environment when the electronic device executes processing is received from the electronic device without passing through the wide area network. When a secondary diagnosis different from the primary diagnosis is required for the electronic device based on the received environment information, the environment information is transmitted to the secondary diagnosis apparatus via the wide area network. By transmitting, the secondary diagnosis of the electronic device is performed based on the environmental information from the secondary diagnosis device, and the secondary diagnosis result transmitted via the wide area network is received.

  Therefore, in the primary diagnosis apparatus, the secondary diagnosis for the electronic device is performed on the wide area network only when the primary diagnosis is performed on the electronic device to be diagnosed and the secondary diagnosis different from the primary diagnosis is required. By requesting the secondary diagnostic apparatus, it is possible to avoid the secondary diagnostic requests for a large number of electronic devices from being concentrated on the secondary diagnostic apparatus.

  Further, in the present invention, in the secondary diagnostic apparatus, the primary diagnostic apparatus that performs the primary diagnosis of the electronic apparatus based on the environment information indicating the processing execution environment when the electronic apparatus executes the process has 1 to the electronic apparatus. When environmental information transmitted via a wide area network is received when a secondary diagnosis different from the secondary diagnosis is required, the electronic device is subjected to secondary diagnosis based on the received environmental information, and the electronic device obtained as a result The secondary diagnosis result of the secondary diagnosis is transmitted to the primary diagnosis apparatus via the wide area network.

  Therefore, in the secondary diagnosis apparatus, a large number of cases are obtained by performing secondary diagnosis of the electronic device only when secondary diagnosis for the electronic device is requested as a result of the primary diagnosis of the electronic device by the primary diagnosis device. The secondary diagnosis of the electronic device can be performed while avoiding the concentration of secondary diagnosis requests for the electronic device.

  Furthermore, in the present invention, in the electronic device, the environment information indicating the processing execution environment when the electronic device executes processing is transmitted to the primary diagnosis device without going through the wide area network, so that the primary diagnosis device can When the primary diagnosis of the device is performed based on the environmental information and the primary diagnosis result transmitted without passing through the wide area network is received, the received primary diagnosis result is displayed, and as a result, the primary diagnosis device is displayed. On the other hand, a secondary diagnosis for inputting a secondary diagnosis request for requesting the secondary diagnosis to a secondary diagnosis apparatus that is connected via a wide area network and performs a secondary diagnosis different from the primary diagnosis on an electronic device. When a secondary diagnosis request is input via the request input means, secondary diagnosis request information for requesting a secondary diagnosis of the electronic device by the secondary diagnosis apparatus is first received without going through the wide area network. Diagnostic equipment It was to be transmitted.

  Therefore, in electronic equipment, the self-diagnosis is divided into two stages, a primary diagnosis and a secondary diagnosis. First, a primary diagnosis is first performed by the primary diagnosis apparatus, and only when a secondary diagnosis is required, the secondary diagnosis apparatus receives a secondary diagnosis. By requesting a diagnosis, it is possible to avoid the concentration of requests for secondary diagnosis between itself and other electronic devices to the secondary diagnosis apparatus on the wide area network.

  According to the present invention, when the primary diagnostic apparatus receives environment information indicating a processing execution environment when the electronic device executes processing, which is transmitted from the electronic device without going through the wide area network, the received environment information When a secondary diagnosis different from the primary diagnosis is required for the electronic device based on the environmental diagnosis, the environmental information is transmitted to the secondary diagnosis device via the wide area network. A secondary diagnosis of the electronic device is performed from the secondary diagnosis device based on the environment information, and the secondary diagnosis result transmitted via the wide area network is received, so that a large number of electronic devices are provided to the secondary diagnosis device. Concentration of secondary diagnosis requests for devices can be avoided in advance, thus avoiding an increase in processing load during secondary diagnosis for secondary diagnosis devices on a wide area network. It is possible.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

(1) Overall Configuration of Device Diagnosis System In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a device diagnosis system to which the present invention is applied as a whole. For example, a client terminal 2 having a computer configuration at home and a LAN (Local Receiver such as a television receiver 3). A LAN construction electronic device having a connection function to an (Area Network) is connected to a computer-configured primary diagnosis apparatus 4 to construct a LAM.

  The device diagnosis system 1 has an audio amplifier 6 that does not have a connection function to the LAN in the home and does not have a connection function to the Internet 5 according to TCP / IP (Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol). A serial connection electronic device such as the above is directly serially connected to the primary diagnostic device 4.

  In the device diagnosis system 1, an environment (hereinafter referred to as a processing execution environment) for executing various processes from the LAN construction electronic device and the serial connection electronic device (hereinafter collectively referred to simply as an electronic device). ) Is sent to the primary diagnostic device 4 to perform a primary diagnosis of the electronic device based on the environmental information, and the obtained 1 The next diagnosis result is presented to the user.

  In the device diagnosis system 1, the primary diagnostic device 4 has an electronic device such as a protection function for protecting the electronic device from unauthorized intrusion from outside via the Internet 5, a function for managing access to the Internet 4 for the electronic device. It functions as a so-called proxy server that executes a part of the functions on behalf of the server.

  Therefore, in the device diagnosis system 1, when the primary diagnosis device 4 performs a primary diagnosis of the electronic device, when a secondary diagnosis different from the primary diagnosis is required, the environmental information of the electronic device is transmitted via the Internet 5 to the computer configuration. By transmitting to the secondary diagnostic device 7, the secondary diagnostic device 7 performs secondary diagnosis of the electronic device based on the environmental information, and returns the secondary diagnostic result obtained thereby to the primary diagnostic device 4. Present to the user.

  Furthermore, in the device diagnosis system 1, when the electronic device to be diagnosed or the primary diagnosis device 4 receives a detailed explanation request signal for requesting detailed explanation of the primary diagnosis result and the secondary diagnosis result for the electronic device, At the time of the primary diagnosis and the secondary diagnosis for the electronic device, the explanation request data is transmitted from the primary diagnosis device 4 to the information presentation device 8 having the computer configuration via the Internet 5.

  Thus, in the device diagnosis system 1, the information presentation device 8 acquires the primary diagnosis result and the secondary diagnosis result for the electronic device from the secondary diagnosis device 7 and presents them to the operator. On the other hand, the contents of the primary diagnosis result and the secondary diagnosis result for the electronic device can be explained in detail.

(1-1) Circuit Configuration of Client Terminal 2 As shown in FIG. 2, in the client terminal 2, an internal central processing unit (CPU) 10 is stored in advance in a ROM (Read Only Memory) 11. By transferring various application programs such as OS (Operating System) and diagnostic request program to RAM (Random Access Memory) 13 via the bus 12 and developing them, the whole is managed according to the developed basic programs and various application programs. Control various processes.

  As a result, the central processing unit 10 receives a medium designation signal for designating the type of the recording medium from the operation input unit 15 via the input processing unit 16 in response to an operation on the operation input unit 15 such as a remote controller and the contents. When the reproduction command signal is input, reproduction processing of content data recorded on the recording medium is executed.

  In this case, when a compact disc (CD: Compact Disc) loaded in the client terminal 2 is designated as the recording medium, the central processing unit 10 reproduces, for example, music content data from the compact disc by the compact disc drive 17. Thus, the music can be heard through the speaker 19 by being sent to the speaker 19 through the audio data processing unit 18.

  When a magneto-optical disk (MD: Mini Disc (registered trademark)) loaded in the client terminal 2 is designated as a recording medium, the central processing unit 10 stores, for example, music content data from the magneto-optical disk by the magneto-optical disk drive 20. Is transmitted to the speaker 19 through the audio data processing unit 18, and music can be heard through the speaker 19.

  Further, when a memory stick (registered trademark) loaded in the client terminal 2 is designated as a recording medium, the central processing unit 10 reproduces, for example, content data of a photographic image from the memory stick by the memory stick drive 21, and the reproduction The displayed content data is sent to the display 23 attached directly to the housing surface of the client terminal 2 or to an external display 23 to display a photographic image on the display 23 in, for example, a slideshow format. Can show.

  The central processing unit 10 receives a frequency designation signal for designating a broadcast frequency of the radio broadcast from the operation input unit 15 via the input processing unit 16 according to an operation on the operation input unit 15 and outputs the radio broadcast. When the command signal is input, the broadcast signal of the radio broadcast received by the radio antenna 25 is taken into the radio tuner 26.

  Then, the central processing unit 10 selects and demodulates a broadcast signal of a designated broadcast frequency by the radio tuner 26, and sends the obtained content data consisting of the radio broadcast data to the speaker 19 via the audio data processing unit 18. As a result, a radio broadcast program can be heard through the speaker 19.

  Further, the central processing unit 10 receives a channel designation signal for designating a broadcast channel of the television broadcast from the operation input unit 15 via the input processing unit 16 according to an operation on the operation input unit 15 and the television broadcast. When the TV program viewing request signal is input, a television broadcast signal received by the television antenna 27 is taken into the television tuner 28.

  Then, the central processing unit 10 selects and demodulates a broadcast signal of a designated broadcast channel (that is, frequency) by the television tuner 28, and the content including the obtained television broadcast video data and television broadcast audio data. By sending data to the display 23 via the display processing unit 22 and to the speaker 19 via the audio data processing unit 18, a television broadcast program can be viewed via the display 23 and the speaker 19. .

  Further, when a content acquisition command signal is input from the operation input unit 15 via the input processing unit 16 in response to an operation on the operation input unit 15, the central processing unit 10 includes an external device including a LAN connection terminal for LAN connection. By communicating with a content providing server (not shown) on the Internet 5 (FIG. 1) from the interface unit 30 via the primary diagnosis device 4, desired content data distributed from the content providing server is transferred to the external device interface unit. Receive at 30 and capture.

  Then, the central processing unit 10 sends video data obtained based on the content data distributed from the content providing server to the display 23 via the display processing unit 22, and also transmits audio data obtained based on the content data to the audio. By sending the data to the speaker 19 via the data processing unit 18, a desired movie, photographic image, music, etc. can be viewed via the display 23 and the speaker 19.

  In addition to this, the central processing unit 10 simply displays content data reproduced from various recording media, content data distributed from a data providing server, or content data obtained by reception of radio broadcast or television broadcast, by a display 23 or a speaker. In addition to outputting via the hard disk drive 19, it can be taken into the hard disk drive 33 and recorded on the hard disk.

  Therefore, the central processing unit 10 can select the content designated from the hard disk when a reproduction command signal is input from the operation input unit 15 via the input processing unit 16 in accordance with an operation on the operation input unit 15 after recording the content data on the hard disk. Data is reproduced and sent to the display 23 via the display processing unit 22 and also sent to the speaker 19 via the audio data processing unit 18 so that movies, photographic images, and music are displayed via the display 23 and the speaker 19. It is also possible to view various contents such as.

  The central processing unit 10 is connected to the client terminal 2 in a state where the portable input / output device 15 (not shown) such as an MD (registered trademark) player or a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc) player is connected. When a content transfer command signal is input from the operation input unit 15 via the input processing unit 16 according to the operation, the content data reproduced from the hard disk of the hard disk drive 33 is transferred from the external device interface unit 30 to the portable recording / reproducing device. By transferring and recording, contents such as movies, photographic images, and music can be viewed on the go with the portable recording / reproducing apparatus.

  Incidentally, the central processing unit 10 can capture the content data reproduced by the portable recording / reproducing apparatus via the external device interface unit 30 and record the captured content data on the hard disk of the hard disk drive 33, for example.

  The central processing unit 10 also receives content data reproduced from various recording media, content data distributed from a data providing server, content data obtained by reception of radio broadcast or television broadcast, and content data reproduced from a hard disk. By sending it from the external device interface unit 30 to the television receiver 3 (FIG. 1), various contents such as movies, photographic images and music can be viewed via the television receiver 3.

  In addition to such a configuration, the central processing unit 10 uses setting items for executing various processes using the LAN and the Internet 5 and a playback mode (a compact disc) during a playback process for playing music content data from the compact disc. For example, setting items such as “Continue to play content data in the order determined by the producer” and “Shuffle to select and play content data at random”. Various setting items that can be set by the user to be referred to when executing various processes are prepared in advance.

  As a result, when setting contents are set for various setting items that can be set by the user, the central processing unit 10 sends information indicating the setting contents of these various setting items (hereinafter referred to as setting contents information) to the client. It is classified into functions such as an audio output function by the speaker 19 for the terminal 2, a television broadcast reception function, a compact disk playback function, a radio broadcast reception function, etc., and is stored in the hard disk or RAM 13 of the hard disk drive 33. A corresponding process is executed in accordance with the stored setting content information.

  When the central processing unit 10 detects that the setting content for any of the setting items has been changed based on the setting content information stored in the hard disk or RAM 13, the setting content information indicating the changed setting content. By overwriting the setting content information before the change and updating the setting content, the corresponding processing is executed according to the latest setting content information with the updated setting content.

  In addition, when a recording medium such as a compact disk is loaded in the client terminal 2, the central processing unit 10 detects the type of the recording medium via various drives such as the corresponding compact disk drive 17, and also the client terminal 2 When an electronic device such as a portable recording / reproducing device or a television receiver 3 is connected to the device, the model of the electronic device is detected via the external device interface unit 30, and broadcast signals of radio broadcast and television broadcast are also displayed in the program. Such as detecting the reception level of the received broadcast signal through a tuner such as the corresponding radio tuner 26, and so on. Hardware such as interface unit 30 and tuner for executing various processes Environment (hereinafter, referred to as hardware operation environment) when actually operating Te Align and what is in how to detect whenever the operation of the hardware.

  When the central processing unit 10 detects the hardware operating environment every time the hardware operates, the central processing unit 10 detects information indicating the contents of the detected hardware operating environment (hereinafter referred to as the hardware operating environment). (Referred to as information) is classified into functions for the client terminal 2 and stored in the hard disk or RAM 13, and when it is detected that the operating environment for any hardware has changed based on the stored hardware operating environment information. The hardware operating environment information indicating the contents of the changed hardware operating environment is overwritten with the hardware operating environment information before the change, and the contents are updated.

  Further, the central processing unit 10 uses the hardware state detection unit 35 to check whether the speaker 19 is connected to the terminal body, the amount of laser light in the compact disk drive 17 and the magneto-optical disk drive 20, and the moving speed of the optical pickup by the sled motor. The occurrence of a recording / reproducing error in the compact disk drive 17, the magneto-optical disk drive 20, and the memory stick drive 21, the number of retries when recording / reproducing content data in the hard disk drive 33 (that is, the number of retries for recording / reproducing), etc. The state of various hardware of the client terminal 2 (that is, the speaker 19 and various drives) is detected when the hardware is connected or operating, for example, to execute various processes. The That.

  When the central processing unit 10 detects the hardware state by the hardware state detection unit 35, the central processing unit 10 uses the information indicating the detected hardware state (hereinafter referred to as hardware state information) as a function for the client terminal 2. A hardware state indicating the changed hardware state when a change in the state of any hardware is detected based on the stored hardware state information, while being classified and stored in the hard disk, the RAM 13 or the like The information is updated by overwriting the hardware status information before the change.

  Further, the central processing unit 10 counts the operation time from when the client terminal 2 is started to when it is stopped by an internal clock circuit, and the measured time is measured every time the client terminal 2 is stopped and the primary diagnosis device 4. Is added sequentially every time a primary diagnosis of the client terminal 2 is requested, and the obtained accumulated operation time is used as accumulated operation time information indicating how long the client terminal 2 has been operated for executing various processes. It is memorized while updating to the hard disk.

  Further, the central processing unit 10 associates software identification information that can identify software used for various processes such as an OS and various application programs stored in the ROM 11 in advance with information on the revised version of the software. The software identification information and the revised version information are stored in the hard disk of the hard disk drive 33 as revised version information (that is, version information) indicating what kind of software is installed in the client terminal 2 for executing various processes. Yes.

  When the central processing unit 10 updates the already installed software to the latest revised software using the Internet 5 or a recording medium in accordance with the revision of the software, new revision information on the updated software is obtained. Is overwritten on the revised information for the software before update.

  By the way, the central processing unit 10 automatically requests a primary diagnosis for the client terminal 2 every time the client terminal 2 is activated in response to an activation request upon power-on, and the client terminal 2 by the user. Two types of primary diagnosis request methods are prepared in advance, including a primary diagnosis arbitrary request method that arbitrarily requests a primary diagnosis for the client terminal 2 when it is determined that various processes are not normally executed during operation. ing.

  Then, the central processing unit 10 causes the user to select one of the primary diagnosis automatic request method and the primary diagnosis arbitrary request method.

  As a result, when the primary diagnosis automatic request method is selected by the user, the central processing unit 10 stores the current time from the hard disk and the RAM 13 every time the client terminal 2 is activated in response to the input of the activation request signal by the user. Read and collect all setting contents information, hardware operating environment information, hardware status information, cumulative operating time information, and revision information, and collect the collected setting contents information, hardware operating environment information, hardware status information The accumulated operation time information and the revised version information are used as environment information indicating the current processing execution environment for the client terminal 2, and are temporarily stored in the hard disk for transmission.

  When the central processing unit 10 temporarily stores the environment information for transmission on the hard disk in this way, the user-specific user identification information and the client terminal 2 are identified as identification information for identifying the environment information together with the temporarily stored environment information. The primary diagnosis automatic request data storing the unique device identification information is generated and transmitted from the external device interface unit 30 to the primary diagnosis device 4, so that the primary diagnosis device 4 changes the contents of the environmental information. Based on this, the client terminal 2 is primarily diagnosed.

  When the primary diagnosis arbitrary request method is selected by the user, the central processing unit 10 determines that the user does not normally execute various processes while the client terminal 2 is operating, and the input processing unit 15 determines from the operation input unit 15 When the primary diagnosis request signal is input via 16, all setting contents information, hardware operating environment information, hardware status information, accumulated operating time information, and revised edition stored at that time from the hard disk and RAM 13 Information is read and collected, and the collected setting content information, hardware operating environment information, hardware status information, accumulated operating time information, and revised version information are used as environment information for the current client terminal 2 and are transmitted to the hard disk for transmission. Memorize temporarily.

  Even when the environmental information is temporarily stored in the hard disk in this way, the central processing unit 10 collects the user identification information and the device identification information (hereinafter, the user identification information and the device identification information together with the temporarily stored environment information). The primary diagnosis optional request data storing the identification information) is generated and transmitted from the external device interface unit 30 to the primary diagnosis device 4, so that the primary diagnosis device 4 allows the contents of the environmental information to be generated. Based on the above, the client terminal 2 is primarily diagnosed.

  In addition to this, the central processing unit 10 receives a secondary diagnosis request signal from the operation input unit 15 via the input processing unit 16 during the primary diagnosis for the client terminal 2 (that is, the client terminal 2). Secondary diagnosis request data is sent from the external device interface unit 30 to the primary diagnosis device 4 accordingly.

  As a result, the central processing unit 10 can cause the secondary diagnosis apparatus 4 to request the secondary diagnosis apparatus 7 to perform the secondary diagnosis for the client terminal 2 and execute it.

(1-2) Configuration of LAN Construction Electronic Equipment Other than Client Terminal 2 LAN construction electronic equipment such as the television receiver 3 other than the client terminal 2 has a circuit configuration for realizing a unique function. However, in substantially the same manner as the central processing unit 10 of the client terminal 2 described above, environment information indicating the processing execution environment when the LAN construction electronic device executes various processes is generated. It transmits to the primary diagnostic apparatus 4 for primary diagnosis.

  Further, when the secondary diagnosis request signal is input during the primary diagnosis, the LAN construction electronic device receives the secondary diagnosis request data in response to the primary diagnosis request data as in the case of the client terminal 2 described above. The secondary diagnosis device 7 can be requested to perform a secondary diagnosis for the LAN construction electronic device via the primary diagnosis device 4 and executed.

  However, according to the hardware and software configurations for realizing the unique functions, the LAN construction electronic devices have setting content information, hardware operating environment information, hardware status information, cumulative operating time information, and revised version information. Some or all of them are used as environment information indicating a processing execution environment for the LAN construction electronic device.

(1-3) Circuit Configuration of Audio Amplifier 6 As shown in FIG. 3, the audio amplifier 6 includes a basic program such as an OS stored in the ROM 41 in an internal microcomputer (hereinafter referred to as a microcomputer) 40, By developing various application programs such as a diagnosis request program on the RAM 42, the entire system is comprehensively controlled according to the expanded basic program and various application programs to execute various processes.

  Thereby, the microcomputer 40 takes in the audio data supplied from the external reproduction apparatus (not shown) to the audio data processing unit 45 through the input / output terminal 43 and the serial wiring 44 in order.

  At this time, the microcomputer 40 controls the audio data processing unit 45 in accordance with a predetermined setting command or the like input from the operation input unit 46 via the input processing unit 47 by the user, thereby the audio data processing unit 45. The audio data is subjected to predetermined processing such as digital / analog conversion processing and sound quality adjustment processing, and the obtained audio signal is sent from the input / output terminal 43 to, for example, an external speaker (not shown) via the serial wiring 44. .

  As a result, the microcomputer 40 can output music or the like having a desired sound quality via an external speaker so that the user can listen to it.

  Similarly to the case of the client terminal 2 described above with reference to FIG. 2, the microcomputer 40 is connected to the RAM 42 with setting content information indicating the setting content for various setting items when processing audio data, and the input / output terminal 43. Hardware operating environment information indicating the model of the external playback device and speaker, etc., hardware status information indicating whether or not the speaker or playback device is connected to the input / output terminal 43 detected by the hardware status detection unit 48, cumulative The operating time information and the revised version information are stored while being updated as appropriate.

  When the audio amplifier 6 is activated or when a primary diagnosis is arbitrarily requested by the user, the microcomputer 40 stores all setting content information, hardware operating environment information, hardware state information stored at that time from the RAM 42. The accumulated operation time information and the revised version information are once read and collected.

  As a result, the microcomputer 40 determines the current processing execution environment for the audio amplifier 6 using the collected setting content information, hardware operating environment information, hardware status information, accumulated operating time information, and revised version information. Primary diagnosis automatic request data or primary diagnosis optional request in which user identification information unique to the user and device identification information unique to the audio amplifier 6 are stored as identification information for identifying the environmental information together with the environmental information. Data is generated and transmitted to the primary diagnostic device 4 from the serial connection external terminal 49 connected to the serial wiring 44, so that the primary diagnostic device 4 controls the audio amplifier 6 based on the contents of the environmental information. The primary diagnosis can be made.

  Then, the microcomputer 40 receives a secondary diagnosis request signal from the operation input unit 46 via the input processing unit 47 during the primary diagnosis for the audio amplifier 6 as in the case of the client terminal 2 described above. In response to this, the secondary diagnosis request data is transmitted from the serial connection external terminal 49 to the primary diagnosis device 4, so that the secondary diagnosis for the audio amplifier 6 is made to the secondary diagnosis device 7 via the primary diagnosis device 4. It can be requested and implemented.

  In this way, the audio amplifier 6 does not have a connection function to the Internet 5 or a connection function to the LAN, but newly connects a serial connection external terminal to the serial wiring originally provided inside the main body. Thus, the primary diagnosis and the secondary diagnosis can be performed by the primary diagnosis device 4 in the home and the secondary diagnosis device 7 on the Internet 5 with a simple configuration.

(1-4) Configuration of Serially Connected Electronic Equipment Other than Audio Amplifier 6 Although serially connected electronic equipment such as speakers other than audio amplifier 6 has a circuit configuration for realizing a unique function, it has been described above. In substantially the same manner as the microcomputer 40 of the audio amplifier 6, environment information indicating the processing execution environment when the serial connection electronic device executes various processes is generated, and this is obtained from the serial connection external terminal. It transmits to the primary diagnostic apparatus 4 for the next diagnosis.

  Further, as in the case of the audio amplifier 6 described above, when such a serial connection electronic device receives a secondary diagnosis request signal during the primary diagnosis, the secondary diagnosis request data is sent to the serial connection external terminal accordingly. To the primary diagnostic apparatus 4, the secondary diagnostic apparatus 7 can be requested to perform a secondary diagnosis for the serially connected electronic device via the primary diagnostic apparatus 4.

  However, the serial connection electronic devices other than the audio amplifier 6 have setting content information, hardware operating environment information, hardware status information, and total operating time information according to the hardware and software configurations for realizing the specific functions. In addition, part or all of the revised information is environment information indicating a processing execution environment for the serial connection electronic device.

(1-5) Circuit Configuration of Primary Diagnosis Device 4 As shown in FIG. 4, the primary diagnosis device 4 has an internal control unit (hereinafter referred to as a primary diagnosis control unit) 50 stored in the ROM 51 in advance. A basic program such as an operating system and various application programs such as a primary diagnosis program are expanded on the RAM 52, and the entire process is comprehensively controlled according to the expanded basic program and various application programs to execute various processes. .

  As a result, the primary diagnosis control unit 50 builds a database for registering electronic devices connected to the primary diagnosis device 4 in the hard disk of the hard disk drive 53, and the user is connected each time an electronic device is connected. When an electronic device registration command is input from the operation input unit 54 via the input processing unit 55, the connection is made via the external device interface unit 56 including a LAN connection terminal and a serial connection external terminal accordingly. Device identification information is acquired by communicating with an electronic device, and the acquired device identification information is registered in a database.

  At this time, when the user inputs a device name that can determine the type of the connected electronic device from the operation input unit 54 via the input processing unit 55, the primary diagnosis control unit 50 stores the name in the database in the hard disk. The input device name is registered in association with the device identification information, and the primary diagnosis reference information indicating the reference contents of various diagnosis items in the primary diagnosis for each electronic device is, for example, 1 on the Internet 5 (FIG. 1). Acquired by distribution by a next diagnostic criteria information providing server (not shown) or reproduction from a predetermined recording medium, and the primary diagnostic criteria information is also registered in the database in association with the device identification information.

  In this state, when the primary diagnosis automatic request data is transmitted from the electronic device in response to the activation, the primary diagnosis control unit 50 receives and captures the primary diagnosis automatic request data by the external device interface unit 56.

  In this case, the primary diagnosis control unit 50 includes the contents of the environmental information stored in the primary diagnosis automatic request data and the corresponding primary diagnosis reference information (ie, the primary diagnosis reference information registered in the database in the hard disk). A primary diagnosis for the electronic device is performed by performing a primary diagnosis of the electronic device to be diagnosed so as to be compared with the content of the primary diagnosis reference information specified based on the device identification information stored in the automatic diagnosis request data. Obtain diagnostic results.

  Accordingly, the primary diagnosis control unit 50 displays a predetermined primary diagnosis result presentation screen based on the primary diagnosis result on the display unit 58 via the display processing unit 57, so that the primary diagnosis is given to the user. The result presentation screen presents the presence or absence of a defect in the electronic device, and when the electronic device has a defect, the contents of the defect and a countermeasure for solving the defect as the primary diagnosis result for the electronic device. .

  The primary diagnosis control unit 50 presents a primary diagnosis result for the electronic device to the user, and then inputs a diagnosis end signal from the operation input unit 54 via the input processing unit 55 by the user, or from the electronic device by the user. When the diagnosis completion notification data transmitted in response to the operation of the operation input unit 15 (FIG. 2) is received and captured by the external device interface unit 56, the environmental information of the electronic device is determined according to the diagnosis completion signal and the diagnosis completion notification data. And primary diagnosis result registration data storing the primary diagnosis result together with the identification information (that is, user identification information and device identification information).

  Accordingly, the primary diagnosis control unit 50 transmits the primary diagnosis result registration data from the network interface unit 60 to the secondary diagnosis device 7 via the Internet 5 via the communication processing unit 59, so that the secondary diagnosis device 7 registers the environmental information and the primary diagnosis result for the electronic device, and terminates the primary diagnosis without requesting the secondary diagnosis device 7 to perform the secondary diagnosis of the electronic device.

  On the other hand, in the primary diagnosis control unit 50, a secondary diagnosis request signal is input from the operation input unit 54 via the input processing unit 55 by the user, or in response to an operation of the operation input unit 15 by the user from an electronic device. When the transmitted secondary diagnosis request data is received and taken in by the external device interface unit 56, it is determined that a secondary diagnosis is required for the electronic device accordingly.

  As a result, the primary diagnosis control unit 50 performs primary processing together with environmental information and identification information (that is, user identification information and device identification information) acquired as primary diagnosis automatic request data from the electronic device that is the secondary diagnosis target. Secondary diagnosis request data storing the diagnosis result is generated, and is transmitted from the network interface unit 60 to the secondary diagnosis device 7 via the Internet 5 via the communication processing unit 59.

  As a result, when the secondary diagnosis control unit 50 transmits secondary diagnosis result presentation data obtained through secondary diagnosis of the electronic device based on the contents of the environmental information from the secondary diagnosis device 7 via the Internet 5, This is received by the network interface unit 60 and taken in via the communication processing unit 59.

  The primary diagnosis control unit 50 displays a predetermined secondary diagnosis result presentation screen based on the secondary diagnosis result presentation data on the display unit 58 via the display processing unit 57, so that the secondary diagnosis control unit 50 can display the secondary diagnosis result to the user. The secondary diagnosis result for the electronic device is presented on the diagnosis result presentation screen.

  On the other hand, when primary diagnosis arbitrary request data is transmitted from the electronic device at an arbitrary determination by the user, the primary diagnosis control unit 50 receives and receives the primary diagnosis arbitrary request data by the external device interface unit 56, and receives the primary diagnosis arbitrary request. The same device identification information in the database is specified in accordance with the device identification information stored in the data, and the request date and time (i.e., the current date and time) of the current primary diagnosis for the electronic device is specified in the specified device identification information. The secondary diagnosis request determination information used when determining whether or not there is a secondary diagnosis request for the electronic device is registered in association with the electronic device.

  The primary diagnosis control unit 50 then includes the contents of the environmental information stored in the primary diagnosis arbitrary request data and the corresponding primary diagnosis reference information (that is, the primary diagnosis arbitrary information registered in the database in the hard disk). The primary diagnosis of the electronic device is performed by performing a primary diagnosis of the electronic device to be diagnosed by comparing the content of the primary diagnosis standard information specified based on the device identification information stored in the request data. Get results.

  Accordingly, the primary diagnosis control unit 50 displays a predetermined primary diagnosis result presentation screen based on the primary diagnosis result on the display unit 58 via the display processing unit 57, so that the primary diagnosis is given to the user. On the result display screen, the failure that occurred in the electronic device could not be identified and the diagnosis could not be made accurately, and the details of the failure that occurred in the electronic device and the corrective measures for the failure Presented as the primary diagnosis result.

  Here, when the primary diagnosis control unit 50 obtains the primary diagnosis result specifying the content of the malfunction occurring in the electronic device and the countermeasure for solving the malfunction, it is registered in the database in the hard disk. Based on the secondary diagnosis request determination information, it is automatically determined whether or not to request a secondary diagnosis of the electronic device from the secondary diagnosis device 7.

  As a result, the primary diagnosis control unit 50 preliminarily selects the period from the previous primary diagnosis to the current primary diagnosis when the electronic apparatus that is the current diagnosis target is subjected to the primary diagnosis for the first time. When the period is longer than the predetermined period, it is determined that the secondary diagnosis is not requested because the electronic device does not frequently have a problem.

  Accordingly, when the primary diagnosis control unit 50 determines that the secondary diagnosis of the electronic device is not requested to the secondary diagnosis device 7 in this way, the environment information, the primary diagnosis result, and the identification information of the electronic device are stored. Next diagnostic result registration data is generated, and this is transmitted from the network interface unit 60 to the secondary diagnostic device 7 via the communication processing unit 59 to register the environmental information and the primary diagnostic result. The primary diagnosis is terminated without requesting the secondary diagnosis of the electronic device to 7.

  On the other hand, based on the secondary diagnosis request determination information, the primary diagnosis control unit 50 preliminarily selects a period from the previous primary diagnosis to the current primary diagnosis for the electronic device that is the current diagnosis target. When it is shorter than the predetermined period, it is determined that the secondary diagnosis device 7 is requested to perform a secondary diagnosis different from the primary diagnosis by assuming that the electronic device is likely to be defective due to deterioration over time.

  Further, even when the primary diagnosis control unit 50 determines that the secondary diagnosis apparatus 7 is not requested to perform the secondary diagnosis of the electronic device based on the secondary diagnosis request determination information, the input processing unit is input from the operation input unit 54 by the user. The secondary diagnosis request signal is input via the terminal 55 or the secondary diagnosis request data transmitted in response to the operation of the operation input unit 15 (FIG. 2) by the user from the electronic device is received by the external device interface unit 56. When it is taken in, the secondary diagnosis device 7 is re-determined to request the secondary diagnosis of the electronic device accordingly.

  Furthermore, the primary diagnosis control unit 50 is improper in that it has not been able to detect any problems with the electronic device even though it is determined by the user that the various types of processing are not normally performed while the electronic device is operating. When the primary diagnosis result is obtained, the secondary diagnosis different from the primary diagnosis is performed on the electronic device because the failure actually occurring in the electronic device cannot be specified by the primary diagnosis. It is automatically determined that it is necessary, and as a result, it is determined that the secondary diagnosis apparatus 7 is requested to perform a secondary diagnosis of the electronic device.

  When the primary diagnosis control unit 50 determines that the secondary diagnosis device 7 requests the secondary diagnosis of the electronic device in this manner, the primary diagnosis arbitrary request data from the electronic device that is the secondary diagnosis target as described above. Secondary diagnosis request data storing the primary diagnosis result together with the environmental information and the identification information acquired as above is generated, and this is transmitted from the network interface unit 60 via the communication processing unit 59 via the Internet 5 to the secondary diagnosis device 7. Send to.

  As a result, when the secondary diagnosis result presentation data obtained by performing the secondary diagnosis of the electronic device based on the contents of the environmental information is transmitted from the secondary diagnosis device 7 via the Internet 5, Is received by the network interface unit 60 and received via the communication processing unit 59, and a predetermined secondary diagnosis result presentation screen based on the secondary diagnosis result presentation data is displayed on the display unit 58 via the display processing unit 57. Thus, the secondary diagnosis result for the electronic device is presented to the user on the secondary diagnosis result presentation screen.

  In this way, the primary diagnosis control unit 50 can make a primary diagnosis of an electronic device and can request the secondary diagnosis device 7 to perform a secondary diagnosis on the electronic device.

(1-6) Circuit Configuration of Secondary Diagnostic Device 7 As shown in FIG. 5, the secondary diagnostic device 7 has an internal control unit 65 (hereinafter referred to as a secondary diagnostic control unit) 65 stored in the ROM 66 in advance. Various application programs such as a basic program such as an OS and a secondary diagnosis program are expanded on the RAM 67, and the entire process is comprehensively controlled according to the expanded basic program and various application programs to execute various processes.

  As a result, the secondary diagnosis control unit 65 constructs a database for registering environmental information, identification information, and primary diagnosis results in the hard disk of the hard disk drive 68, and uses the secondary diagnosis device 7 to the user. For example, the user identification information of the user is acquired from the primary diagnostic device 4 and registered in the database, and the primary diagnostic device 4 is connected to the primary diagnostic device 4 each time a new electronic device is connected. Then, the device identification information and device name of the newly connected electronic device are acquired and registered in the database in association with the user identification information.

  Each time the secondary diagnosis control unit 65 registers the device identification information and device name of a new type of electronic device in the database, the software identification information that can identify the software installed in the electronic device and the revision of the software. The revision information (hereinafter referred to as “standard revision information”), which is generated by associating the version with the reference, is registered in the database in association with the device name, and when the software is revised, In accordance with the revision, the latest standard revision information is overwritten on the previous standard revision information and registered, so that the contents of the standard revision information are always updated to the latest.

  Further, at the time of initial startup, the secondary diagnosis control unit 65 has failed in hardware such as a hard disk drive or a compact disk drive from the initial startup of the electronic device when, for example, an electronic device manufacturer conducts an endurance test on the electronic device. Hardware failure time information indicating the accumulated operation time up to the time is sequentially acquired from the outside, and is classified and stored in the hard disk of the hard disk drive 68 for each electronic device type (that is, associated with the device name).

  As a result, the secondary diagnosis control unit 65 reads out the hardware failure time information for each type of electronic device from the hard disk in the failure statistics information generation unit 69, and takes the statistics to obtain a failure for the hardware for each type of the electronic device. The failure occurrence time statistical information used to estimate the occurrence time is generated and stored in the hard disk for each type of electronic device (that is, associated with the device name).

  In this state, the secondary diagnosis control unit 65 receives the primary diagnosis result registration data transmitted from the primary diagnosis apparatus 4 via the Internet 5 (FIG. 1) by the network interface unit 70 and passes through the communication processing unit 71. When fetched, identification processing stored in the primary diagnosis result registration data and identification information registered in advance in the database in the hard disk are used to perform authentication processing for the electronic device that has been subjected to primary diagnosis.

  As a result, when authenticating the electronic device, the secondary diagnosis control unit 65 registers the environmental information and the primary diagnosis result stored in the primary diagnosis result registration data in the database in the hard disk in association with the identification information. .

  Further, when the secondary diagnosis control unit 65 receives the secondary diagnosis request data transmitted from the primary diagnosis device 4 via the Internet 5 by the network interface unit 70 and imports it via the communication processing unit 71, the secondary diagnosis requesting data is received. Using the identification information stored in the request data and the identification information registered in advance in the database in the hard disk, authentication processing for the electronic device to be subjected to the secondary diagnosis is executed.

  As a result, when the secondary diagnosis control unit 65 authenticates the electronic device to be subjected to the secondary diagnosis, the environmental information and the primary diagnosis result stored in the secondary diagnosis request data are associated with the identification information in the hard disk. Register in the database.

  Then, the secondary diagnosis control unit 65, as the secondary diagnosis for the electronic device, the revised version information which is a part of the environmental information registered in the database, and the reference revised version information specified by the device name associated with the environmental information. To determine whether or not the software installed in the electronic device is the latest revised version.

  In addition, the secondary diagnosis control unit 65 specifies, as a secondary diagnosis for the electronic device, the cumulative operation time information of the electronic device that is a part of the environmental information registered in the database and the device name associated with the environmental information. Based on the failure occurrence time statistical information, the failure occurrence time for the hardware of the electronic device is estimated.

  In this manner, the secondary diagnosis control unit 65 associates the determination result for the revised version of the software and the estimation result of the failure occurrence time for the hardware as the secondary diagnosis result for the electronic device, and associates this with the identification information in the hard disk. The secondary diagnostic result presentation data for presenting the secondary diagnostic result is generated, and the primary diagnostic apparatus is generated from the network interface unit 70 via the communication processing unit 71 via the Internet 5. 4 to send.

  By the way, the secondary diagnosis control unit 65 registers and accumulates in the database the primary diagnosis results stored in the primary diagnosis result registration data and the secondary diagnosis request data transmitted from the primary diagnosis device 4. Based on the registered primary diagnosis result, it is determined whether or not the hardware for which the failure occurrence time is estimated in the secondary diagnosis has been diagnosed in the primary diagnosis for the electronic device. .

  As a result, when the secondary diagnosis control unit 65 performs a primary diagnosis on the electronic device and the secondary diagnosis diagnoses that the hardware that is the target of the failure occurrence time is in failure, the electronic device The accumulated operation time information, which is a part of the environmental information, is sent to the failure statistics information generation unit 69 as indicating the accumulated operation time as close as possible to the time when the hardware has failed.

  As a result, the secondary diagnosis control unit 65 causes the failure statistics information generation unit 69 to add the accumulated operation time information of the electronic device to the hardware failure time information stored in the hard disk and take the statistics again to determine the failure occurrence time. The contents of the failure occurrence time statistical information are updated by regenerating the statistical information and overwriting the hard disk with the failure occurrence time statistical information before being regenerated.

  In this way, each time the primary diagnosis control unit 65 diagnoses that the hardware of the electronic device has failed in the primary diagnosis device 4, the cumulative total at the time of the primary diagnosis of the electronic device having the hardware. By adding the operating time information to the hardware failure time information and taking the statistics again, the failure occurrence time statistical information for each type of electronic device is based on the actual usage status of the electronic device from the one based on the evaluation test. Can be corrected.

  Accordingly, the secondary diagnosis control unit 65 corrects the failure occurrence time statistical information by adding the cumulative operation time information that is a part of the environmental information every time the primary diagnosis is sequentially performed on the electronic device. It is possible to improve the accuracy of estimating the failure occurrence time for hardware in accordance with the actual usage situation.

  Incidentally, when the diagnosis result request data storing the user identification information of the user who requested the explanation of the diagnosis is transmitted from the information presentation device 8 at the time of the secondary diagnosis, the secondary diagnosis control unit 65 transmits the diagnosis result request data to the external device interface. Received and received by the unit 72.

  Based on the user identification information stored in the diagnosis result request data, the secondary diagnosis control unit 65 reads out the corresponding environmental information, the primary diagnosis result, and the secondary diagnosis result from the database in the hard disk, and reads out the corresponding information. By transmitting the environmental information, the primary diagnosis result, and the secondary diagnosis result as diagnosis result presentation data from the external device interface unit 72 to the information presentation device 8, the information presentation device 8 informs the operator of the primary diagnosis result together with the environmental information. And a secondary diagnosis result can be presented.

(1-7) Circuit Configuration of Information Presentation Device 8 As shown in FIG. 6, the information presentation device 8 includes an OS or the like that is stored in advance in the ROM 76 by an internal control unit 75 (hereinafter referred to as a device control unit) 75. These basic programs and various application programs are expanded on the RAM 77, whereby the overall control is performed in accordance with the expanded basic programs and various application programs to execute various processes.

  As a result, the device control unit 75 transmits the explanation request data requesting detailed explanation of the primary diagnosis result and the secondary diagnosis result for the electronic device from the primary diagnosis device 4 via the Internet 5 (FIG. 1). This is received by the network interface unit 78 and taken in via the communication processing unit 79.

  Then, the device control unit 75 generates diagnosis result request data storing the user identification information obtained based on the explanation request data at this time, and transmits this to the secondary diagnosis device 7 from the external device interface unit 80.

  As a result, the device control unit 75 receives and takes in the diagnosis result presentation data transmitted from the secondary diagnosis device 7 by the external device interface unit 80 and temporarily stores it in the RAM 77.

  Thereafter, when a diagnostic result display request signal is input from the operation input unit 81 via the input processing unit 82 by the operator, the apparatus control unit 75 reads the diagnostic result presentation data from the RAM 77 in response to this, and By sending out the read diagnosis result presentation data to the display unit 84 via the display processing unit 83, the primary diagnosis result and the secondary diagnosis result are displayed on the display unit 84 together with the environmental information of the electronic device.

  Thereby, the apparatus control unit 75 presents the primary diagnosis result and the secondary diagnosis result for the electronic device to the operator via the display unit 84, and also presents the environment information of the electronic device together with the result. The contents of the primary diagnosis result and the secondary diagnosis result can be easily and accurately recognized, so that the operator can explain the contents of the primary diagnosis result and the secondary diagnosis result for the electronic device in detail by the operator, for example, by telephone. ing.

(2) Electronic Device Diagnosis Processing Sequence In the device diagnosis system 1, as described above, various electronic devices connected to the primary diagnosis device 4 are primarily diagnosed by the primary diagnosis device 4 and the primary diagnosis is performed. As a result, when a secondary diagnosis different from this is required, a secondary diagnosis is performed by the secondary diagnosis device 7, and an electronic device diagnosis processing sequence is executed by these electronic devices, the primary diagnosis device 4, and the secondary diagnosis device 7. Yes.

  In the device diagnosis system 1, a primary diagnosis automatic request method for automatically requesting a primary diagnosis from the electronic device to the primary diagnosis device 4 in response to the activation of the electronic device diagnosis processing sequence, and the electronic device Thus, two types of techniques are applied, which are roughly divided from the primary diagnosis arbitrary request technique for arbitrarily requesting the primary diagnosis to the primary diagnosis apparatus 4 at the judgment of the user.

  Therefore, hereinafter, an electronic device diagnosis processing sequence to which the primary diagnosis automatic request method is applied will be described first, and then an electronic device diagnosis processing sequence to which the primary diagnosis arbitrary request method is applied will also be described.

  However, in the following electronic device diagnosis processing sequence, the electronic device to be diagnosed will be described as the client terminal 2 described above with reference to FIG. 2 in order to clarify the contents of the primary diagnosis and the secondary diagnosis.

(2-1) Electronic Device Diagnosis Processing Sequence Applying the Primary Diagnosis Automatic Request Method (2-1-1) Discrimination of the revised version of the software installed in the client terminal 2 and the hard disk drive 33 The first electronic device diagnostic processing sequence in which the failure occurrence time is estimated for the central processing unit 10 of the client terminal 2 in the device diagnostic system 1, in response to the activation request signal input via the operation input unit 15 2 is started, the diagnostic request processing procedure RT11 shown in FIGS. 7A, 8A, and 9A is started in accordance with the diagnostic request program read from the ROM 11.

  When the central processing unit 10 starts the diagnosis request processing procedure RT11, in response to the input of the activation request signal in step SP111, the central processing unit 10 stores the setting content information, hardware operating environment information, hardware stored in the hard disk and the RAM 13 at that time. The status information, accumulated operation time information, and revised version information are collected and used as environment information for the current client terminal 2 and temporarily stored in the hard disk for transmission, and then the process proceeds to the next step SP112.

  In step SP112, the central processing unit 10 generates primary diagnosis automatic request data storing identification information together with environment information temporarily stored for transmission on the hard disk, and transmits this to the primary diagnosis device 4 from the external device interface unit 30. Then, the process proceeds to the next step SP113.

  At this time, the primary diagnosis control unit 50 of the primary diagnosis apparatus 4 performs the primary diagnosis processing shown in FIGS. 7B, 8B, and 9B according to the primary diagnosis program stored in the ROM 51. Procedure RT21 is started.

  When starting the primary diagnosis processing procedure RT21, the primary diagnosis control unit 50 waits for reception of primary diagnosis automatic request data transmitted from the client terminal 2 in step SP211 and sends the primary diagnosis automatic request data to the external device interface. When the data is received and captured by the unit 56, the process proceeds to the next step SP212.

  In step SP212, the primary diagnosis control unit 50 includes the contents of the environmental information stored in the primary diagnosis automatic request data and the primary diagnosis reference information for the client terminal 2 registered in the database in the hard disk (that is, The client terminal 2 is primarily diagnosed so as to be compared with the content of the primary diagnosis reference information specified based on the device identification information stored in the primary diagnosis automatic request data.

  As a result, the primary diagnosis control unit 50 sets the appropriate setting contents according to the process to be executed in the various setting items for the client terminal 2 by the primary diagnosis, and the hardware operating environment. Is appropriately arranged in accordance with the process to be executed, and further detecting that the hardware is appropriately operating in accordance with the process to be executed, there is no problem with the client terminal 2. And the determination result is used as the primary diagnosis result.

  On the other hand, the primary diagnosis control unit 50 causes the client terminal 2 to perform inappropriate setting content that does not match the execution target process for various setting items (that is, recording on a reproduction-only recording medium). Settings), inappropriate hardware operating environment that does not match the processing to be executed (that is, loading of a recording medium of a type that does not match the processing, connection of a portable recording / reproducing device, etc.), and processing to be executed If an inappropriate hardware state that does not meet the requirements (that is, the speaker is not connected, the amount of laser light, the moving speed of the optical pickup, the number of retries in the hard disk drive 33 is out of the specified range, etc.) It is determined that a problem caused by the detected content has occurred with respect to the terminal 2, and the determination result is used as the primary diagnosis result.

  When the primary diagnosis control unit 50 obtains the primary diagnosis result for the client terminal 2 as described above, the primary diagnosis control unit 50 proceeds to the next step SP213.

  In step SP213, when the primary diagnosis control unit 50 obtains the primary diagnosis result determined that no problem has occurred in the client terminal 2 in step SP212, the primary diagnosis control unit 50 uses the display processing unit 57 based on the primary diagnosis result. For example, a first primary diagnosis result presentation screen 90 as shown in FIG. 10 is displayed on the display unit 58.

  In this case, in the first primary diagnosis result presentation screen 90, the device name 90A of the client terminal 2 specified by the device identification information of the client terminal 2 and the registration information of the database in the hard disk is inserted in the sentence. Primary diagnosis that indicates that the client terminal 2 is able to execute various processes normally as shown in “No problems have occurred as a result of the primary diagnosis for the client terminal, and can be used as is.” A result presentation sentence 90B is displayed.

  As a result, the primary diagnosis control unit 50 confirms that the first primary diagnosis result presentation screen 90 for the user can normally execute various processes because there is no problem in the client terminal 2. Presented as a primary diagnosis result for the client terminal 2.

  On the other hand, when the primary diagnosis control unit 50 obtains the primary diagnosis result that is determined to be defective in the client terminal 2 in step SP212, the primary diagnosis control unit 50 displays the result via the display processing unit 57 based on the primary diagnosis result. For example, a second primary diagnosis result presentation screen 91 as shown in FIG.

  In this case, in the second primary diagnosis result presentation screen 91, the device name 91A of the client terminal 2 specified by the device identification information of the client terminal 2 and the registration information of the database in the hard disk is inserted in the sentence. A primary diagnosis result presentation sentence 91B presenting the specific contents of the malfunction occurring in the client terminal 2 as “the result of the primary diagnosis for the client terminal is loaded with a recording medium that does not match the processing”. It is displayed.

  In the second primary diagnosis result presentation screen 91, the device name 91C of the client terminal 2 is inserted in the sentence. For example, “Please replace the recording medium to be loaded in the client terminal according to the processing”. A countermeasure presentation sentence 91D for specifically presenting a countermeasure for solving the problem occurring in the client terminal 2 is displayed.

  As a result, the primary diagnosis control unit 50 uses the second primary diagnosis result presentation screen 91 for the user to indicate the content of the problem occurring in the client terminal 2 and the countermeasure for solving the problem. Presented as a primary diagnosis result for the client terminal 2.

  In this manner, when the primary diagnosis control unit 50 presents the primary diagnosis result for the client terminal 2 to the user, the process proceeds to the next step SP214.

  In step SP214, the primary diagnosis control unit 50 determines whether there is a problem with the client terminal 2 at the present time based on the primary diagnosis result, and the client terminal 2 has a problem with the primary diagnosis. If a positive result is obtained by detecting, the process proceeds to the next step SP215.

  In step SP215, the primary diagnosis control unit 50 determines whether or not to automatically correct the contents of the environment information of the client terminal 2 based on the primary diagnosis result.

  If an affirmative result is obtained in step SP215, this means that the environment information of the client terminal 2 can be arbitrarily modified from the outside, such as setting content information (hereinafter, this is referred to as arbitrarily modifiable information). This indicates that a part or all of the troubles currently occurring in the client terminal 2 can be solved by correcting the contents of the above, and at this time, the primary diagnosis control unit 50 proceeds to the next step SP216 .

  In step SP216, the primary diagnosis control unit 50 identifies arbitrary correctable information that is the cause of the failure with respect to the environment information of the client terminal 2 based on the primary diagnosis result and the primary diagnosis reference information, and the specified arbitrary Corrected environment information by automatically correcting the contents of the correctable information according to the contents of the primary diagnostic reference information (that is, changing the contents of the arbitrarily correctable information to the corresponding reference contents in the primary diagnostic reference information) And moves to the next step SP217.

  Thus, in step SP217, the primary diagnosis control unit 50 transmits the corrected environment information as corrected environment information data from the external device interface unit 56 to the client terminal 2, and proceeds to the next step SP218.

  Incidentally, if a negative result is obtained in step SP215, it is confirmed that a defect has occurred in the client terminal 2 as a result of the primary diagnosis, but this is due to an inappropriate content of arbitrarily correctable information. In this case, there is a problem caused by a hardware-dependent matter (hereinafter referred to as a hardware-dependent matter) such as construction of an inappropriate operating environment for hardware or failure or deterioration. At this time, the primary diagnosis control unit 50 skips the processing of step SP216-SP217 and proceeds to step SP218.

  At this time, in step SP113, the central processing unit 10 determines whether or not the primary diagnosis for the client terminal 2 has been completed.

  If a negative result is obtained in this step SP113, this means that the primary diagnosis device 4 is in the middle of performing the primary diagnosis of the client terminal 2 or that a failure has occurred due to the primary diagnosis of the client terminal 2. The confirmation indicates that the countermeasure for solving the problem is being taken. At this time, the central processing unit 10 proceeds to the next step SP114.

  In step SP114, the central processing unit 10 determines whether or not the modified environment information data transmitted from the primary diagnostic apparatus 4 has been received.

  If a negative result is obtained in this step SP114, this is in the middle of the primary diagnosis of the client terminal 2 in the primary diagnosis device 4, or the client terminal 2 is caused by inappropriate contents of the arbitrarily modifiable information. This means that the corrected environment information data is not transmitted because of a defect caused by hardware-dependent matters. At this time, the central processing unit 10 The process returns to step SP113.

  Thus, the central processing unit 10 thereafter repeats the processing of steps SP113-SP114 at least until a positive result is obtained in step SP113, thereby completing the primary diagnosis and receiving the corrected environment information data. Await.

  When a positive result is obtained in step SP114, this is confirmed by the fact that the primary diagnosis has caused a problem caused by inappropriate contents of at least the arbitrarily modifiable information in the client terminal 2. This indicates that the modified device information data transmitted from the primary diagnostic device 4 has been received by the external device interface unit 30 for the purpose of eliminating the problem. At this time, the central processing unit 10 proceeds to the next step SP115.

  In step SP115, the central processing unit 10 separates the modified environment information based on the modified environment information data into setting content information, hardware operating environment information, and hardware state information that have been modified or need not be modified at all. Are overwritten on the setting content information, hardware operating environment information, and hardware status information that are distributed and stored in the hard disk or RAM 13.

  As a result, the central processing unit 10 can reset the processing execution environment when various processes are executed in the client terminal 2, and thus has occurred in the client terminal 2 due to inappropriate contents of arbitrarily modifiable information. Only the problem is reliably resolved, and the process returns to step SP113.

  Then, the central processing unit 10 waits for the primary diagnosis for the client terminal 2 to end by repeating the processing of steps SP113 to SP114 cyclically.

  At this time, in step SP218, the primary diagnosis control unit 50 determines whether or not the hardware of the client terminal 2 needs to be repaired in order to eliminate the malfunction occurring in the client terminal 2 based on the primary diagnosis result. Judging.

  If an affirmative result is obtained in this step SP218, this means that, based on the primary diagnosis of the client terminal 2, various drives such as the compact disk drive 17 of the client terminal 2, various tuners such as the radio tuner 26, display 23, hard disk This indicates that the hardware such as the drive 33 has failed and it is found that repair is necessary. At this time, the primary diagnosis control unit 50 proceeds to the next step SP219.

  In step SP219, based on the primary diagnosis result, the primary diagnosis control unit 50 repairs the client terminal 2 (that is, the hardware that has failed) and the failure status (that is, reduces the amount of laser light in the optical pickup, Next, after making a request for quotation indicating the occurrence of a write error in various drives, etc., and transmitting this to the secondary diagnostic apparatus 7 via the communication interface 59 from the network interface 60 via the Internet 5, the next step Move on to SP220.

  At this time, the secondary diagnosis control unit 65 of the secondary diagnosis apparatus 7 performs the secondary diagnosis processing shown in FIGS. 7C, 8C, and 9C according to the secondary diagnosis program stored in the ROM 66. Procedure RT31 is started.

  When the secondary diagnosis processing procedure RT31 is started, the secondary diagnosis control unit 65 determines whether or not a primary diagnosis result for the electronic device (that is, the client terminal 2 in this case) has been acquired in step SP311.

  If a negative result is obtained in this step SP311, this is because the primary diagnosis device 4 has not yet performed the primary diagnosis of the client terminal 2 or is in the middle of the primary diagnosis of the client terminal 2, and thus the primary diagnosis. This means that neither the primary diagnosis result registration data nor the secondary diagnosis request data (that is, the primary diagnosis result is stored) transmitted from the device 4 has been received. The next diagnosis control unit 65 proceeds to step SP312.

  In step SP312, the secondary diagnosis control unit 65 determines whether or not estimate request data for repair of the client terminal 2 transmitted from the primary diagnosis device 4 has been received.

  If a negative result is obtained in this step SP312, this means that the primary diagnosis device 4 has not yet performed the primary diagnosis of the client terminal 2 or is in the middle of the primary diagnosis of the client terminal 2, and further the client terminal 2 This indicates that there has been no problem that requires repair, but the secondary diagnosis control unit 65 returns to step SP311.

  Accordingly, the secondary diagnosis control unit 65 thereafter repeats the processing of steps SP311-SP312 in a cyclic manner until at least a positive result is obtained in step SP311 to thereby transmit the primary transmitted from the primary diagnosis device 4. It waits for reception of diagnostic result registration data, secondary diagnostic request data, and quotation request data.

  If a positive result is obtained in step SP312, this means that the primary diagnosis device 4 performs a primary diagnosis of the client terminal 2, and as a result, the hardware of the client terminal 2 has failed and needs to be repaired. This means that the repair request data transmitted from the primary diagnosis apparatus 4 is received by the network interface unit 70 and taken in via the communication processing unit 71. At this time, the secondary diagnosis control unit 65 moves to the next step SP313.

  In step SP313, the secondary diagnosis control unit 65 acquires part information indicating the price, the number of inventory, and the like of parts necessary for repair of the client terminal 2 from the external part management server based on the content of the estimate request data. Next step SP314 is entered.

  In step SP314, the secondary diagnosis control unit 65 automatically estimates the repair for the client terminal 2 based on the component information, generates estimated information data indicating the estimated content, and proceeds to the next step SP315.

  Thus, in step SP315, the secondary diagnosis control unit 65 transmits the estimated information data from the network interface unit 70 to the primary diagnosis device 4 via the Internet 5 via the communication processing unit 71, and then proceeds to next step SP316.

  At this time, in step SP220, the primary diagnosis control unit 50 waits for the reception of the estimated information data transmitted from the secondary diagnostic apparatus 7, and the estimated information data is received by the network interface unit 60 and the communication processing unit 59 is activated. Then, the process proceeds to the next step SP221.

  In step SP221, the primary diagnosis control unit 50 displays the estimated content for repair of the client terminal 2 on the display unit 58 through the display processing unit 57 based on the estimated information data, and presents it to the user. 2. Determine whether or not to request repair for 2.

  If a positive result is obtained in step SP221, this indicates that the user has requested to repair the client terminal 2. At this time, the primary diagnosis control unit 50 proceeds to the next step SP222. Then, the repair request data is transmitted from the network interface unit 60 via the communication processing unit 59 to the secondary diagnosis apparatus 7 via the Internet 5, and then the process proceeds to the next step SP223.

  On the other hand, if a negative result is obtained in step SP221, this means that it has been requested that the repair of the client terminal 2 be postponed because the user has decided to repair the client terminal 2 again at a later date. At this time, the primary diagnosis control unit 50 proceeds to step SP224 to transmit the postponement data for repair to the secondary diagnosis apparatus 7 from the network interface unit 60 via the Internet 5 via the communication processing unit 59. Move on to SP223.

  At this time, in step SP316, the secondary diagnosis control unit 65 waits for the reception of the correction request data and the repair postponement data transmitted from the primary diagnosis device 4, and the network interface unit 70 receives either one of the data. If taken in via the communication processing unit 71, the process proceeds to the next step SP317.

  In step SP317, the secondary diagnosis control unit 65 determines whether or not the data received in step SP316 is repair request data, and if a positive result is obtained by receiving the repair request data, the process proceeds to the next step SP318. Move.

  Accordingly, in step SP318, the secondary diagnosis control unit 65 generates part order data for ordering parts necessary for repair of the client terminal 2 in accordance with the estimate information data transmitted to the primary diagnosis apparatus 4, and this Is transmitted from the network interface unit 70 to the external component management server via the communication processing unit 71, and the process returns to step SP311.

  Incidentally, in step SP317, when the secondary diagnosis control unit 65 receives the repair postponement data and obtains a negative result because the repair of the client terminal 2 has been postponed, the secondary diagnosis control unit 65 returns to step SP311.

  By the way, if a negative result is obtained in step SP214 described above, this indicates that there is no malfunction at the present time as a result of the primary diagnosis for the client terminal 2, and at this time the primary diagnosis is performed. The control unit 50 moves to step SP223.

  If a negative result is obtained in step SP218, this can be easily solved manually by the user by the method for solving the problem presented to the client terminal 2 by the second primary diagnosis result presentation screen 91 at this time. This means that only a problem has occurred (that is, a change in the type of recording medium or portable recording / reproducing device, speaker connection, etc.). At this time, the primary diagnosis control unit 50 resolves the problem with the client terminal 2. Is transferred to step SP223.

  In step SP223, the primary diagnosis control unit 50 determines whether or not to request the secondary diagnosis device 7 for the secondary diagnosis of the client terminal 2 that has been subjected to the primary diagnosis.

  If an affirmative result is obtained in step SP223, this indicates that the user has requested that the client terminal 2 be further diagnosed with a diagnostic item different from the primary diagnosis.

  If the secondary diagnosis is requested by the user via the client terminal 2 at this time, the primary diagnosis control unit 50 can recognize the end of the primary diagnosis by the central processing unit 10 of the client terminal 2. Thus, the process proceeds to the next step SP224.

  On the other hand, if the secondary diagnosis is requested directly (that is, via the operation input unit 54) from the primary diagnostic apparatus 4 by the user at this time, the primary diagnosis control unit 50 performs the primary diagnosis. Primary diagnosis end notification data indicating the end of the process is transmitted from the external device interface unit 56 to the client terminal 2, and the process proceeds to the next step SP224.

  Therefore, when the secondary diagnosis request signal is input via the operation input unit 15 in step SP113, the central processing unit 10 determines that the primary diagnosis for the client terminal 2 has been completed and obtains a positive result. As a result, the process proceeds to the next step SP116.

  In step SP113, even when the central diagnosis unit 4 requests the secondary diagnosis of the client terminal 2 directly from the primary diagnosis device 4, the central processing unit 10 receives the secondary diagnosis from the primary diagnosis device 4. By receiving and capturing the transmitted primary diagnosis end notification data by the external device interface unit 30, it is recognized that the primary diagnosis has ended and an affirmative result is obtained, and the process proceeds to the next step SP 116.

  When the secondary diagnosis for the client terminal 2 is requested in this way, in step SP224, the primary diagnosis control unit 50 stores the secondary diagnosis request data storing the environment information and identification information of the client terminal 2 and the primary diagnosis result. Is transmitted from the network interface unit 60 to the secondary diagnostic apparatus 7 via the Internet 5 via the communication processing unit 59, and then the process proceeds to the next step SP225.

  At this time, in step SP311, the secondary diagnosis control unit 65 receives the secondary diagnosis request data transmitted from the primary diagnosis device 4 by the network interface unit 70 and takes in via the communication processing unit 71 to obtain a positive result. As a result, the process proceeds to the next step SP319.

  In step SP319, the secondary diagnosis control unit 65 registers the environmental information and the primary diagnosis result stored in the secondary diagnosis request data in the database in the hard disk in association with the identification information, and proceeds to the next step SP320. .

  In step SP320, the secondary diagnosis control unit 65 determines whether or not a secondary diagnosis for the electronic device (in this case, the client terminal 2) has been requested from the primary diagnosis device 4, and at this time, the primary diagnosis device 4 transmits it. An affirmative result is obtained by receiving the secondary diagnosis request data for requesting the secondary diagnosis, and the process proceeds to the next step SP321.

  In step SP321, the secondary diagnosis control unit 65 determines the client terminal 2 based on the environment information of the client terminal 2, the reference revision information, and the failure occurrence timing statistical information corresponding to the hard disk drive 33 of the client terminal 2. Make a secondary diagnosis.

  As a result, the secondary diagnosis control unit 65 determines whether or not the software installed in the client terminal 2 is the latest revised version and estimates the failure occurrence time based on the current time for the hard disk drive 33. Then, the revised determination result and failure occurrence time estimation result are used as the secondary diagnosis result, and the process proceeds to the next step SP322.

  In step SP322, the secondary diagnosis control unit 65 generates secondary diagnosis result presentation data based on the secondary diagnosis result for the client terminal 2, and transmits this data from the network interface unit 70 via the communication processing unit 71 via the Internet 5. The data is transmitted to the primary diagnostic apparatus 4, and the process proceeds to the next step SP323.

  At this time, in step SP225, the primary diagnosis control unit 50 waits for reception of secondary diagnosis result presentation data transmitted from the secondary diagnosis device 7, and the network interface unit 60 receives the secondary diagnosis result presentation data. Then, the processing proceeds to the next step SP226.

  In step SP226, the primary diagnosis control unit 50 first presents the secondary diagnosis result when the secondary diagnosis result determined that the software installed in the client terminal 2 is the latest revised version is obtained. For example, a first secondary diagnosis result presentation screen 92 as shown in FIG. 12 is displayed on the display unit 58 via the display processing unit 57 based on the data.

  In this case, the device name 92A of the client terminal 2 specified by the device identification information of the client terminal 2 and the registration information of the database in the hard disk is inserted into the first secondary diagnosis result presentation screen 92 in the sentence. As a result of the secondary diagnosis of the client terminal, the software was the latest revision. You can use the client terminal as it is. The latest revision of the software is installed in the client terminal 2. A revised notification sentence 92B is displayed to notify that.

  On the other hand, the primary diagnosis control unit 50 obtains a secondary diagnosis result determined that the software installed in the client terminal 2 is a revised version earlier than the latest revised version. For example, a second secondary diagnosis result presentation screen 93 as shown in FIG. 13 is displayed on the display unit 58 via the display processing unit 57 based on the secondary diagnosis result presentation data.

  In this case, in the second secondary diagnosis result presentation screen 93, the device name 93A of the client terminal 2 specified by the device identification information of the client terminal 2 and the registration information of the database in the hard disk is inserted in the sentence. “As a result of the secondary diagnosis of the client terminal, the software was the one before the revision. In order to use the client terminal safely, it is recommended to update the software to the latest revised version.” As described above, since the pre-revision software is installed in the client terminal 2, the revised notification sentence 93B that prompts the user to update the software is displayed.

  Further, the second secondary diagnosis result presentation screen 93 is provided with an update execution button 93C for confirming whether or not the software installed in the client terminal 2 has been updated, and an update hold button 93D.

  Therefore, when the primary diagnosis control unit 50 displays the first secondary diagnosis result presentation screen 92 on the display unit 58, the latest revised software is installed in the client terminal 2 for the user. The fact that various processes can be executed without any problem is presented as a part of the secondary diagnosis result for the client terminal 2.

  On the other hand, when the primary diagnosis control unit 50 displays the second secondary diagnosis result presentation screen 93 on the display unit 58, the software before revision is installed in the client terminal 2 for the user. Presents as a part of the secondary diagnosis result for the client terminal 2 that it may be difficult to execute various processes normally, and confirms whether or not to actually update the software by prompting the update of the software It is made like that.

  The primary diagnosis control unit 50 also presents the secondary diagnosis result when the secondary diagnosis result estimated that the failure occurrence time for the hard disk drive 33 of the client terminal 2 is far away from the present time is obtained. For example, a third secondary diagnosis result presentation screen 94 as shown in FIG. 14 is displayed on the display unit 58 via the display processing unit 57 based on the data.

  In this case, in the third secondary diagnosis result presentation screen 94, the device name 94A of the client terminal 2 specified by the device identification information of the client terminal 2 and the registration information of the database in the hard disk is inserted in the sentence. “As a result of the secondary diagnosis for the client terminal, it is estimated that the hard disk drive will operate without a failure for about one year from now. Please use the client terminal without worrying about the failure of the hard disk drive.” As described above, a failure occurrence time notification sentence 94B is displayed to notify that the hard disk drive 33 of the client terminal 2 can operate without any failure for a while.

  On the other hand, if the secondary diagnosis control unit 50 obtains a secondary diagnosis result in which it is estimated that the failure occurrence time for the hard disk drive 33 of the client terminal 2 is within a relatively short predetermined period from the present time, 2 is obtained. For example, a fourth secondary diagnosis result presentation screen 95 as shown in FIG. 15 is displayed on the display unit 58 via the display processing unit 57 based on the next diagnosis result presentation data.

  In this case, the device name 95A of the client terminal 2 specified by the device identification information of the client terminal 2 and the registration information of the database in the hard disk is inserted into the fourth secondary diagnosis result presentation screen 95 in the sentence. “As a result of the secondary diagnosis for the client terminal, it is estimated that the hard disk drive will fail in about 3 weeks from the present time. If the hard disk drive fails during the operation of the client terminal, other problems may occur at the same time. When the hard disk drive 33 of the client terminal 2 is likely to break down in the near future, it is recommended that the hard disk drive 33 be disassembled and repaired. A notification sentence 95B is displayed.

  The fourth secondary diagnosis result presentation screen 95 is provided with an overhaul / repair request button 95C for confirming whether or not the hard disk drive 33 of the client terminal 2 is overhauled, and an overhaul / repair hold button 95D. .

  Accordingly, when the primary diagnosis control unit 50 displays the third secondary diagnosis result presentation screen 94 on the display unit 58, the hard disk drive 33 itself is not used because the client terminal 2 has not been used for a long time. Therefore, the fact that it can be used for the time being without worrying about the occurrence of the failure is presented as the remaining part of the secondary diagnosis result for the client terminal 2.

  On the other hand, when the primary diagnosis control unit 50 displays the fourth secondary diagnosis result presentation screen 95 on the display unit 58, the hard disk drive is used because the client terminal 2 has been used for a long time to the user. As the remaining part of the secondary diagnosis result of the client terminal 2 shows that the terminal 33 is considerably deteriorated due to secular change and is likely to break down in the near future, an overhaul and repair of the hard disk drive 33 is performed. Prompt to confirm whether or not to actually repair and repair.

  In this way, when the primary diagnosis control unit 50 presents the secondary diagnosis result for the client terminal 2 to the user, the process proceeds to the next step SP227.

  In step SP227, the primary diagnosis control unit 50 determines whether to update the software installed in the client terminal 2 based on the secondary diagnosis result.

  If an affirmative result is obtained in step SP227, this means that the software installed in the client terminal 2 is earlier than the latest revised version, so that a problem will occur due to the software in the future. In order to prevent this, an update of the software is requested by the user (that is, the update execution button 93C is instructed to be selected on the second secondary diagnosis result presentation screen 93 according to the operation of the operation input unit 54). In this case, the primary diagnosis control unit 50 proceeds to the next step SP228.

  In step SP228, the primary diagnosis control unit 50 performs software on the Internet 5 in accordance with address information (URL: Uniform Resource Locator) previously associated with the update execution button 93C of the second secondary diagnosis result presentation screen 93, for example. The latest revised software (hereinafter, specifically referred to as update software) is acquired from the providing server, and the process proceeds to the next step SP229.

  In step SP229, the primary diagnosis control unit 50 transmits the update software from the external device interface unit 56 to the client terminal 2, and proceeds to the next step SP230.

  At this time, in step SP116, the central processing unit 10 determines whether or not the secondary diagnosis for the client terminal 2 has been completed.

  If a negative result is obtained in this step SP116, this means that the secondary diagnosis device 7 is in the middle of performing the secondary diagnosis of the client terminal 2 or that a failure has occurred due to the secondary diagnosis of the client terminal 2. Confirmation indicates that the countermeasure for solving the problem is being taken. At this time, the central processing unit 10 proceeds to the next step SP117.

  In step SP117, the central processing unit 10 determines whether or not the update software transmitted from the primary diagnostic apparatus 4 has been received.

  If a negative result is obtained in this step SP117, this indicates that the update software has not been transmitted because the secondary diagnosis device 7 is in the middle of secondary diagnosis of the client terminal 2, and this The central processing unit 10 then returns to step SP116.

  Thereby, the central processing unit 10 thereafter waits for the end of the secondary diagnosis and the reception of the updated software by repeating the processing of steps SP116-SP117 at least until a positive result is obtained in step SP116. .

  If an affirmative result is obtained in step SP117, this means that the secondary diagnosis confirms that at least the pre-revision software is installed in the client terminal 2, and the primary diagnosis is performed for the purpose of updating the software. This shows that the update software transmitted from the device 4 has been received by the external device interface unit 30. At this time, the central processing unit 10 proceeds to the next step SP118.

  In step SP118, the central processing unit 10 updates the software that has already been installed to the updated software so that the latest revised software is installed, and thus the client terminal 2 is caused by the software before the update. Then, the occurrence of a problem is avoided in advance, and the process returns to step SP116.

  The central processing unit 10 waits for the secondary diagnosis for the client terminal 2 to end by repeating the processing of steps SP116 to SP117 cyclically.

  At this time, in step SP230, the primary diagnosis control unit 50 determines whether or not the hard disk drive 33 of the client terminal 2 needs to be overhauled based on the secondary diagnosis result.

  If a positive result is obtained in step SP230, this indicates that there is a high possibility that the hard disk drive 33 of the client terminal 2 will fail in the very near future. At this time, the primary diagnosis control unit 50 The process moves to step SP231.

  In step SP231, the primary diagnosis control unit 50 stores device identification information for specifying the model of the hard disk drive 33 of the client terminal 2, and requests an estimate for the overhaul and repair of the hard disk drive 33. Data is generated and transmitted from the network interface 60 to the secondary diagnostic apparatus 7 via the Internet 5 via the communication processor 59, and then the process proceeds to the next step SP232.

  At this time, in step SP323, the secondary diagnosis control unit 65 determines whether or not to finish the secondary diagnosis for the electronic device (that is, the client terminal 2 in this case).

  If a negative result is obtained in this step SP323, it is assumed that there is a high possibility that the hard disk drive 33 will fail in the near future by the secondary diagnosis for the client terminal 2. This indicates that there is an inquiry about the overhaul and repair for the drive 33. At this time, the secondary diagnosis control unit 65 proceeds to the next step SP324.

  In step SP324, the secondary diagnosis control unit 65 waits for reception of request data for request for overhaul and repair transmitted as an inquiry about overhaul and repair from the primary diagnosis device 4 to the hard disk drive 33 of the client terminal 2. When the request data is received by the network interface unit 70 and taken in via the communication processing unit 71, the process proceeds to the next step SP325.

  In step SP325, the secondary diagnosis control unit 65 specifies the model or the like for the hard disk drive 33 of the client terminal 2 based on the contents of the estimate request data, and issues an estimate of overhaul and repair for the hard disk drive 33 according to the specification result. Thus, estimate information data indicating the estimate contents is generated, and the process proceeds to the next step SP326.

  Thereby, in step SP326, the secondary diagnosis control unit 65 transmits the estimated information data from the network interface unit 70 to the primary diagnosis device 4 via the Internet 5 via the communication processing unit 71, and then proceeds to next step SP327.

  At this time, in step SP232, the primary diagnosis control unit 50 waits for the reception of estimated information data transmitted from the secondary diagnostic device 7, and the estimated information data is received by the network interface unit 60 and the communication processing unit 59 is made to operate. Then, the process proceeds to the next step SP233.

  In step SP233, the primary diagnosis control unit 50 displays the estimated content for the overhaul and repair of the hard disk drive 33 mounted on the client terminal 2 on the display unit 58 via the display processing unit 57 based on the estimated information data. By presenting it to the user, it is determined whether or not to request an overhaul and repair of the hard disk drive 33.

  If an affirmative result is obtained in step SP233, this indicates that the user has requested that the hard disk drive 33 be disassembled and inspected and repaired. At this time, the primary diagnosis control unit 50 performs the next step. Move on to SP234.

  In step SP234, the primary diagnosis control unit 50 sends overhaul / inspection request data for requesting overhaul / repair of the hard disk drive 33 from the network interface unit 60 to the secondary diagnosis device 7 via the communication processing unit 59 via the Internet 5. Then, the process proceeds to the next step SP235.

  In step SP235, the primary diagnosis control unit 50 sends secondary diagnosis end notification data from the external device interface unit 56 to the client terminal for notifying that the secondary diagnosis for the client terminal 2 has been completed, including overhaul and repair inquiries. Then, the process proceeds to the next step SP236, and the primary diagnosis processing procedure RT21 is terminated.

  On the other hand, if a negative result is obtained in step SP233, this means that the user has decided to repair the hard disk drive 33 of the client terminal 2 again at a later date, so that the overhaul of the hard disk drive 33 is postponed. In this case, the primary diagnosis control unit 50 proceeds to step SP237.

  Therefore, in step SP237, the primary diagnosis control unit 50 sends the overhaul / repair postponement data indicating the postponement of the overhaul / repair of the hard disk drive 33 from the network interface unit 60 via the communication processing unit 59 via the Internet 5 to the secondary diagnosis device 7. And move to step SP235.

  At this time, in step SP116, the central processing unit 10 receives and captures the secondary diagnosis end notification data transmitted from the primary diagnosis device 4 by the external device interface unit 30, and the client terminal according to the secondary diagnosis end notification data. By recognizing that the secondary diagnosis for 2 has been completed and obtaining a positive result, the process proceeds to the next step SP119, and the diagnosis request processing procedure RT11 is completed.

  At this time, in step SP327, the secondary diagnosis control unit 65 waits for the reception of the overhaul inspection correction request data and the overhaul inspection repair postponed data transmitted from the primary diagnosis apparatus 4, and either one of the data is sent to the network interface unit. If it receives by 70 and it takes in via the communication process part 71, it will move to following step SP328.

  In step SP328, the secondary diagnosis control unit 65 determines whether or not the data received in step SP327 is overhaul inspection / repair request data. The process proceeds to step SP329.

  As a result, in step SP329, the secondary diagnosis control unit 65 orders parts necessary for the overhaul and repair of the hard disk drive 33 of the client terminal 2 in accordance with the estimated information data for the overhaul and repair sent to the primary diagnosis device 4. Parts order data for generating the data is generated and transmitted to the external parts management server from the network interface unit 70 via the communication processing unit 71, and then the process proceeds to the next step SP330.

  In step SP328, if the secondary diagnosis control unit 65 receives the overhaul / repair postponement data and receives a negative result because the overhaul / repair for the hard disk drive 33 of the client terminal 2 has been postponed, the secondary diagnosis control unit 65 proceeds to step SP330.

  If a positive result is obtained in step SP323 described above, this indicates that although the secondary diagnosis is performed on the client terminal 2, the hard disk drive 33 of the client terminal 2 is unlikely to fail for a while. This indicates that there is no inquiry about the overhaul and repair of the hard disk drive 33 from the primary diagnosis device 4, and at this time, the secondary diagnosis control unit 65 proceeds to step SP330.

  In step SP330, the secondary diagnosis control unit 65 determines the secondary diagnosis result for the client terminal 2 that has been subjected to the secondary diagnosis this time, together with the estimated information data regarding the overhaul and repair for the hard disk drive 33, information such as the order status of parts, etc. Information and the device identification information of the client terminal 2) and registering them in the database in the hard disk, the process proceeds to the next step SP331, and the secondary diagnosis processing procedure RT31 is terminated.

  If a negative result is obtained in step SP223 described above, this indicates that the user has requested the client terminal 2 to end the current diagnosis without performing the secondary diagnosis. The next diagnosis control unit 50 proceeds to step SP238.

  In step SP238, the primary diagnosis control unit 50 performs environmental information and identification information for the client terminal 2 and the primary diagnosis result (in this case, the primary diagnosis result is included in order to eliminate problems occurring in the client terminal 2). Primary diagnosis result registration data is stored, and this is transmitted from the network interface unit 60 to the secondary diagnosis device 7 via the Internet 5 via the communication processing unit 59. Then, the process proceeds to step SP236.

  At this time, when a diagnosis end request signal for the client terminal 2 is input via the operation input unit 15 in step SP113, the central processing unit 10 sends the secondary diagnosis apparatus 7 via the primary diagnosis apparatus 4 accordingly. If it is determined that the current diagnosis for the client terminal 2 is finished without requesting the secondary diagnosis of the client terminal 2 and an affirmative result is obtained, the process proceeds to the next step SP116.

  Further, in step SP113, the central processing unit 10 is requested to end the diagnosis from the primary diagnostic apparatus 4 even when the primary diagnosis apparatus 4 is directly requested to end the current diagnosis for the client terminal 2. By receiving and capturing the diagnosis end notification data transmitted from time to time by the external device interface unit 56, it is recognized that the current diagnosis for the client terminal 2 has ended and an affirmative result is obtained. Move.

  When the central processing unit 10 recognizes the end of the diagnosis of the client terminal 2 in this way, the secondary diagnosis of the client terminal 2 is not performed. Move on to SP119.

  On the other hand, in step SP311, the secondary diagnosis control unit 65 receives the primary diagnosis result registration data transmitted from the primary diagnosis device 4 by the network interface unit 70 and imports it through the communication processing unit 71. By acquiring a primary diagnosis result for the client terminal 2 based on the next diagnosis result registration data and obtaining a positive result, the process proceeds to the next step SP319.

  Accordingly, in step SP319, the secondary diagnosis control unit 65 registers the environmental information and the primary diagnosis result stored in the primary diagnosis result registration data in the database in the hard disk in association with the identification information, and the next step Move on to SP320.

  In step SP320, the secondary diagnosis control unit 65 receives the primary diagnosis result registration data transmitted in response to the end of the current diagnosis for the client terminal 2, and the secondary diagnosis for the client terminal 2 is performed. If a negative result is obtained because it has not been requested, the process proceeds to step SP331.

  In this way, in the device diagnosis system 1, the first electronic device diagnosis processing sequence by the client terminal 2, the primary diagnosis device 4, and the secondary diagnosis device 7 is terminated.

  Accordingly, in the first electronic device diagnosis processing sequence, the client terminal 2 is primarily diagnosed by the primary diagnosis device 4 in the home every time the client terminal 2 is activated, and the secondary diagnosis is different from the primary diagnosis. Since the secondary diagnosis of the client terminal 2 is continuously performed by the secondary diagnostic device 7 on the Internet 5 only when a request is issued for the secondary diagnostic device 7 on the Internet 5, Concentration of diagnosis requests can be avoided in advance.

  Further, in the first electronic device diagnosis processing sequence, the primary diagnosis apparatus 4 performs the primary diagnosis according to the diagnosis items that can detect almost all the defects occurring in the client terminal 2 with respect to the secondary diagnosis apparatus 7. The secondary diagnosis of the client terminal 2 can be reduced as much as possible, and the concentration of the diagnosis requests for a large number of electronic devices on the secondary diagnosis apparatus 7 can be further greatly reduced. it can.

  Furthermore, in the first electronic device diagnosis processing sequence, by determining whether or not the revised version of the software installed in the client terminal 2 is the latest by secondary diagnosis for the client terminal 2, Even if a user who does not frequently check the revision of the software himself / herself uses the client terminal 2, it is possible to confirm whether the revision of the software is present or not by using the diagnosis for the client terminal 2 as a trigger.

  In the first electronic device diagnosis processing sequence, as a result of the secondary diagnosis for the client terminal 2, if the software installed in the client terminal 2 is the one before the revision, the software is updated as part of the secondary diagnosis. By performing the process up to updating to the revised version, it is possible to prevent the client terminal 2 from malfunctioning due to the revised software earlier than the latest revised version.

  Furthermore, in the first electronic device diagnosis processing sequence, the failure occurrence time is estimated and presented to the hard disk drive 33 of the client terminal 2 by the secondary diagnosis for the client terminal 2, thereby preventing the occurrence of the failure of the hard disk drive 33. In this way, it is possible to prevent the hard disk drive 33 in the client terminal 2 from being suddenly broken during use and losing important stored data in advance and almost certainly.

  In addition to this, in the first electronic device diagnosis processing sequence, the primary diagnosis is performed every time the client terminal 2 is started, and at that time, the secondary diagnosis is also performed as required, and the primary diagnosis and the secondary diagnosis are performed. When a problem is found in the diagnosis, the client terminal 2 is diagnosed almost regularly by executing the process for resolving the problem almost automatically as part of the primary diagnosis and the secondary diagnosis. Even if a problem occurs before it is noticed, the problem can be reliably discovered and dealt with, and the client terminal 2 can always be used in an optimal processing execution environment.

(2-1-2) Second electronic device diagnosis processing sequence in which the diagnosis items in the secondary diagnosis are the revision of the software installed in the client terminal 2 and the estimation of the failure occurrence time for the compact disk drive 17 In the system 1, when the central processing unit 10 of the client terminal 2 starts up the client terminal 2 in response to the startup request signal input via the operation input unit 15, the central processing unit 10 in FIG. The diagnosis request processing procedure RT11 shown in FIGS. 16 (A), 17 (A), and 18 (A) is started by assigning the same reference numerals to the corresponding parts in FIGS. 8 (A) and 9 (A). A series of processes similar to those described above are executed.

  Further, the primary diagnosis control unit 50 of the primary diagnosis apparatus 4 has the same reference numerals in the corresponding parts in FIGS. 7B, 8B, and 9B according to the primary diagnosis program stored in the ROM 51. The primary diagnosis processing procedure RT22 shown in FIGS. 16B, 17B, and 18B is started.

  When the primary diagnosis processing procedure RT22 is started, the primary diagnosis control unit 50 sequentially executes the processing from step SP211 to step SP224 to send secondary diagnosis request data from the network interface unit 60 to the Internet 5 via the communication processing unit 59. After being transmitted to the secondary diagnostic apparatus 7 via, the process proceeds to the next step SP241.

  At this time, the secondary diagnosis control unit 65 of the secondary diagnosis apparatus 7 corresponds to the part corresponding to FIG. 7C, FIG. 8C, and FIG. 9C according to the secondary diagnosis program stored in the ROM 66. The secondary diagnostic processing procedure RT32 shown in FIGS. 16C, 17C, and 18C with the same reference numerals is started.

  When the secondary diagnosis control unit 65 starts the secondary diagnosis processing procedure RT32, when it recognizes that the secondary diagnosis of the client terminal 2 has been requested by sequentially executing the processing from step SP311 to step SP320, the next step SP341 is executed. Move on.

  In step SP341, the secondary diagnosis control unit 65 determines the client terminal 2 based on the environment information of the client terminal 2, the reference revision information, and the failure occurrence timing statistical information corresponding to the compact disk drive 17 of the client terminal 2. Make a secondary diagnosis.

  As a result, the secondary diagnosis control unit 65 determines whether or not the software installed in the client terminal 2 is the latest revised version and determines the failure occurrence time with respect to the current time for the compact disk drive 17. Then, the determination result of the revised version and the estimation result of the failure occurrence timing are used as the secondary diagnosis result, and the process proceeds to the next step SP342.

  In step SP342, the secondary diagnosis control unit 65 generates secondary diagnosis result presentation data based on the secondary diagnosis result for the client terminal 2, and transmits this data from the network interface unit 70 via the communication processing unit 71 via the Internet 5. It transmits to the primary diagnostic apparatus 4, and moves to the following step SP343.

  At this time, in step SP241, the primary diagnosis control unit 50 waits for reception of the secondary diagnosis result presentation data transmitted from the secondary diagnosis device 7, and the network interface unit 60 receives the secondary diagnosis result presentation data. Then, the processing proceeds to the next step SP242.

  In step SP242, the primary diagnosis control unit 50 first presents the secondary diagnosis result of the revised version of the software installed in the client terminal 2 with the first and second secondary diagnosis results described above with reference to FIGS. Presented via screens 92 and 93.

  In addition, the primary diagnosis control unit 50 obtains a secondary diagnosis result that is presumed that the failure occurrence time for the compact disk drive 17 is in the future far away from the present time by the secondary diagnosis for the client terminal 2. For example, a fifth secondary diagnosis result presentation screen 96 as shown in FIG. 19 is displayed on the display unit 58 through the display processing unit 57 based on the secondary diagnosis result presentation data.

  In this case, in the fifth secondary diagnosis result presentation screen 96, the device name 96A of the client terminal 2 specified by the device identification information of the client terminal 2 and the registration information of the database in the hard disk is inserted in the sentence. "As a result of the secondary diagnosis for the client terminal, it is estimated that the compact disk drive will operate without a failure for about one year from the present time. Please use the client terminal without worrying about the failure of the compact disk drive. "A failure occurrence time notification sentence 96B is displayed to notify that the compact disk drive 17 of the client terminal 2 can operate without any failure for a while.

  On the other hand, the primary diagnosis control unit 50 obtains a secondary diagnosis result in which it is estimated that the failure occurrence time for the compact disk drive 17 of the client terminal 2 is within a relatively short predetermined period from the present time. For example, a sixth secondary diagnosis result presentation screen 97 as shown in FIG. 20 is displayed on the display unit 58 via the display processing unit 57 based on the secondary diagnosis result presentation data.

  In this case, in the sixth secondary diagnosis result presentation screen 97, the device name 97A of the client terminal 2 specified by the device identification information of the client terminal 2 and the registration information of the database in the hard disk is inserted in the sentence. “As a result of the secondary diagnosis of the client terminal, it is estimated that the compact disk drive will fail in about 3 weeks from the present time. If the compact disk drive fails during the operation of the client terminal, other problems may occur. It is highly recommended that the compact disk drive be disassembled and inspected within the above period. ”As the compact disk drive 17 of the client terminal 2 is likely to fail in the near future, Failure occurrence notice 97 There has been displayed.

  In addition, the sixth secondary diagnosis result presentation screen 97 is provided with an overhaul / repair request button 97C for confirming whether or not the compact disc drive 17 of the client terminal 2 is overhauled, and an overhaul / repair hold button 97D. Yes.

  Therefore, when the primary diagnosis control unit 50 displays the fifth secondary diagnosis result presentation screen 96 on the display unit 58, the compact disk drive 17 is not used because the client terminal 2 has not been used for a long time. As a result of the secondary diagnosis for the client terminal 2, the client terminal 2 can be used for the time being without worrying about the occurrence of the failure because it has not deteriorated so much.

  On the other hand, when the primary diagnosis control unit 50 displays the sixth secondary diagnosis result presentation screen 97 on the display unit 58, the primary diagnostic control unit 50 uses the client terminal 2 for a long time to the user, thereby reducing the compact disc. As the secondary diagnosis result of the client terminal 2 indicates that the drive 17 is considerably deteriorated due to secular change and is likely to break down in the near future, it is actually promoted by overhauling and repairing the compact disk drive 17 It is designed to confirm whether or not to overhaul and repair.

  In this way, when the secondary diagnosis control unit 50 presents the secondary diagnosis result for the client terminal 2 to the user, the primary diagnosis control unit 50 sequentially executes the processing from the next step SP227 to step SP229, and proceeds to the subsequent step SP243.

  In step SP243, the primary diagnosis control unit 50 determines whether or not the overhaul and repair of the compact disk drive 17 of the client terminal 2 is necessary based on the secondary diagnosis result.

  If a positive result is obtained in step SP243, this indicates that there is a high possibility that the compact disk drive 17 of the client terminal 2 will fail in the very near future. At this time, the primary diagnosis control unit 50 The process proceeds to step SP244.

  In step SP244, the primary diagnosis control unit 50 stores device identification information for specifying the type of the compact disk drive 17 of the client terminal 2, and requests an estimate for the overhaul and repair of the compact disk drive 17. The estimation request data is generated and transmitted to the secondary diagnosis apparatus 7 from the network interface unit 60 via the Internet 5 via the communication processing unit 59, and then the process proceeds to the next step SP245.

  At this time, in step SP343, the secondary diagnosis control unit 65 determines whether or not to finish the secondary diagnosis for the electronic device (that is, the client terminal 2 in this case).

  If a negative result is obtained in this step SP343, it is assumed that there is a high possibility that the compact disk drive 17 will fail in the near future by the secondary diagnosis for the client terminal 2, and therefore the primary diagnosis apparatus 4 This indicates that there is an inquiry about the overhaul and repair of the compact disk drive 17, and at this time, the secondary diagnosis control unit 65 proceeds to the next step SP344.

  In step SP344, the secondary diagnosis control unit 65 waits for reception of request data for request for overhaul and repair transmitted as an inquiry about overhaul and repair from the primary diagnosis device 4 to the compact disk drive 17 of the client terminal 2. When the estimate request data is received by the network interface unit 70 and taken in via the communication processing unit 71, the process proceeds to the next step SP345.

  In step SP345, the secondary diagnosis control unit 65 identifies the model or the like for the compact disk drive 17 of the client terminal 2 based on the contents of the estimate request data, and estimates the overhaul and repair for the compact disk drive 17 according to the identification result. Thus, estimate information data indicating the estimate content is generated, and the process proceeds to the next step SP346.

  As a result, in step SP346, the secondary diagnosis control unit 65 transmits the estimated information data from the network interface unit 70 to the primary diagnosis device 4 via the Internet 5 via the communication processing unit 71, and then proceeds to next step SP347.

  At this time, in step SP245, the primary diagnosis control unit 50 waits for reception of estimated information data transmitted from the secondary diagnosis device 7, and the estimated information data is received by the network interface unit 60, and the communication processing unit 59 is activated. Then, the process proceeds to the next step SP246.

  In step SP246, the primary diagnosis control unit 50 displays the estimated contents for the overhaul and repair of the compact disk drive 17 mounted on the client terminal 2 on the display unit 58 via the display processing unit 57 based on the estimated information data. Then, by presenting it to the user, it is determined whether or not to request an overhaul and repair of the compact disk drive 17.

  If an affirmative result is obtained in this step SP246, this indicates that the user has requested to request an overhaul and repair of the compact disk drive 17 via the operation input unit 54. At this time, the primary diagnosis is performed. The control unit 50 moves to the next step SP247.

  In step SP247, the primary diagnosis control unit 50 sends the overhaul / inspection request data for requesting overhaul / repair of the compact disk drive 17 from the network interface unit 60 via the communication processing unit 59 via the Internet 5 to the secondary diagnosis device 7. After executing the processing of the next step SP235, the process proceeds to step SP248, and the primary diagnosis processing procedure RT22 is terminated.

  On the other hand, if a negative result is obtained in step SP246, this indicates that the compact disc drive 17 of the client terminal 2 has been determined by the user to be disassembled and inspected and repaired via the operation input unit 54 later. This indicates that it has been requested to postpone the overhaul and repair of the disk drive 17. At this time, the primary diagnosis control unit 50 proceeds to step SP249.

  Accordingly, in step SP249, the primary diagnosis control unit 50 sends the overhaul / repair postponement data indicating the postponement of the overhaul / repair of the compact disk drive 17 from the network interface unit 60 via the communication processing unit 59 via the Internet 5 to the secondary diagnosis device. 7 and moves to step SP235.

  At this time, in step SP347, the secondary diagnosis control unit 65 waits for reception of the overhaul inspection correction request data and the overhaul inspection repair postponed data transmitted from the primary diagnosis apparatus 4, and either one of the data is transmitted to the network interface unit 70. Is received through the communication processing unit 71, the process proceeds to the next step SP348.

  In step SP348, the secondary diagnosis control unit 65 determines whether or not the data received in step SP347 is overhaul inspection / repair request data. The process proceeds to step SP349.

  As a result, in step SP349, the secondary diagnosis control unit 65 adds parts necessary for the overhaul and repair of the compact disk drive 17 of the client terminal 2 in accordance with the estimated information data for the overhaul and repair sent to the primary diagnosis device 4. After parts order data for ordering is generated and transmitted to the external parts management server from the network interface unit 70 via the communication processing unit 71, the process proceeds to the next step SP350.

  In step SP348, the secondary diagnosis control unit 65 moves to step SP350 when receiving the overhaul / repair postponement data and receiving a negative result because the overhaul / repair for the compact disk drive 17 of the client terminal 2 has been postponed.

  If a positive result is obtained in the above-described step SP343, this means that although the secondary diagnosis is performed on the client terminal 2, the compact disk drive 17 of the client terminal 2 may break down for a while. Since it is estimated that it is low, it indicates that there is no inquiry about the overhaul and repair of the compact disk drive 17 from the primary diagnosis device 4, and at this time, the secondary diagnosis control unit 65 proceeds to step SP350.

  In step SP350, the secondary diagnosis control unit 65 identifies the secondary diagnosis result for the client terminal 2 that has been subjected to the secondary diagnosis this time together with the estimated information data regarding the overhaul and repair for the compact disk drive 17 and information such as the order status of the parts. After being registered in the database in the hard disk in association with the identification information and the device identification information of the client terminal 2, the process proceeds to the next step SP351 and the secondary diagnostic processing procedure RT32 is terminated.

  In this way, in the device diagnosis system 1, the second electronic device diagnosis processing sequence by the client terminal 2, the primary diagnosis device 4, and the secondary diagnosis device 7 is terminated.

  As a result, in the second electronic device diagnosis processing sequence, data cannot be correctly read from the compact disk due to the attenuation of the laser beam due to aging with respect to the compact disk drive 17 of the client terminal 2 by the secondary diagnosis for the client terminal 2. By presuming and presenting the occurrence time of a fault, it is possible to take preventive measures in advance for the occurrence of a fault in the compact disk drive 17, thus causing the compact disk drive 17 in the client terminal 2 to suddenly fail during use. Thus, it is possible to almost certainly avoid interruption of the reproduction of the compact disc.

(2-2) Electronic Device Diagnosis Processing Sequence Applying the Primary Diagnosis Optional Request Method (2-2-1) Determination of Diagnosis Items in Secondary Diagnosis and Revision of Software Implemented in Client Terminal 2 and Hard Disk Drive 33 The third electronic device diagnostic processing sequence in which the failure occurrence time is estimated for the central processing unit 10 of the client terminal 2 in the device diagnostic system 1, in accordance with the activation request signal input via the operation input unit 15 2 is activated, according to the diagnosis request program read from the ROM 11, the same reference numerals are assigned to the corresponding parts in FIGS. 7A, 8A, and 9A, and FIGS. ) And the diagnostic request processing procedure RT12 shown in FIG.

  When the central processing unit 10 starts the diagnosis request processing procedure RT12, the central processing unit 10 waits for a primary diagnosis to be requested for the client terminal 2 in step SP121, and if the user does not normally execute various processes while the client terminal 2 is operating. When it is determined and the primary diagnosis is requested through the operation input unit 15, the process proceeds to the next step SP122.

  In step SP122, in response to the input of the primary diagnosis request signal from the operation input unit 15, the central processing unit 10 sets the setting content information, hardware operating environment information, and hardware status stored at that time in the hard disk and RAM 13. The information, the accumulated operation time information, and the revised version information are collected and used as environment information for the current client terminal 2 and temporarily stored in the hard disk for transmission. Then, the process proceeds to the next step SP123.

  In step SP123, the central processing unit 10 generates primary diagnosis arbitrary request data storing identification information together with environment information temporarily stored for transmission on the hard disk, and transmits this to the primary diagnosis apparatus 4 from the external device interface unit 30. Then, the process proceeds to the next step SP113, the processes from the step SP113 to the step SP118 are sequentially executed, and then the process proceeds to the next step SP124 to end the diagnosis request processing procedure RT12.

  At this time, the primary diagnosis control unit 50 of the primary diagnosis device 4 is the same as the corresponding part in FIG. 7B, FIG. 8B and FIG. 9B according to the primary diagnosis program stored in the ROM 51. The primary diagnosis processing procedure RT23 shown in FIGS. 21B, 22B, and 23B with reference numerals is started.

  When the primary diagnosis processing procedure RT23 is started, the primary diagnosis control unit 50 waits for reception of primary diagnosis arbitrary request data transmitted from the client terminal 2 in step SP251, and the primary diagnosis arbitrary request data is received as an external device interface. When the data is received and received by the unit 56, the process proceeds to the next step SP252.

  In step SP252, the primary diagnosis control unit 50 uses the primary diagnosis request date and time (that is, the current date and time) for the current client terminal 2 by receiving the primary diagnosis arbitrary request data as the secondary diagnosis request determination information. 2 is registered in the database in the hard disk in association with the device identification information, and the process proceeds to the next step SP212, and the processing from step SP212 to step SP222 (or step SP224) is sequentially executed, and then the next step SP253 is performed. Move.

  In step SP253, the primary diagnosis control unit 50 uses the secondary diagnosis request determination information registered in the database in the hard disk as appropriate to request the secondary diagnosis of the client terminal 2 that has undergone the primary diagnosis to the secondary diagnosis device 7. Judge whether to do.

  If an affirmative result is obtained in this step SP253, this means that it has been found that the client terminal 2 has frequently failed within a relatively short period of time based on the secondary diagnosis request determination information, or that the user has This indicates that the next diagnosis is requested, and even though it is determined by the user that a failure has occurred in the client terminal 2, the failure cannot be identified by the primary diagnosis. At this time, the primary diagnosis control unit 50 proceeds to the next step SP224, sequentially executes the processing from step SP224 to step SP235, and then proceeds to step SP254 to end the primary diagnosis processing procedure RT23.

  At this time, the secondary diagnosis control unit 65 of the secondary diagnosis apparatus 7 corresponds to the part corresponding to FIG. 7C, FIG. 8C, and FIG. 9C according to the secondary diagnosis program stored in the ROM 66. A secondary diagnosis processing procedure RT31 shown in FIGS. 21C, 22C and 23C with the same reference numerals is started, and a series of processes similar to those described above are executed.

  In this way, in the device diagnosis system 1, the third electronic device diagnosis processing sequence by the client terminal 2, the primary diagnosis device 4, and the secondary diagnosis device 7 is terminated.

  Thus, in the third electronic device diagnosis processing sequence, when the user determines that various processes are not normally executed while the client terminal 2 is operating and the primary diagnosis is requested, the client terminal 2 is subjected to the primary diagnosis. Thus, even when a plurality of electronic devices are activated almost simultaneously as compared with the case where the primary diagnosis is performed each time the electronic device is activated, the primary diagnosis apparatus 4 is requested to perform a primary diagnosis on the plurality of electronic devices. It is possible to avoid concentrating and increasing the processing load.

  In the third electronic device diagnosis processing sequence, if the software installed in the client terminal 2 is a revised version before the latest revised version, and the software itself has a defect, the client terminal 2 Even if a primary diagnosis is performed, the problem may not be identified.

  For this reason, in the third electronic device diagnosis processing sequence, when the user determines that the various processes are not normally performed while the client terminal 2 is operating, the primary diagnosis cannot identify the malfunction. By requesting the secondary diagnosis automatically, it is possible to reliably determine that the software is the revision before the latest revision by the secondary diagnosis without any trouble of the user. .

  In the third electronic device diagnosis processing sequence, when it is determined that the software installed in the client terminal 2 is a revised version before the latest revised version, the software of the client terminal 2 is determined according to the determination result. In this case, the client terminal 2 can be quickly and accurately returned to the normal state without any trouble of the user.

  Further, in the third electronic device diagnostic processing sequence, for example, when the cumulative operation time of the client terminal 2 approaches the failure occurrence time of the hard disk drive 33, the hard disk drive 33 may be likely to malfunction. Thus, the client terminal 2 may frequently malfunction within a relatively short period.

  However, in the third electronic device diagnosis processing sequence, when the client terminal 2 frequently fails in a relatively short period of time, the secondary diagnosis is automatically requested and executed. It is possible to easily cope with the occurrence of malfunction of the hard disk drive 33 by estimating the failure occurrence time almost accurately and prompting the hard disk drive 33 to be overhauled and inspected according to the estimated result of the failure occurrence time.

  In addition to this, in the third electronic device diagnosis processing sequence, when the client terminal 2 is subjected to the primary diagnosis, the secondary diagnosis can be continuously performed according to the user's request. Even when there is no failure, it is possible to estimate whether the software is the revision before the latest revision and the failure occurrence time of the hard disk drive 33. To prevent the client terminal 2 that has never been used from suddenly becoming difficult to execute various processes due to the software of the revised version earlier than the latest revised version or the hard disk drive 33 whose failure occurred. Can do.

(2-2-2) Fourth electronic device diagnosis processing sequence in which the diagnosis items in the secondary diagnosis are the revision of the software installed in the client terminal 2 and the estimation of the failure occurrence time for the compact disk drive 17 In the system 1, when the central processing unit 10 of the client terminal 2 starts up the client terminal 2 in response to the startup request signal input via the operation input unit 15, the central processing unit 10 in FIG. The diagnosis request processing procedure RT12 shown in FIGS. 24 (A), 25 (A), and 26 (A) is started by assigning the same reference numerals to the corresponding parts to FIGS. 22 (A) and 23 (A). A series of processes similar to those described above are executed.

  In addition, the primary diagnosis control unit 50 of the primary diagnosis device 4 performs the primary diagnosis program stored in the ROM 51 according to FIGS. 16 (B), 17 (B), 18 (B) and 21 (B), The primary diagnosis processing procedure RT24 shown in FIGS. 24B, 25B, and 26B, in which parts corresponding to those in FIGS. 22B and 23B are assigned the same reference numerals, is started.

  When the primary diagnosis processing procedure RT24 is started, the primary diagnosis control unit 50 sequentially executes the processing of step SP251 and step SP252, and then proceeds to step SP212 to perform the processing from step SP212 to step SP222 (or step SP224). Are sequentially executed, and then the processing of step SP253 and step SP224 is sequentially executed, and the process proceeds to step SP241.

  Then, the primary diagnosis control unit 50 sequentially executes the processing of step SP241 and step SP242 and sequentially executes the processing from step SP227 to step SP229, and then performs the processing from step SP243 to step SP247 (or step SP249). Then, the process of step SP235 is executed, and the process proceeds to step SP161, thereby completing the primary diagnosis processing procedure RT24.

  Further, the secondary diagnosis control unit 65 of the secondary diagnosis apparatus 7 has the same reference numerals in the corresponding parts in FIGS. 16C, 17C, and 18C according to the secondary diagnosis program stored in the ROM 66. The secondary diagnosis processing procedure RT32 shown in FIGS. 24C, 25C, and 26C is started, and a series of processes similar to those described above are executed.

  In this way, in the device diagnosis system 1, the fourth electronic device diagnosis processing sequence by the client terminal 2, the primary diagnosis device 4, and the secondary diagnosis device 7 is ended.

  Accordingly, in the fourth electronic device diagnosis processing sequence, the failure occurrence time is estimated and presented to the compact disk drive 17 of the client terminal 2 by the secondary diagnosis for the client terminal 2, so that the compact disk drive 17 The occurrence of a failure can be dealt with in advance, and thus it is almost certainly avoided that the compact disc drive 17 in the client terminal 2 suddenly breaks down during use and the reproduction of the compact disc is interrupted. Can do.

  Further, in the fourth electronic device diagnosis processing sequence, for example, when the cumulative operation time of the client terminal 2 approaches the failure occurrence time of the compact disk drive 17, the compact disk drive 17 may be likely to malfunction. Due to this, the client terminal 2 may frequently fail within a relatively short period.

  However, in the fourth electronic device diagnosis processing sequence, when the client terminal 2 frequently fails within a relatively short period of time, a secondary diagnosis is automatically requested and executed, and the compact disk drive 17 is executed. The failure occurrence time of the compact disk drive 17 is promptly estimated, and the compact disk drive 17 is promptly disassembled and inspected and repaired according to the estimated result of the failure occurrence time. Can do.

  Further, in the fourth electronic device diagnosis processing sequence, when the client terminal 2 is subjected to the primary diagnosis, the secondary diagnosis can be continuously performed according to the user's request. Even if it is not, it is possible to infer whether or not the software is of an earlier revision than the latest revision and the failure occurrence time of the compact disk drive 17, and almost no malfunction occurred. It is possible to avoid that the client terminal 2 having no error suddenly becomes difficult to execute various processes due to the revised version of the software before the latest revised version or the compact disk drive 17 whose failure has occurred. it can.

(3) Operation and Effect In the above configuration, when the primary diagnosis is requested for the electronic device such as the client terminal 2 in the home, the device diagnosis system 1 indicates the environment information indicating the processing execution environment of the electronic device. Is transmitted to the primary diagnostic apparatus 4 in the home, and the primary diagnosis apparatus 4 performs the primary diagnosis of the electronic device based on the contents of the environmental information.

  When the secondary diagnosis different from the primary diagnosis is required for the electronic device as a result of the primary diagnosis for the electronic device, the device diagnostic system 1 transmits the environmental information of the electronic device from the primary diagnosis device 4 to the Internet 5. By transmitting to the secondary diagnostic device 7 via the request and requesting the secondary diagnosis, the secondary diagnostic device 7 performs secondary diagnosis of the electronic device based on the contents of the environmental information.

  Therefore, the device diagnosis system 1 performs the primary diagnosis by the primary diagnosis device 4 connected to the electronic device without going through the Internet 5 and continues to the secondary diagnosis device 7 on the Internet 5 only when the secondary diagnosis is necessary. By requesting the secondary diagnosis, it is possible to prevent the diagnosis requests of a large number of electronic devices from being concentrated on the secondary diagnosis apparatus 7 in advance.

  According to the above configuration, environment information indicating the processing execution environment of the electronic device is transmitted to the primary diagnosis device 4 connected to the electronic device via the Internet 5 when a request for primary diagnosis is made to the electronic device. Thus, the primary diagnosis device 4 performs the primary diagnosis of the electronic device based on the environmental information, and only when the secondary diagnosis for the electronic device is required different from the primary diagnosis, the primary diagnosis device 4 performs the environment diagnosis. By sending information to the secondary diagnosis device 7 via the Internet 5 and requesting a secondary diagnosis, the secondary diagnosis device 7 makes a secondary diagnosis of the electronic device based on the environmental information, so that the Internet Concentration of diagnostic requests for a large number of electronic devices on the secondary diagnostic device 7 on the Internet 5 can be avoided beforehand, and thus the secondary diagnostic device 7 on the Internet 5 can be secondary diagnosed. Can processing load at the time of realizing a device diagnostic system 1 can avoid in advance to increase.

  In the device diagnosis system 1, the primary diagnosis of the electronic device is requested to the primary diagnosis device 4 every time the electronic device is started, so that the electronic device is primarily diagnosed almost regularly. It is possible to deal with the problems that have been confirmed each time, so that the electronic device can always be used in an optimal state.

  Further, in the device diagnosis system 1, when the primary diagnosis of the electronic device is arbitrarily requested by the user, the primary diagnosis device 4 is requested to perform the primary diagnosis of the electronic device by the user. When it is determined that various processes are not normally executed during operation of the electronic device, it is possible to respond quickly so that the electronic device is primarily diagnosed to solve the problem.

  Furthermore, in the device diagnosis system 1, not only the failure currently occurring is identified by the secondary diagnosis for the electronic device, but also the occurrence time of the failure that may occur in the future of the hardware of the electronic device from the present time. In addition, it is possible to prevent problems occurring at the present time with respect to the electronic device and prevent future failures, thereby making it possible to comfortably use the electronic device.

  In addition, in the device diagnostic system 1, most of the many diagnostic items for the electronic device are the diagnostic items for the primary diagnosis, and the remaining few diagnostic items are the diagnostic items for the secondary diagnosis. 7 can be further greatly reduced.

  Furthermore, in the device diagnosis system 1, the first diagnosis and the second diagnosis for the electronic device are dealt with so that the problem is immediately resolved according to the first diagnosis result and the second diagnosis result. Even if some kind of trouble has occurred, if it is not necessary to repair the hardware, or to overhaul and repair the hardware where the failure is expected, immediately after the completion of the primary diagnosis and the secondary diagnosis for the electronic device. Use can be resumed in a normal state.

  In addition, in the device diagnosis system 1, even if it is determined as a result of the primary diagnosis and the secondary diagnosis for the electronic device that the hardware needs to be repaired or the hardware is overhauled to prevent the failure. Estimate the failure repair and overhaul at that time, and order the parts necessary for the repair and overhaul of the failure, so that the fault repair and disassembly can be performed from the discovery of the failure to the hardware and the estimation of the time when the failure occurred. The time until the end of the inspection / repair can be shortened as much as possible, and the use of electronic devices can be minimized.

(4) Other Embodiments In the above-described embodiment, the primary diagnosis result and the secondary diagnosis result when the electronic device is subjected to the primary diagnosis and the secondary diagnosis are displayed on the display unit 58 of the primary diagnosis device 4. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the primary diagnosis result and the secondary diagnosis result for the electronic device are displayed as the primary diagnosis and the secondary diagnosis of the electronic device. May be presented to the user via a unit (for example, the display 23 of the client terminal 2), and in this way, immediately after the primary diagnosis is requested in response to the activation of the electronic device or during the use of the electronic device. The user can know the primary diagnosis result and the secondary diagnosis result in front of the electronic device without leaving the electronic device and immediately in front of the primary diagnosis device 4 immediately after requesting the primary diagnosis arbitrarily. it can.

  In the above-described embodiment, the case has been described in which most of the many diagnostic items for the electronic device are the diagnostic items of the primary diagnosis and the remaining few diagnostic items are the diagnostic items of the secondary diagnosis. The present invention is not limited to this, and a relatively small number of diagnostic items among a large number of diagnostic items for an electronic device are used as primary diagnostic items, and the remaining many diagnostic items are used as secondary diagnostic items. However, a primary diagnosis and a secondary diagnosis that is different from the primary diagnosis may be performed.

  In this way, the diagnostic items are shared by the primary diagnostic device 4 and the secondary diagnostic device 7 to diagnose the electronic device, rather than diagnosing the electronic device with respect to all diagnostic items by the secondary diagnostic device 7 alone. While the processing load at the time of the diagnosis is reduced, the number of diagnostic items at the time of secondary diagnosis of the electronic device in the secondary diagnosis device 7 is increased compared to the above-described embodiment, so that the electronic device in the primary diagnosis device 4 is increased. Can reduce the processing load when performing the primary diagnosis.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, the primary diagnosis request date and time for an electronic device is used as secondary diagnosis request determination information for determining whether or not there is a secondary diagnosis request for the electronic device. However, the present invention is not limited to this, but the primary diagnosis for the electronic device is automatically performed when the primary diagnosis is frequently performed within a predetermined period. The secondary diagnosis may be automatically requested every time the number of times of the primary diagnosis for the electronic device reaches a predetermined number.

  Even when the date and time of requesting the primary diagnosis for the electronic device is used as the secondary diagnosis request determination information, when the diagnosis idle period between the current primary diagnosis and the previous primary diagnosis is longer than a predetermined period, Since the software may be revised in the diagnosis idle period or the hardware may be approaching the failure occurrence time, the secondary diagnosis may be automatically requested.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the failure occurrence time is estimated for the hard disk drive 33 and the compact disk drive 17 as hardware of the electronic device in the secondary diagnosis has been described. In addition to this, the hardware of an electronic device includes a liquid crystal display (that is, a decrease in backlight illuminance due to aging, etc.), a tuner, and a circuit board on which electronic components are mounted. The failure occurrence time can be estimated for various other hardware.

  Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the electronic device diagnosis processing sequence is executed by selecting either the primary diagnosis automatic request method or the primary diagnosis arbitrary request method has been described. The invention is not limited to this, and the electronic device diagnosis processing sequence may be executed by combining both the primary diagnosis automatic request method and the primary diagnosis arbitrary request method.

  By combining the primary diagnosis automatic request method and the primary diagnosis arbitrary request method in this way, it is possible to identify and deal with a problem when the user determines that various processes are not normally performed while the electronic device is operating. In addition to this, even when the user is not aware that a defect has occurred in the electronic device, the failure is accurately detected by periodic primary diagnosis (or secondary diagnosis) every time the electronic device is activated. Thus, the electronic device can always be used in an optimal state.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, the electronic device to be diagnosed according to the present invention is a LAN-connected electronic device such as the client terminal 2 or the television receiver 3 having the computer configuration described above with reference to FIGS. Although the present invention has been described with reference to a case where the present invention is applied to a serial connection electronic device such as a device and an audio amplifier 6, the present invention is not limited to this, and a personal computer, mobile phone, PDA (Personal) Digital Assistance), information processing devices such as game machines, playback devices such as compact disc players and DVD (Digital Versatile Disc) players, and recording / playback devices such as hard disk recorders and video tape recorders. On the other hand, various other connections that can be made without going through a wide area network such as the Internet 5 It can be widely applied to the child device.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the primary diagnostic apparatus according to the present invention is applied to the primary diagnostic apparatus 4 having the computer configuration having the proxy server function described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 26 has been described. The present invention is not limited to this, and is widely applied to various other primary diagnosis apparatuses such as an information processing apparatus such as a personal computer and a router having a function connectable to a wide area network such as the Internet 5. Can do.

  Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the secondary diagnostic apparatus according to the present invention is applied to the secondary diagnostic apparatus 4 having the computer configuration described above with reference to FIGS. 1 to 26 has been described. Not limited to an information processing apparatus such as a personal computer, a secondary diagnosis apparatus 7 having the functions of the secondary diagnosis apparatus 7 described above with reference to FIG. 5 and the information presentation apparatus 8 described above with reference to FIG. The present invention can be widely applied to secondary diagnostic apparatuses.

  Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, as environment information receiving means for receiving environment information transmitted from an electronic device without going through a wide area network and indicating the processing execution environment when the electronic device executes processing, FIG. Although the case where the external device interface unit 56 of the primary diagnostic device 4 described above is applied to FIG. 26 has been described, the present invention is not limited to this and is used between the electronic device and the primary diagnostic device. Various other environment information receiving means can be widely applied, such as a wireless communication interface unit corresponding to a communication method.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, the primary diagnosis device 4 described above with reference to FIGS. 1 to 26 is used as a primary diagnosis unit for performing a primary diagnosis of an electronic device based on the environment information received by the environment information receiving unit. Although the case where the primary diagnosis control unit 50 that comprehensively controls the entire primary diagnosis device 4 is applied has been described, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the primary diagnosis for the electronic device of the primary diagnosis control unit 50 is performed. Various other primary diagnostic means such as a dedicated primary diagnostic circuit having only a function can be widely applied.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, when a secondary diagnosis different from the primary diagnosis is required for the electronic device, the transmission unit that transmits the environmental information to the secondary diagnosis apparatus via the wide area network is illustrated in FIGS. Although the case where the communication processing unit 59 and the network interface unit 60 of the primary diagnostic apparatus 4 described above with reference to FIG. 26 are applied has been described, the present invention is not limited to this, and the primary diagnostic apparatus, the secondary diagnostic apparatus, Various other transmission means can be widely applied according to the communication method using the wide area network.

  Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, as a result of transmitting the environmental information to the secondary diagnostic apparatus by the transmission means, the secondary diagnostic apparatus performs secondary diagnosis based on the environmental information and transmits it via the wide area network. The case where the communication processing unit 59 and the network interface unit 60 of the primary diagnostic apparatus 4 described above with reference to FIGS. 1 to 26 are applied as the secondary diagnostic result receiving means for receiving the secondary diagnostic result is described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and various other secondary diagnosis result receiving means can be widely applied according to the communication method using the wide area network between the primary diagnosis apparatus and the secondary diagnosis apparatus. .

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, the primary diagnosis is performed on the electronic device from the primary diagnosis device that performs the primary diagnosis of the electronic device based on the environment information indicating the processing execution environment when the electronic device executes the process. The communication processing unit 71 and the network interface unit 70 of the secondary diagnosis apparatus 7 described above with reference to FIGS. 1 to 26 are used as receiving means for receiving environment information transmitted via a wide area network when different secondary diagnosis is required. Although the case where it was made to apply was described, the present invention is not limited to this, and various other receiving means are widely used depending on the communication method using a wide area network between the secondary diagnostic apparatus and the primary diagnostic apparatus. Can be applied.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, the secondary diagnosis unit 7 described above with reference to FIGS. 1 to 26 is used as the secondary diagnosis unit that performs secondary diagnosis of the electronic device based on the environmental information received by the reception unit. Although the case where the secondary diagnosis control unit 65 that comprehensively controls the entire diagnosis apparatus 7 is applied has been described, the present invention is not limited thereto, and only the secondary diagnosis function for the electronic device of the secondary diagnosis control unit 65 is provided. Various other secondary diagnostic means can be widely applied, such as a dedicated secondary diagnostic circuit including

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, FIGS. 1 to 26 are described above as the transmission unit that transmits the secondary diagnosis result of the secondary diagnosis of the electronic device by the secondary diagnosis unit to the primary diagnosis apparatus via the wide area network. Although the case where the communication processing unit 71 and the network interface unit 70 of the secondary diagnostic apparatus 7 are applied has been described, the present invention is not limited to this, and a wide area network between the secondary diagnostic apparatus and the primary diagnostic apparatus is provided. Various other transmission means can be widely applied according to the communication method used.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, FIG. 1 to FIG. 26 are used as storage means for storing hardware failure time information indicating the accumulated operation time from the initial startup to the time of hardware failure with respect to other electronic devices. Although the case where the hard disk drive 68 of the secondary diagnostic apparatus 7 described above is applied has been described, the present invention is not limited to this, and an external recording apparatus using a semiconductor memory, a magneto-optical disk, or the like is used. Various other storage means can be widely applied.

  Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, as the statistical information generating means for generating the failure occurrence time statistical information by taking the statistics of the hardware failure time information accumulated in the accumulating means, the secondary information described above with reference to FIGS. Although the case where the failure statistical information generation unit 69 of the diagnostic apparatus 7 is applied has been described, the present invention is not limited to this, and various other statistical information generation means such as the secondary diagnosis control unit 65 are provided. Can be widely applied.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, the hard disk drive 68 of the secondary diagnostic device 7 described above with reference to FIGS. 1 to 26 is applied as the storage means for storing the revision information for the software installed in the electronic device. Although the case has been described, the present invention is not limited to this, and various other storage means can be widely applied, such as an external recording device using a semiconductor memory or a magneto-optical disk.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, FIGS. 1 to 26 are described as transmission means for transmitting environment information indicating a processing execution environment when executing processing on the device to the primary diagnosis apparatus without going through the wide area network. Although the case where the external device interface unit 30 of the client terminal 2 and the microcomputer 40 of the audio amplifier 6 are applied has been described, the present invention is not limited to this, and the wide area network between the electronic device and the primary diagnosis device Various other configurations of transmission means can be widely applied in accordance with a communication method that does not involve communication.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, as a result of transmitting the environmental information to the primary diagnostic apparatus by the transmitting means, the primary diagnosis is performed from the primary diagnostic apparatus on the basis of the environmental information, and without going through the wide area network. The case where the external device interface unit 30 of the client terminal 2 and the microcomputer 40 of the audio amplifier 6 described above with reference to FIGS. 1 to 26 are applied as receiving means for receiving the transmitted primary diagnosis result has been described. The present invention is not limited to this, and various other receiving means can be widely applied in accordance with a communication method not via a wide area network between the electronic device and the primary diagnostic apparatus.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, the display processing unit 22 and the display 23 of the client terminal 2 described above with reference to FIGS. 1 to 26 are applied as display means for displaying the primary diagnosis result received by the receiving means. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and various other display means such as a cathode ray tube or a liquid crystal display provided for each electronic device can be widely applied.

  Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the secondary diagnosis is performed on the secondary diagnosis apparatus that is connected to the primary diagnosis apparatus via the wide area network and performs a secondary diagnosis different from the primary diagnosis on the device. As secondary diagnosis request input means for inputting the requested secondary diagnosis request, the operation input unit 15 and input processing unit 16 of the client terminal 2 described above with reference to FIGS. 1 to 26, the operation input unit 46 of the audio amplifier 6, and Although the case where the input processing unit 47 is applied has been described, the present invention is not limited to this, and various other secondary diagnosis request input means can be widely applied if a secondary diagnosis request can be input. Can do.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, the secondary diagnosis request information for requesting the secondary diagnosis of the device by the secondary diagnosis apparatus is provided in a wide area in response to the secondary diagnosis request input via the secondary diagnosis request input means. The central processing unit 10 of the client terminal 2 and the microcomputer 40 of the audio amplifier 6 described above with reference to FIGS. 1 to 26 are applied as control means for controlling the transmission means so as to transmit to the primary diagnostic apparatus without going through the network. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and various other control means can be widely applied.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, the operation input unit 15 and the input processing unit 16 of the client terminal 2 and the audio amplifier 6 described above with reference to FIGS. Although the case where the operation input unit 46 and the input processing unit 47 are applied has been described, the present invention is not limited to this, and various other activation request input means can be widely applied as long as the activation request can be input. can do.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, FIGS. 1 to 26 are described as primary diagnosis request input means for inputting a primary diagnosis request for requesting the primary diagnosis of the device to the primary diagnosis apparatus. Although the case where the operation input unit 15 and the input processing unit 16 of the client terminal 2 and the operation input unit 46 and the input processing unit 47 of the audio amplifier 6 are applied has been described, the present invention is not limited to this and the primary diagnosis is performed. If a request can be input, various other primary diagnosis request input means can be widely applied.

  INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention can be used for a primary diagnosis device such as a computer that primarily diagnoses an electronic device such as a personal computer or a music player, and a secondary diagnosis device such as a computer that performs a secondary diagnosis of the electronic device.

1 is a schematic perspective view showing an embodiment of the overall configuration of a device diagnosis system according to the present invention. It is a block diagram which shows the circuit structure of a client terminal. It is a block diagram which shows the circuit structure of an audio amplifier. It is a block diagram which shows the circuit structure of a primary diagnostic apparatus. It is a block diagram which shows the circuit structure of a secondary diagnostic apparatus. It is a block diagram which shows the circuit structure of an information presentation apparatus. It is a sequence chart which shows a 1st electronic device diagnostic process sequence (1). It is a sequence chart which shows a 1st electronic device diagnostic process sequence (2). It is a sequence chart which shows a 1st electronic device diagnostic process sequence (3). It is a basic diagram which shows the structure of a 1st primary diagnosis result presentation screen. It is a basic diagram which shows the structure of a 2nd primary diagnosis result presentation screen. It is a basic diagram which shows the structure of a 1st secondary diagnosis result presentation screen. It is a basic diagram which shows the structure of a 2nd secondary diagnosis result presentation screen. It is a basic diagram which shows the structure of a 3rd secondary-diagnosis result presentation screen. It is an approximate line figure showing the composition of the 4th secondary diagnosis result presentation screen. It is a sequence chart which shows a 2nd electronic device diagnostic process sequence (1). It is a sequence chart which shows a 2nd electronic device diagnostic process sequence (2). It is a sequence chart which shows a 2nd electronic device diagnostic process sequence (3). It is an approximate line figure showing the composition of the 5th secondary diagnosis result presentation screen. It is an approximate line figure showing the composition of the 6th secondary diagnosis result presentation screen. It is a sequence chart which shows a 3rd electronic device diagnostic process sequence (1). It is a sequence chart which shows a 3rd electronic device diagnostic process sequence (2). It is a sequence chart which shows a 3rd electronic device diagnostic process sequence (3). It is a sequence chart which shows a 4th electronic device diagnostic process sequence (1). It is a sequence chart which shows a 4th electronic device diagnostic process sequence (2). It is a sequence chart which shows a 4th electronic device diagnostic process sequence (3).

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Device diagnostic system, 2 ... Client terminal, 3 ... Television receiver, 4 ... Primary diagnostic device, 5 ... Internet, 6 ... Audio amplifier, 7 ... Secondary diagnostic device, 10 ... ... Central processing unit, 15, 46, 54 ... Operation input unit, 16, 47, 55 ... Input processing unit, 22, 57 ... Display processing unit, 23 ... Display, 30, 56 ... External device interface unit , 40... Microcomputer, 50... Primary diagnosis control unit, 59, 71... Communication processing unit, 60, 70... Network interface unit, 58. ... Hard disk drive 69 ... Failure statistics information generator, RT11, RT12 ... Diagnosis request processing procedure, RT21, RT22, RT23, RT24 ... Primary diagnosis processing procedure, RT31, R 32 ...... secondary diagnosis processing procedure.

Claims (17)

Environment information receiving means for receiving environment information transmitted from an electronic device without going through a wide area network and indicating processing execution environment when the electronic device executes processing;
Primary diagnostic means for primary diagnosis of the electronic device based on the environmental information received by the environmental information receiving means;
Transmitting means for transmitting the environmental information to the secondary diagnostic apparatus via the wide area network when a secondary diagnosis different from the primary diagnosis is required for the electronic device;
As a result of transmitting the environmental information to the secondary diagnostic apparatus by the transmission means, the secondary diagnosis of the electronic device is performed based on the environmental information from the secondary diagnostic apparatus and transmitted via the wide area network. A primary diagnostic apparatus comprising: a secondary diagnostic result receiving means for receiving a secondary diagnostic result. The environmental information receiving means
Receiving the environmental information transmitted from the electronic device without passing through the wide area network and identification information for identifying the environmental information;
The transmission means is
The environmental information and the identification information are transmitted to the secondary diagnosis apparatus via the wide area network when the electronic device requires the secondary diagnosis different from the primary diagnosis. Item 1. The primary diagnostic apparatus according to Item 1. The transmission means is
The primary diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the environmental information is transmitted to the secondary diagnostic apparatus via the wide area network in response to a secondary diagnostic request input from the outside. The transmission means is
The environment information is transmitted to the secondary diagnostic apparatus via the wide area network according to a primary diagnostic result of the primary diagnostic of the electronic device by the primary diagnostic means. Primary diagnostic device. A secondary diagnosis different from the primary diagnosis is required for the electronic device from a primary diagnosis device that performs a primary diagnosis of the electronic device based on environment information indicating a processing execution environment when the electronic device executes processing. Receiving means for receiving the environmental information, sometimes transmitted over a wide area network;
Secondary diagnostic means for performing the secondary diagnosis of the electronic device based on the environmental information received by the receiving means;
Transmitting means for transmitting a secondary diagnosis result of the secondary diagnosis of the electronic device by the secondary diagnosis means to the primary diagnosis apparatus via the wide area network. Storage means for storing hardware failure time information indicating the cumulative operation time from the initial startup to the time of hardware failure for another electronic device;
Statistical information generation means for generating failure occurrence time statistical information by taking statistics of the hardware failure time information stored in the storage means,
The secondary diagnostic means is
Based on the accumulated operation time information indicating the accumulated operation time of the electronic device included in the environmental information of the electronic device received by the receiving unit and the failure occurrence timing statistical information generated by the statistical information generating unit. 6. The secondary diagnosis of the electronic device is performed to estimate a hardware failure occurrence time for the electronic device, and the estimated failure occurrence time is used as the secondary diagnosis result. Secondary diagnostic device. The secondary diagnostic means is
When the failure occurrence time estimated with respect to the hardware of the electronic device to be subjected to the secondary diagnosis is within a predetermined period, the estimated failure occurrence time is indicated, and the hardware The secondary diagnostic apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the secondary diagnostic result that prompts overhaul and repair is generated. Storage means for storing revision information for the software installed in the electronic device;
The secondary diagnostic means is
At the time of the secondary diagnosis for the electronic device, the revision information of the software installed in the electronic device included in the environmental information of the electronic device received by the receiving unit, and the storage unit By comparing with the stored revision information, it is determined whether the software installed in the electronic device is the latest revision, and the determination result is the secondary diagnosis result. The secondary diagnostic apparatus according to claim 5. Transmitting means for transmitting environment information indicating a processing execution environment when processing is performed by the device to the primary diagnosis apparatus without going through the wide area network;
As a result of transmitting the environmental information to the primary diagnostic device by the transmission means, the primary diagnostic device was primarily diagnosed based on the environmental information from the primary diagnostic device and transmitted without going through the wide area network. Receiving means for receiving a primary diagnosis result;
Display means for displaying the primary diagnosis result received by the receiving means;
A secondary diagnosis which is connected to the primary diagnosis apparatus via the wide area network and requests the secondary diagnosis apparatus to perform a secondary diagnosis different from the primary diagnosis for the device. Secondary diagnosis request input means for inputting a request;
In response to the secondary diagnosis request input via the secondary diagnosis request input means, secondary diagnosis request information for requesting the secondary diagnosis of the device by the secondary diagnosis device is transmitted via the wide area network. An electronic device comprising: control means for controlling the transmission means so as to transmit to the primary diagnostic apparatus without any further. It has a start request input means for inputting a start request for the device,
The control means includes
In response to the activation request input via the activation request input means, the transmission means is controlled to transmit the environmental information to the primary diagnostic apparatus without going through the wide area network. The electronic device according to claim 9. Primary diagnosis request input means for inputting a primary diagnosis request for requesting the primary diagnosis of the device to the primary diagnostic device;
The control means includes
In response to the primary diagnosis request input via the primary diagnosis request input means, the transmission means is controlled so as to transmit the environment information to the primary diagnosis apparatus without going through the wide area network. The electronic device according to claim 9. An environment information receiving step for receiving environment information indicating a processing execution environment transmitted from the electronic device without going through the wide area network when the electronic device executes processing;
A primary diagnosis step of performing a primary diagnosis of the electronic device based on the received environmental information;
A transmission step of transmitting the environmental information to a secondary diagnostic apparatus via the wide area network when a secondary diagnosis different from the primary diagnosis is required for the electronic device;
As a result of transmitting the environmental information to the secondary diagnostic device, the secondary diagnostic result is transmitted from the secondary diagnostic device based on the environmental information to the secondary diagnosis of the electronic device and transmitted via the wide area network. A secondary diagnostic result receiving step for receiving the primary diagnostic method. A secondary diagnosis different from the primary diagnosis is required for the electronic device from a primary diagnosis device that performs a primary diagnosis of the electronic device based on environment information indicating a processing execution environment when the electronic device executes processing. A receiving step for receiving the environmental information sometimes transmitted over a wide area network;
A secondary diagnostic step of performing the secondary diagnosis of the electronic device based on the received environmental information;
A secondary diagnostic method comprising: a transmission step of transmitting a secondary diagnosis result of the secondary diagnosis for the electronic device to the primary diagnostic device via the wide area network. An environment information transmission step of transmitting environment information indicating a processing execution environment when the processing is executed by the electronic device to the primary diagnosis apparatus without going through the wide area network;
As a result of transmitting the environmental information to the primary diagnostic device, the primary diagnostic result is transmitted from the primary diagnostic device based on the environmental information to the primary device and transmitted without going through the wide area network. Receiving step for receiving,
A display step for displaying the received primary diagnosis result;
As a result of displaying the primary diagnosis result, the secondary diagnostic apparatus is connected to the primary diagnostic apparatus via the wide area network and performs a secondary diagnosis different from the primary diagnosis on the electronic device. In response to the secondary diagnosis request input via the secondary diagnosis request input means for inputting the secondary diagnosis request for requesting the secondary diagnosis, the secondary of the electronic device by the secondary diagnosis device A diagnostic request method comprising: a secondary diagnosis request transmission step of transmitting secondary diagnosis request information for requesting diagnosis to the primary diagnosis device without going through the wide area network. For information processing equipment
An environment information receiving step for receiving environment information indicating a processing execution environment transmitted from the electronic device without going through the wide area network when the electronic device executes processing;
A primary diagnosis step of performing a primary diagnosis of the electronic device based on the received environmental information;
A transmission step of transmitting the environmental information to the secondary diagnostic apparatus via the wide area network when a secondary diagnosis different from the primary diagnosis is required for the electronic device;
As a result of transmitting the environmental information to the secondary diagnostic device, the secondary diagnostic result is transmitted from the secondary diagnostic device based on the environmental information to the secondary diagnosis of the electronic device and transmitted via the wide area network. A primary diagnostic program for executing a secondary diagnostic result receiving step for receiving information. For information processing equipment
A secondary diagnosis different from the primary diagnosis is required for the electronic device from a primary diagnosis device that performs a primary diagnosis of the electronic device based on environment information indicating a processing execution environment when the electronic device executes processing. A receiving step for receiving the environmental information sometimes transmitted over a wide area network;
A secondary diagnostic step of performing the secondary diagnosis of the electronic device based on the received environmental information;
A secondary diagnostic program for executing a transmission step of transmitting a secondary diagnostic result of the secondary diagnostic for the electronic device to the primary diagnostic apparatus via the wide area network. For information processing equipment
An environment information transmission step of transmitting environment information indicating a processing execution environment when processing is performed in the apparatus to the primary diagnosis apparatus without going through the wide area network;
As a result of transmitting the environmental information to the primary diagnostic device, a primary diagnostic result is transmitted from the primary diagnostic device based on the environmental information to the primary diagnosis of the device and transmitted via the wide area network. Receiving step for receiving,
A display step for displaying the received primary diagnosis result;
As a result of displaying the primary diagnosis result, the secondary diagnostic apparatus is connected to the primary diagnostic apparatus via the wide area network and performs a secondary diagnosis different from the primary diagnosis on the apparatus. In response to the secondary diagnosis request input via the secondary diagnosis request input means for inputting the secondary diagnosis request for requesting the secondary diagnosis, the secondary of the apparatus by the secondary diagnosis device A diagnostic request method program for executing a secondary diagnosis request transmission step of transmitting secondary diagnosis request information for requesting diagnosis to the primary diagnosis apparatus without going through the wide area network.

Images