JP2007026252A - Maintenance system, program, and method for controlling maintenance system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To inhibit execution of a program by a client terminal based on date and time information in a maintenance system consisting of a client terminal and a server for maintaining the client terminal. <P>SOLUTION: In this maintenance system consisting of the client terminal 20 and the server 40, the server 40 comprises a program storage means 81 which store various programs for maintaining the terminal 20 and a job creation means 82 which creates a job for directing maintenance to the terminal 20 in association with the program, the terminal 20 has a job acquisition means 92 which acquires the job from the server 40 and a job execution means 93 which executes the job acquired from the server 40, where the job includes execution permission information regarding permission date and time to permit execution of the job by the job execution means 93, and the job execution means 93 executes the job based on the execution permission information. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a maintenance system, a program, and a maintenance system control method including a client terminal and a server that maintains the client terminal.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a maintenance system that performs maintenance on a client terminal installed at a certain location by using a server connected to the client terminal via a network is widely known (for example, see Patent Document 1). In this type of system, a program for performing maintenance of the client terminal, such as dealing with a malfunction of the client terminal or software update, can be provided from the server to the client terminal via the network. This saves you the trouble of going to the installation site and running the program. Therefore, regardless of the number of client terminals and the installation location, it is possible to maintain the client terminals very efficiently.
JP 2003-233512 A

  By the way, in the above maintenance system, there is a case where it is desired to prohibit the execution of the program by the client terminal based on the date / time information. For example, in a maintenance system consisting of a client terminal installed in each store and a server that maintains the terminal of each store and is installed in the headquarters that controls each store, a program that is applied only during a limited sale period When the server is provided, if the client terminal cannot execute the program within the sale period for some reason and tries to execute the program after the sale period ends, it is necessary to prevent this. However, in the conventional system, it is impossible to prohibit the execution of the program by the client terminal based on the date information.

  In view of the above problems, the present invention provides a maintenance system, a program, and a maintenance system capable of prohibiting execution of a program by a client terminal based on date / time information in a maintenance system including a client terminal and a server that maintains the client terminal. It is an object of the present invention to provide a control method.

  A maintenance system of the present invention is a maintenance system that includes a client terminal and a server that is connected to the client terminal via a network and performs maintenance of the client terminal. Program storage means for storing various programs for performing the job, and job generation means for generating a job for issuing a maintenance command to the client terminal in association with the program, wherein the client terminal acquires the job from the server And job execution means for executing a job acquired from the server. The job includes execution permission information related to a permission date and time for permitting job execution by the job execution means. The job execution means The job is executed based on information.

  Similarly, the maintenance system control method of the present invention is a maintenance system control method that includes a client terminal and a server that is connected to the client terminal via a network and that maintains the client terminal. The server executes a program storage step for storing various programs for performing maintenance of the client terminal, and a job generation step for generating a job for issuing a maintenance command to the client terminal in association with the program. The job acquisition step for acquiring a job from the server and the job execution step for executing the job acquired from the server are executed, and the job has execution permission information related to the permission date and time when the job execution means is permitted to execute the job. Included in the job execution step, execution permission information Based wherein the job is executed.

  According to these configurations, since the job execution means executes the job based on the execution permission information included in the job, the execution date / time of the job itself is the date / time permitted in the execution permission information, or the start to permit execution It can be within the range from the date and time to the end date and time. Therefore, the execution date / time of the job (program) by the client terminal can be prohibited based on the date / time information.

  In this case, it is preferable that the execution permission information includes information regarding the expiration date of the job.

  According to this configuration, since the job execution unit executes the job based on the expiration date of the job, the job is not executed if the expiration date exceeds the expiration date. Therefore, since the job can be validated only within a certain period, it is possible to prevent the job from being executed during an unintended period (after the expiration date).

  In these cases, it is preferable that the execution permission information includes information related to a time zone in which job execution is permitted.

  According to this configuration, the job execution unit executes the job based on a time period during which the job is allowed to be executed (for example, 1 to 2 o'clock, etc.), so that the job can be executed only in a specific time period. It becomes possible.

  In these cases, it is preferable that the server further includes permission date setting means for setting a permission date, and the job generation means generates a job including the set permission date.

  According to this configuration, since it is possible to set the permitted date and time such as the expiration date of the job and the time period during which the job is permitted, the system administrator can set the expiration date according to the characteristics of the job, Depending on the usage (load) status of the client terminal, it is possible to set a time period for executing the job.

  In these cases, the client terminal further includes job transmission request means for requesting the server to transmit a job, and the server transmits the generated job to the client terminal in response to the transmission request by the job transmission request means. It is preferable to further include a job transmission unit, and the job transmission unit preferably stops the transmission of the job when the expiration date of the job to be transmitted is exceeded.

  According to this configuration, when the expiration date of the job has exceeded, the server does not send the job to the client terminal, so that it is possible to reliably prevent the job whose expiration date has been exceeded from being executed. Therefore, useless processing such as sending an expired job can be omitted.

  Further, in these cases, there are a plurality of client terminals, and the client terminals are classified into predetermined groups, and it is preferable that the job generation unit generates a job in units of groups.

  According to this configuration, it is possible to generate a job for each client terminal classification and set the permitted date and time. For example, when client terminals are classified for each installation location, if the job expiration date differs for each installation location, the job expiration date can be set for each group by generating a job for each group. As a result, it is possible to efficiently generate a job and set a permitted date and time.

  Another maintenance system of the present invention is a maintenance system including a client terminal and a server that is connected to the client terminal via a network and performs maintenance of the client terminal. The server is a client terminal. A program storage means for storing various programs for performing maintenance, and a job generation means for generating a job for issuing a maintenance command to the client terminal in association with the program. The client terminal is prohibited from executing a job. It has a prohibition date information storage unit for storing prohibition date information regarding date and time, and a job execution unit for executing a job based on the prohibition date information.

  Similarly, another maintenance system control method of the present invention includes a client terminal and a server connected to the client terminal via a network and a server for maintaining the client terminal. The server executes a program storage step for storing various programs for maintaining the client terminal, and a job generation step for generating a job for issuing a maintenance command to the client terminal in association with the program. The terminal executes a prohibition date information storage step for storing prohibition date information related to a prohibition date for prohibiting job execution, and a job execution step for executing a job based on the prohibition date information.

  According to these configurations, the client terminal stores the prohibition date / time information regarding the prohibition date / time when the job execution is prohibited, and the job execution unit executes the job at a date / time not corresponding to the stored prohibition date / time information. Execution can be limited to outside the prohibited date.

  In this case, it is preferable that the client terminal further includes prohibited date / time setting means for setting the prohibited date / time.

  According to this configuration, it is possible to set a prohibition date and time for prohibiting job execution on the client terminal side in consideration of the usage (load) status of the client terminal. For example, when the client terminal is installed in a store, the prohibited date and time can be set in consideration of the opening time, closing time, busy time, and the like.

  The program of the present invention causes a computer to function as each means in the maintenance system described in any one of the above.

  According to this configuration, it is possible to provide a program for prohibiting execution of the program by the client terminal based on the date / time information.

  Hereinafter, a maintenance system, a program, and a maintenance system control method according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The maintenance system of the present invention comprises a client terminal installed at a predetermined location and a server connected to the client terminal via a network and performing maintenance of the client terminal. Therefore, the following description will be made by applying the present invention to a maintenance system composed of a POS terminal installed at each store for settlement processing and a server installed at the headquarters that controls each store to maintain the POS terminal.

  FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram of a maintenance system 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the maintenance system 10 is composed of one or more POS terminals 20 (only two are shown) and a server 40 that maintains these POS terminals 20.

  The server 40 stores various maintenance programs MP for the purpose of maintaining the POS terminal 20, and provides the maintenance program MP to the POS terminal 20 as necessary. The various maintenance commands from the server 40 to each POS terminal 20 are all realized in the form of jobs. When the server 40 provides the maintenance program MP to the POS terminal 20, the server 40 sends the job to the maintenance program MP. The job generated in association is transmitted to the target POS terminal 20. The maintenance program MP includes a program for the purpose of solving problems and upgrading of the settlement processing program CP and the terminal maintenance program TMP of the POS terminal 20, and the POS terminal 20 that is required when the POS terminal 20 is replaced. A program for reading the inside of the memory is included. In the present embodiment, a program for generating the above-described job, transmitting the job to the POS terminal 20, and performing registration processing and registration deletion processing of the POS terminal 20 described later is also referred to as a “maintenance program”.

  The POS terminal 20 periodically accesses the server 40, for example once every hour, and checks whether a job addressed to itself has been generated. When a job addressed to itself is generated, the server 40 is requested to transmit the job, and when the job transmitted in response to the request is acquired, the maintenance program associated with the acquired job Run the MP.

  Further, the control configuration of the server 40 and the POS terminal 20 constituting the maintenance system 10 will be described. As illustrated, the server 40 includes an input device 41 such as a keyboard and a mouse, a display 42 that displays input data and processing results, a hard disk 43 (hereinafter referred to as “HD”), a network 60 such as a LAN and the Internet. Are connected to an input / output interface 45, respectively.

  The HD 43 stores the above-described maintenance program MP, POS terminal information PI (see FIG. 3) related to the POS terminal 20 registered as a maintenance target of the server 40, and setting information 54 for initial setting of the POS terminal 20. Yes. The setting information 54 includes, for example, image data to be printed on a receipt, initial setting values of the settlement processing program CP and the terminal maintenance program TMP that the POS terminal 20 has. Further, execution detail information 52 (see FIG. 11) including program progress information and execution results transmitted from the POS terminal 20 and access information 53 regarding the access date and time of the POS terminal 20 are stored for each POS terminal 20. . In addition to these, the HD 43 incorporates an operating system serving as basic software and drivers for controlling various devices (all not shown).

  The server 40 further includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 46, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 47, and a RAM (Random Access Memory) 48, which are connected to the input / output interface 45 via an internal bus 49. . The ROM 47 stores a control program for controlling various processes such as a registration process of the POS terminal 20 by the CPU 46 and also stores various control data.

  The input / output interface 45 incorporates a logic circuit that complements the functions of the CPU 46 and handles interface signals with various peripheral circuits. The data and control signals output from the CPU 46 to the internal bus 49 are output as they are or after being processed in conjunction with the CPU 46. With the above configuration, the CPU 46 inputs various signals / data from each unit in the server 40 via the input / output interface 45 in accordance with the control program in the ROM 47, and in the RAM 48 based on the inputted various signals / data. These various data are processed and various signals and data are output to each part in the server 40 via the input / output interface 45 to control various processes.

  On the other hand, the POS terminal 20 has almost the same components as the server 40, and includes an input device 21, a display 22, an HD 23, a communication interface 24, an input / output interface 25, an internal bus 26, a CPU 27, a ROM 28, and a RAM 29. In particular, the input device 21 includes a keyboard, a barcode reader, a card reader, and the like. The contents of sales are acquired by keyboard input or reading by a barcode reader and a card reader, and a product name, sales amount, etc. are displayed on the display 22. To do. The HD 23 stores POS terminal information PI (see FIG. 3), which is information relating to the POS terminal 20 itself, and also a terminal maintenance program for maintaining the POS terminal 20 itself based on a maintenance command from the server 40. A TMP, a payment processing program CP for performing payment processing, and the like are stored, and the CPU 27 performs payment processing and processing for maintaining itself based on the payment processing program 30 and the terminal maintenance program MP.

  Here, processing related to registration of the POS terminal 20 in the server 40 and deletion of the POS terminal 20 registered in the server 40 will be described. FIG. 2 is a functional configuration diagram of the maintenance system 10 in these processes.

  As shown in the figure, the POS terminal 20 includes a POS terminal information transmission unit 61 and a registration deletion request transmission unit 62. When registering the POS terminal 20 in the server 40, the POS terminal information transmitting means 61 transmits the POS terminal information PI (see FIGS. 1 and 3) stored in the POS terminal 20 as information necessary for registration to the server 40. . Further, the registration deletion request transmission means 62 requests the server 40 to delete its own registration when it becomes necessary to delete the registration of the POS terminal 20 due to terminal replacement or the like. The POS terminal information transmission means 61 and the registration deletion request transmission means 62 are such that the CPU 27 processes various data according to the control program in the ROM 28 and the terminal maintenance program TMP of the HD 23 (both see FIG. 1), and further, the communication interface 24, etc. It is realized by cooperating with.

  On the other hand, the server 40 includes a POS terminal information storage unit 65, a POS terminal registration unit 66, a priority order designation unit 67, a classification information update unit 68, a setting information storage unit 69, a setting information transmission unit 70, a registration deletion unit 71, a maintenance unit. 72. The POS terminal information storage unit 65 stores the POS terminal information PI received from the POS terminal 20 in the HD 43. Further, the POS terminal registration unit 66 performs a process of registering the POS terminal 20 in the server 40 based on the POS terminal information PI in the HD 43. Although details will be described later, the POS terminal registration unit 66 registers the POS terminals 20 by classifying them into groups based on the received POS terminal information PI. This grouping is performed in a hierarchy based on a plurality of category information CI (see FIG. 3) included in the POS terminal information PI, and the priority order specifying means 67 specifies the priority order of the category information CI with respect to this hierarchy. It is a means to do.

  In addition, the classification information update unit 68 differs in the classification information GI (see FIG. 3) of the stored POS terminal information PI and the classification information GI included in the received POS terminal information PI for a specific POS terminal 20. In this case, the stored classification information GI is updated to the contents of the received classification information GI. Further, the setting information storage unit 69 stores setting information 54 (see FIG. 1) relating to the initial setting of the POS terminal 20 to be maintained by the server 40, and the setting information transmission unit 70 receives the POS terminal information PI. Is used as a trigger to transmit the stored setting information 54 to the POS terminal 20. Further, the registration deletion unit 71 deletes the registration of the POS terminal 20 registered in the server 40. The registration deletion processing of the POS terminal 20 by the registration deletion means 71 is performed when the elapsed time from the previous access to the server 40 by the POS terminal 20 exceeds a predetermined time and when the registration deletion request transmission means 62 described above performs registration. It is executed when a deletion request is received (details will be described later).

  The maintenance unit 72 executes various processes related to the maintenance of the POS terminal 20 according to the classification of the POS terminal 20 registered in the server 40, such as generating the above-described job and transmitting it to the POS terminal 20. The POS terminal information storage unit 65 and the setting information storage unit 69 are mainly composed of, for example, the HD 43 (see FIG. 1). The POS terminal registration unit 66, the priority order specifying unit 67, the classification information updating unit 68, the setting In the information transmission means 70, the registration deletion means 71, and the maintenance means 72, the CPU 46 calculates various data according to the control program in the ROM 47 and the maintenance program MP of the HD 43 (both see FIG. 1), and further the input device 41 and the communication interface 44. It is realized by executing the process in cooperation with the.

  Further, the registration procedure of the POS terminal 20 to be maintained by the server 40 by the POS terminal registration unit 66 will be specifically described with reference to FIGS. First, the POS terminal information PI stored in the POS terminal 20 will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the POS terminal information PI includes identification information UI for uniquely identifying the POS terminal 20 and classification information GI that is information related to the classification of the POS terminal 20. The identification information UI corresponds to, for example, the MAC address of the POS terminal 20, and the classification information GI needs, for example, the name of the person in charge and the date of introduction in addition to the computer name, model name, and installation location of the POS terminal 20. A plurality of category information CI such as comments that can arbitrarily input items and the like are included, and this classification information GI is input to the POS terminal 20 when the user performs a predetermined operation on the POS terminal 20. This classification information GI is mainly information for the server 40 to classify and register the POS terminal 20, and is configured so that the server 40 can identify each category such as “model name” and “installation location”. In addition, items of the POS terminal information PI (identification information UI, classification information GI) whose information may change (generally, installation location, comments, etc.) are configured to be overwritten as necessary. ing. The POS terminal information PI is basically transmitted at the time of registration in the server 40 when the POS terminal 20 is newly introduced. Even when the classification information is changed, such as when the installation location is changed. It is transmitted to the server 40 as needed.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a flow of registering the POS terminal 20 in the server 40. As shown in the figure, first, the POS terminal 20 transmits POS terminal information PI (see FIG. 3) to the server 40 (S01). This transmission process may be automatically executed after the connection setting to the server 40 is completed in the POS terminal 20, or may be configured to be executed by a predetermined key operation by the user of the POS terminal as a trigger. When the server 40 receives the POS terminal information PI from the POS terminal 20 (S02), the server 40 has the same identification information UI included in the received POS terminal information PI from the stored POS terminal information PI. The identification information UI is searched (S03).

  If the same identification information UI is not found as a result of the search (S04: No), the identification information UI of the received POS terminal information PI and the classification information GI are stored in association with each other (S05). On the other hand, when the same identification information UI is found (S04: Yes), the server 40 overwrites and stores the classification information GI stored in association with the identification information UI with the contents of the received classification information GI ( Update) (S06). When these processes are completed, all the POS terminals 20 registered in the server 40 are displayed by classification on the POS terminal list screen G1 (see FIG. 5) based on the latest POS terminal information PI (S07). Also, the setting information 54 (see FIG. 1) and a notification of processing completion are transmitted to the transmission source POS terminal 20 (S08). The POS terminal 20 stores the received setting information 54 and completes the process upon receiving a notification from the server 40 (S09). Note that the server 40 may store the setting information 54 by classification, and transmit the setting information 54 based on the received classification information GI. “Registering the POS terminal 20 in the server 40” means performing a series of these processes.

  As described above, the server 40 groups and registers the POS terminals 20 for each classification based on the POS terminal information PI (classification information GI). FIG. 5 shows a POS terminal list screen G 1 that displays a list of all POS terminals 20 registered in the server 40. As shown in the figure, the POS terminal list screen G1 is mainly composed of four blocks. A list display block 201 for displaying all POS terminals 20 registered in the server 40 for each classification, and a list display block 201. The detailed display block 202 for displaying details of the POS terminal 20 in the selected state, the job list block 203 for displaying a list of jobs generated for each POS terminal 20, and the category information CI regarding the classification of the POS terminals 20 And a priority order designation block 204 for designating the priority order (see FIG. 3). Although illustration is omitted, designation information related to designation in the priority order designation block 204 is also stored in the HD 43 of the server 40.

  First, the priority designation block 204 will be described. In the priority designation block 204, a list box L1 for designating the category information CI having the highest priority and the category information CI having the second highest priority for the grouping in the list display block 201 is arranged. Yes. For example, when the user clicks on the list box L1, a plurality of category information CI included in the classification information GI is displayed as a list, and one category information CI is designated as appropriate from among the list. In the figure, the “installation location” category is designated for the first category with the highest priority, and the “model name” category is designated for the second category with the second highest priority.

  In addition, “person in charge”, “type of CPU”, and the like may be added as category information CI. Further, it may be set in detail up to lower layers such as the third rank, the fourth rank, etc. according to the number of category information CIs. In addition, the method for specifying the priority order is not limited to this example, and a configuration in which “1” or “2” is directly input as the priority order for each category information may be used. Further, in addition to the grouping priority order, a sort condition (for example, display in order of registration date) in the display of the list display block 201 may be specified.

  In the list display block 201, folders representing category information are displayed in a tree display (hierarchical display) in order from the upper layer based on the designation in the priority order designation block 204, and the POS terminal 20 is displayed with an icon and a computer name. It is displayed as a tree in the lowest layer of the category to which it belongs. That is, when displaying the POS terminal list screen G1, the server 40 first classifies and classifies the POS terminals 20 according to the designation information stored in the HD 43 based on the category information CI designated with the highest priority. In each group, the POS terminals 20 are further classified based on the category information CI that is designated as the second highest priority. In the figure, the POS terminal 20 is first classified into the “Tokyo” group and the “Osaka” group based on the “installation location” category information CI, and further, based on the “model name” category information CI, the “Tokyo” group and “ Each of the “Osaka” groups is further classified into an “X-1” group and an “X-2” group. Further, after registration of the POS terminal 20, an operator (administrator) can arbitrarily create a folder and move the POS terminal 20 to the created folder.

  The detail display block 202 is a screen for displaying detailed information regarding the POS terminal 20 selected in the list display block 201, and the computer name and MAC address of the POS terminal 20, the version of the payment processing program CP and the terminal maintenance program TMP. Detailed information regarding the POS terminal 20 such as the type and speed of the CPU 27 is displayed. Note that all of these pieces of information are included in the POS terminal information PI (see FIG. 3), although some are not shown. Further, not only when the POS terminal 20 is registered, by generating a job for acquiring the POS terminal information PI from the server 40, the server 40 can acquire the POS terminal information PI at an arbitrary timing. Yes.

  In the job list block 203, as a list of jobs generated for the POS terminal 20, the status indicating the job execution status, the computer name of the POS terminal 20 to be executed, the job name, the job generation date and time, the job The execution date and time and the expiration date are displayed for each POS terminal 20. Details of job generation processing by the server 40 and job execution processing by the POS terminal 20 will be described later. In addition, a menu M such as “registration”, “job”, “version”, and “end” is arranged at the top of the POS terminal list screen G1. The “registration” menu is a menu for an operator to manually register the POS terminal 20, and the “job” menu is a menu for generating a job. The “end” menu is used to end the display of the POS terminal list screen G1. Further, in order to improve user operability, a shortcut icon A for newly creating a folder or manually deleting registration of the POS terminal 20 is arranged at the bottom of these menus.

  Note that the registration of the POS terminal 20 can be manually deleted, or the server 40 can automatically delete it. Hereinafter, the registration deletion process of the POS terminal 20 automatically performed by the server 40 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. The server 40 stores access information related to the date and time when the POS terminal 20 accessed the server 40 in the HD 43 for each POS terminal 20, and the elapsed time from the previous access at a predetermined timing (for example, once a day). Time is measured for each POS terminal 20 (S11). Then, it is determined whether or not there is a POS terminal 20 whose elapsed time from the previous access exceeds a predetermined time (for example, one month) (S12). If there is a POS terminal 20 exceeding the predetermined time (S12: Yes), the registration of the POS terminal 20 is deleted (S13). On the other hand, when there is no POS terminal 20 exceeding the predetermined time (S12: No), the process is terminated as it is. “Deleting registration” means deleting the POS terminal information PI of the POS terminal 20 to be deleted, stored in the HD 43. In addition, it is preferable that the “predetermined timing” for measuring the elapsed time from the previous access and the “predetermined time” serving as a threshold for deletion of registration can be arbitrarily set by an operator (administrator). In addition, when the registration is deleted, it is preferable to display the deletion history etc. so that the operator (administrator) can confirm the fact.

  Also, the registration deletion request transmitting means 62 (see FIG. 2) transmits a registration deletion request for the POS terminal 20 to request its own registration deletion to the server 40. Upon receiving this request, the server 40 receives the request. It is also possible to delete 20 registrations. This registration deletion request is executed with a predetermined operation by the user of the POS terminal 20 as a trigger.

  As described above, in the maintenance system 10 according to the present embodiment, the server 40 acquires the classification information GI related to the classification of the terminal in addition to the identification information UI for identifying the terminal from the POS terminal 20, and the acquired classification information Since the POS terminals 20 are grouped and registered according to classification based on the GI, detailed information about the registered POS terminals 20 can be grasped on the server 40 side, and each POS terminal 20 can be efficiently managed. Is possible.

  Next, processing related to generation of a job for executing various maintenance commands from the server 40 to the POS terminal 20, transmission of the generated job to the POS terminal 20, and execution of the job by the POS terminal 20 will be described. explain. FIG. 7 is a functional configuration diagram of the maintenance system 10 in these processes.

  As shown in the figure, the server 40 has a program storage means 81 for storing various maintenance programs MP (see FIG. 1) for the purpose of maintaining the POS terminal 20, and various maintenance commands to the POS terminal 20. Job generation means 82 for generating a job to be performed, permission date / time setting means 83 for setting a permission date / time for permitting execution of the job, and job transmission means 84 for transmitting the generated job to the POS terminal 20. ing. The main part of the program storage means 81 is composed of the HD 43 (see FIG. 1). The permission date / time setting means 83 performs setting related to the permission date / time when the job execution by the POS terminal 20 is permitted. In addition, the job generation unit 82 associates the maintenance program MP to generate various maintenance commands to the POS terminal 20, and further generates a job including execution permission information related to the set permission date and time.

  Then, the job transmission unit 84 transmits the generated job to the target POS terminal 20. Note that the job generation unit 82, the permitted date and time setting unit 83, and the job transmission unit 84 have the CPU 46 calculate various data according to the control program in the ROM 47 (see FIG. 1) and the maintenance program MP (see FIG. 1) of the HD 43. This is realized by executing processing in cooperation with the input device 41 and the communication interface 44.

  On the other hand, the POS terminal 20 includes a job transmission request unit 91, a job acquisition unit 92, and a job execution unit 93. When the POS terminal 20 accesses the server 40, the job transmission request unit 91 requests the server 40 to transmit a job when a job addressed to itself is generated. Further, the job acquisition unit 92 acquires a job transmitted from the server 40. Then, the job execution unit 93 executes various processes based on the acquired job. The job transmission request unit 91, the job acquisition unit 92, and the job execution unit 93 have the CPU 27 calculate various data according to the control program in the ROM 28 (see FIG. 1) and the terminal maintenance program TMP (see FIG. 1) of the HD 23, Further, it is realized by executing processing in cooperation with the input device 21 and the communication interface 24.

  Further, processing related to job generation and execution will be specifically described with reference to FIGS. 8 and 9. FIG. 8 shows a job generation screen G2 for generating a job. When the job generation unit 82 of the server 40 is instructed to generate a job by a predetermined operation by the user, the job generation unit 82 displays a job generation screen G2 shown in FIG. This job generation screen G2 includes a POS terminal designation block 211 that designates a POS terminal 20 that is a job execution target, a program designation block 212 that designates an associated maintenance program MP, and an execution start date and time setting block that sets a job execution start date and time. 213, a permission date setting block 214 for setting a job expiration date and a time zone during which the job execution is permitted.

  In the POS terminal designation block 211, the POS terminals 20 registered in the server 40 are grouped by classification and displayed in a tree (hierarchical display) like the POS terminal list screen G1, and the POS terminals 20 are represented by icons and computer names. Is done. Further, a check box C1 is arranged adjacent to the icon of each POS terminal 20, and the POS terminal 20 in which this check box C1 is in a check state is set as a job execution target. The check box C1 is also arranged adjacent to the folder F representing each category. When the check box C1 adjacent to the folder F is checked, all the POS terminals 20 belonging to the category represented by the folder F execute jobs. Set as a target. That is, it is possible to easily generate a job for each POS terminal 20 classification.

  A text box T1 is arranged in the program designation block 212, and the operator (administrator) inputs the storage location of the maintenance program MP to be provided to the POS terminal 20 in this text box T1 with a full path. This input is configured such that the storage location of the maintenance program MP does not have to be directly input by using the reference button R adjacent to the text box T1.

  In the execution start date / time setting block 213, the job execution start date / time can be set as necessary. When the operator designates the job execution start date and time, “Specified” is selected, and the desired start date and time is input. If it is not necessary to specify the job execution start date and time, “immediate execution” may be selected. In the initial setting, “immediate execution” is set, but in the drawing, the execution start date and time is set to “2005/2/1 00:00”.

  In the permission date / time setting block 214, the expiration date of the job and the time zone in which the job execution is permitted can be set as necessary. Specifically, when setting the expiration date of a job, the expiration date is set to “Yes”, and the date and time when the expiration date is directly input. Further, when it is not necessary to set the expiration date, the expiration date may be set to “none”. Also, when setting a time zone in which execution is permitted, “Yes” is set in the setting of the permitted time zone, and the time zone in which execution is permitted is directly input. At this time, a plurality of time zones can be input. In the figure, since the permitted time zone is set from 0: 0 to 8:59 and from 20: 0 to 0: 0, the job is executed from 9: 0 to 19:59. Is forbidden.

  If it is not necessary to set the permitted time zone, “None” may be set in the permitted time zone setting. In the initial setting, “None” is set for the expiration date and the permitted time zone. Moreover, in addition to the time zone in which execution is permitted, a range of month and day in which execution is permitted may be set. Furthermore, instead of the time zone in which execution is permitted, a time zone in which execution is prohibited may be set.

  In this way, when various inputs and settings necessary for job generation are completed and the user selects the OK button 215, the job generation unit 82 collects the input and set information and generates a job. The generated job is stored in a predetermined location in the HD 43 in a state where the POS terminal 20 to be executed can be identified, and then transmitted to the POS terminal 20 in response to a request from the POS terminal 20.

  Further, the flow from when the server 40 generates a job until the POS terminal 20 executes the job will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. As shown in the figure, the server 40 generates a job by the above-described procedure (S21), and then the POS terminal 20 accesses the server 40 and inquires of the server 40 whether a job addressed to itself is generated. (S22). In response to the inquiry from the POS terminal 20, the server 40 searches for a job whose execution target is the accessed POS terminal 20 (S23), and transmits the search result to the POS terminal 20 (S24). When the received search result is “job present” (S25: Yes), the POS terminal 20 requests the server 40 to transmit a job (S26). If the search result is “no job” (S25: No), the POS terminal 20 ends the process at this point.

  When receiving a job transmission request from the POS terminal 20 (S27), the server 40 checks whether an expiration date is set for the job whose execution target is the POS terminal 20 that is the request source (S28). Then, the job is transmitted to the POS terminal 20 only when the expiration date has not been set and when the set expiration date has not been exceeded (S29: No) (S30). On the other hand, when the set expiration date is exceeded (S29: Yes), the server 40 ends the process without transmitting the job to the POS terminal 20. At this time, a message indicating that the job is invalid may be returned to the POS terminal 20.

  When the POS terminal 20 receives a job from the server 40 (S31), the POS terminal 20 checks whether or not an execution start date and time is set for the received job. If the execution start date and time is set, the current date and time are started. Determine whether the time has been reached. If the execution start date / time is not set (set to “immediate execution”) and if the current date / time has reached the execution start date / time (S32: No), the current date / time is permitted. Determine if the date and time apply. If the current date / time corresponds to the permitted date / time (S33: Yes), the job is executed (S34). “The current date and time corresponds to the permitted date and time” means that the current date and time does not exceed the expiration date and corresponds to a time zone in which execution is permitted. Thereafter, when the execution of the job is completed, the POS terminal 20 transmits the execution result to the server 40 and ends the process (S35). Then, the server 40 ends the process upon receiving the execution result from the POS terminal 20 (S36).

  If the current date / time has not reached the execution start date / time (S32: Yes), the job execution is suspended until the current date / time is reached. If the current date does not correspond to the permitted date (S33: No), that is, if the current date exceeds the expiration date, the job is discarded and the current date does not correspond to the permitted time zone. Sometimes, job execution is suspended until the time zone corresponding to the permitted time zone is reached. Note that the reason why the POS terminal 20 further confirms the job expiration date even though the server 40 does not transmit the job whose expiration date has been exceeded to the POS terminal 20 is the timing at which the POS terminal 20 acquires the job. This is because there may be a time difference in the timing of job execution. If there are a plurality of jobs, these processes are repeated until all jobs are acquired.

  Further, as described above, the generated job list is the execution target in the job list block 203 (see FIG. 5) of the POS terminal list screen G1 that displays the list of the POS terminals 20 registered in the server 40. Displayed for each POS terminal 20, and the display item includes the current job execution status as the job status. This status indicates “waiting for reception” indicating that the job is not yet acquired by the POS terminal 20 after the job is generated, and “status indicating that the job is not yet executed by the POS terminal 20”. “Waiting for execution”, “In execution” indicating that the POS terminal 20 is executing a job, “Success” indicating that the job has been completed normally, “Indicating that the job has not been completed normally for some reason” Error ”,“ expired ”indicating that the job has expired without being executed, and the like.

  That is, although omitted in the flowchart shown in FIG. 9, every time the POS terminal 20 acquires a job from the server 40 or starts executing the job, the POS terminal 20 transmits a message to that effect to the server 40. Reference numeral 40 denotes a job status management based on a message from the POS terminal 20. Therefore, it is possible to easily grasp the job execution status by the POS terminal 20 on the server side. Note that the server 40 may automatically delete a job whose expiration date has expired.

  Also, instead of setting the permitted time zone for allowing job execution performed on the job generation screen G2 (see FIG. 8), the POS terminal 20 sets a prohibited time zone for prohibiting job execution. May be. That is, instead of setting the permission time zone for each job, a time zone for prohibiting job execution may be set on the POS terminal 20 side that executes the job. According to this configuration, the prohibited time zone can be set according to the usage status of each POS terminal 20 and the like.

  In this case, the POS terminal 20 includes, for example, a prohibited time zone setting unit that displays a screen for setting a prohibited time zone, and a prohibited time zone storage unit that stores the set prohibited time zone (whichever When the POS terminal 20 starts executing the job, it is determined whether or not the current date / time falls within the stored prohibited time zone, and the job is executed only when it does not correspond. become. In addition to the time zone for which execution is prohibited, the date for which execution is prohibited may be set. Furthermore, the configuration may be such that the permitted time zone is set on the server 40 side and the prohibited time zone is set on the POS terminal 20 side. The job confirmation and transmission request by the POS terminal 20 may be omitted.

  As described above, the maintenance system 10 according to the present embodiment generates a job including the execution permission information regarding the set permission date after the server 40 performs the setting regarding the permission date when the job is permitted to be executed. Since the POS terminal 20 executes the job based on the execution permission information included in the job, the job is executed within the date and time range permitted in the execution permission information. Therefore, the execution of the job (program) by the POS terminal 20 can be prohibited based on the date / time information.

  By the way, the POS terminal 20 outputs detailed information 52 (see FIG. 11) including progress information from the execution of the program to the end and execution results in synchronization with the execution of the program associated with the job. Process to send. Hereinafter, this process will be described in detail.

  FIG. 10 is a functional configuration diagram of the maintenance system 10 in the transmission of detailed execution information and processing related thereto. The server 40 includes a program storage unit 81, a job generation unit 82, an execution detailed information storage unit 101, and an execution detailed information display unit 102. Since the program storage unit 81 and the job generation unit 82 are as described above with reference to FIG. The detailed execution information storage unit 101 stores the detailed execution information 52 (see FIG. 11) received from the POS terminal 20 in the HD 43 for each POS terminal. Further, the execution detail information display means 102 displays the stored execution detail information 52 on the display 42 (see FIG. 1) or the like so that the operator can see it. The execution detail information storage means 101 and the execution detail information display means 102 are used by the CPU 46 to calculate various data according to the control program in the ROM 47 (see FIG. 1) and the maintenance program MP (see FIG. 1) of the HD 43, and further to the input device. 41 and the communication interface 44 are executed by executing processing.

  On the other hand, the POS terminal 20 includes a job acquisition unit 111, a program execution unit 112, an execution detailed information output unit 113, an execution detailed information transmission unit 114, and a transmission condition setting unit 115. The job acquisition unit 111 acquires the job transmitted from the server 40 as described above. The program execution unit 112 loads and reads a program associated with the acquired job, and performs data processing based on the program reading result. The detailed execution information output unit 113 outputs the detailed execution information 52 (see FIG. 11) including the progress information from the execution to the end of the program and the execution result as text data in synchronization with the execution of the program. If the program includes a process for outputting the execution detail information, for example, on the screen, the execution detail information output unit 113 acquires the execution detail information 52 output from the program and outputs it to a file.

  The transmission condition setting unit 115 sets a transmission condition regarding transmission of the output execution detail information 52. Then, the detailed execution information transmitting unit 114 transmits the detailed execution information 52 to the server 40 based on the set transmission condition. The program execution unit 112, the execution detailed information transmission unit 114, and the transmission condition setting unit 115 calculate various data according to the control program in the ROM 28 (see FIG. 1) or the HD terminal maintenance program TMP (see FIG. 1). Further, it is realized by executing processing in cooperation with the input device 21 and the communication interface 24.

  Next, the detailed execution information 52 will be specifically described. As described above, the detailed execution information 52 is information in which progress information from the execution to the end of the program and execution results are output as text data. The execution details information 52 shown in FIG. 11 will be specifically described as an example. The execution details information 52 includes a program name portion 221, a load result output portion 222, and a processing result output portion 223 in order from the first line.

  The program name portion 221 outputs the name of the program to be executed with a full path. The load result output unit 222 outputs a load result accompanying the loading of the program and a DLL file name used in the program, for example, and shows that the loading process of the program and the DLL file is normally performed in the drawing. Yes. Further, the processing result output unit 223 outputs for each loaded file, and outputs the file name, the file reading status and the reading result, and the processing progress status and the processing result. If any error occurs during reading or subsequent processing, this is also output. In the figure, as a result of processing for each of the two files (28key.X28 and msr.xms), both indicate normal completion and one warning has occurred.

  Furthermore, a transmission condition setting process related to the transmission of the detailed execution information 52 will be described. In the POS terminal 20, the transmission condition setting unit 115 can set in advance a transmission condition that determines whether or not the output detailed execution information 52 is transmitted to the server 40. This is because the load on the POS terminal 20 and the server 40 due to the transmission process of the execution details information 52 affects the other processes in the POS terminal 20 and the server 40. It is possible to arbitrarily set whether or not to transmit the detailed execution information 52 according to the usage status.

  FIG. 12 shows a transmission condition setting screen G3 for setting transmission conditions. In the transmission condition setting screen G3, the execution detail information 52 is always transmitted regardless of the execution result of the program, “always transmit”, the execution detail information 52 is transmitted only when the program execution fails, “send only when failure”, the program The transmission condition consisting of the option of “not transmitting” that does not transmit the execution detailed information 52 regardless of the execution result of the above is displayed in the list box L2, the user selects the desired transmission condition, and the setting is completed by selecting the OK button 231 To do. The transmission condition may be set for each type of maintenance program MP executed in the POS terminal 20. According to this configuration, transmission conditions can be set according to the importance of the program.

  Furthermore, the flow from the output of the execution detail information 52 by the POS terminal 20 to the storage of the execution detail information 52 by the server 40 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. First, in the POS terminal 20, the detailed execution information output unit 113 outputs the detailed execution information 52 (S41), and then the detailed execution information transmission unit 114 transmits the detailed execution information 52 (S42). Further, when the server 40 receives the execution detail information 52 (S43), the server 40 determines whether or not all the execution detail information 52 has been normally received (S44). If it has been normally received (S44: Yes), the execution detail information storage unit 101 of the server 40 stores the execution detail information 52 in the HD 43 (S45). The detailed execution information 52 is stored for each transmission source POS terminal 20.

  On the other hand, when the execution detailed information 52 cannot be normally received (S44: No), the server 40 transmits a reception error to the POS terminal 20 (S46). Then, the server 40 transmits to the POS terminal 20 a notification that the execution details information 52 has been normally saved (S47), and displays the saved execution details information 52 on the display 42 (S48). When the POS terminal 20 receives a reception error of the execution detail information 52 from the server (S49: Yes), the POS terminal 20 executes the transmission of the execution detail information 52 again. Thereafter, when a notification indicating that the execution detail information 52 has been normally stored is received from the server 40 (S50), the processing is terminated upon reception.

  The server 40 can also display the stored execution detail information 52 retrospectively at an arbitrary timing. Further, since the execution detail information 52 is stored for each POS terminal 20 that is the transmission source, for example, the operator (administrator) designates an arbitrary POS terminal 20 and all the execution detail information received from the designated POS terminal 20. Processing such as displaying 52 is also possible. In this case, instead of designating one POS terminal 20, for example, a configuration of designating a classification of the POS terminal 20 such as “a terminal whose installation location is Tokyo” may be used.

  Further, instead of the transmission condition setting unit 115 of the POS terminal 20, the server 40 may include a transmission condition setting unit (not shown). That is, the transmission condition may be set for each job on the server 40 side instead of the POS terminal 20 side. Specifically, the transmission conditions are set as shown in FIG. 12 on the above-described job generation screen G2 (see FIG. 8), and the job generation unit 84 adds the set transmission conditions to generate a job. According to this configuration, it is possible to set the transmission condition according to the importance of the program associated with the job. In addition, the transmission condition may be set according to the type of program, instead of setting the transmission condition for each job. As a result, it is possible to save the trouble of setting the transmission condition each time a job is generated.

  As described above, in the maintenance system 10 according to the present embodiment, the POS terminal 20 outputs the detailed execution information 52 including the progress information from the execution to the end of the program and the execution result, and the output detailed execution information 52 is stored in the server. Therefore, detailed information at the time of program execution can be acquired on the server side. Therefore, even if a program execution error occurs, it is easy to identify the cause of the error from the acquired execution details information 52, and the operator (administrator) does not go to the place where the POS terminal 20 is installed, and the server side can accurately determine it. It is possible to take action.

  Furthermore, each part (each function) of the maintenance system 10 shown in the above example can be provided as a program. Further, the program can be provided by being stored in a recording medium (not shown). As the recording medium, a CD-ROM, a flash ROM, a memory card (compact flash (registered trademark), smart media, memory stick, etc.), a compact disk, a magneto-optical disk, a digital versatile disk, a flexible disk, and the like can be used.

  Further, regardless of the above-described embodiments, the apparatus configuration, processing steps, and the like of the maintenance system 10 can be appropriately changed without departing from the gist of the present invention.

It is a system configuration figure of a maintenance system. It is a functional block diagram in the terminal registration process of a maintenance system. It is a figure which shows an example of POS terminal information. It is a flowchart which shows a terminal registration process. It is a figure which shows an example of a POS terminal list screen. It is a flowchart which shows the registration deletion process of a terminal. It is a functional block diagram in the transmission and execution processing of the job of the maintenance system. It is a figure which shows an example of a job generation screen. 6 is a flowchart illustrating job transmission and execution processing. It is a functional block diagram in execution detailed information transmission processing of a maintenance system. It is a figure which shows an example of execution detailed information. It is a figure which shows an example of a transmission condition setting screen. It is a flowchart which shows execution detailed information transmission processing.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Maintenance system 20 ... POS terminal 24 ... Communication interface (POS terminal) 23 ... HD 40 ... Server 44 ... Communication interface (server) 81 ... Program storage means 82- ..Job generation means 83... Permission date setting means 92... Job acquisition means 93.

Claims (11)

A maintenance system comprising a client terminal and a server that is connected to the client terminal via a network and performs maintenance of the client terminal,
The server
Program storage means for storing various programs for maintaining the client terminal;
Job generation means for generating a job for issuing a maintenance command to the client terminal in association with the program,
The client terminal is
Job acquisition means for acquiring the job from the server;
Job execution means for executing the job acquired from the server,
The job includes execution permission information related to a permission date and time for permitting execution of the job by the job execution unit,
The maintenance system, wherein the job execution means executes the job based on the execution permission information.   The maintenance system according to claim 1, wherein the execution permission information includes information related to an expiration date of the job.   The maintenance system according to claim 1, wherein the execution permission information includes information related to a time zone in which the execution of the job is permitted. The server
Permission date and time setting means for setting the permission date and time,
The maintenance system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the job generation unit generates a job including the set permission date and time. The client terminal is
Job transmission request means for requesting the server to transmit the job;
The server
Job transmission means for transmitting the generated job to the client terminal in response to a transmission request by the job transmission request means;
The maintenance system according to claim 2, wherein the job transmission unit stops the transmission of the job when the expiration date of the job to be transmitted is exceeded. In the case of a plurality of the client terminals, the client terminals are classified for each predetermined group,
The maintenance system according to claim 1, wherein the job generation unit generates the job in units of groups. A client terminal,
A maintenance system connected to the client terminal via a network and configured to maintain the client terminal;
The server
Program storage means for storing various programs for performing maintenance of the client terminal;
Job generation means for generating a job for issuing a maintenance command to the client terminal in association with the program,
The client terminal is
Prohibition date and time information storage means for storing prohibition date and time information related to prohibition date and time for prohibiting execution of the job;
A maintenance system comprising job execution means for executing the job based on the prohibition date information. The client terminal is
The maintenance system according to claim 7, further comprising prohibited date and time setting means for setting the prohibited date and time.   A program for causing a computer to function as each means in the maintenance system according to any one of claims 1 to 8. A client terminal,
A maintenance system control method comprising a server connected to the client terminal via a network and performing maintenance of the client terminal,
The server is
A program storage step for storing various programs for performing maintenance of the client terminal;
Performing a job generation step of generating a job for instructing maintenance on the client terminal in association with the program, and
The client terminal is
A job acquisition step of acquiring the job from the server;
Executing a job execution step of executing the job acquired from the server;
The job includes execution permission information related to a permission date and time for permitting execution of the job by the job execution unit,
In the job execution step, the job is executed based on the execution permission information. A client terminal,
A maintenance system control method comprising a server connected to the client terminal via a network and performing maintenance of the client terminal,
The server is
A program storage step for storing various programs for performing maintenance of the client terminal;
A job generation step of generating a job for issuing a maintenance command to the client terminal in association with the program, and
The client terminal is
A prohibition date and time information storage step for storing prohibition date and time information related to prohibition date and time for prohibiting execution of the job;
A maintenance system control method, comprising: executing a job execution step of executing the job based on the prohibition date information.

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