JP2018136783A - Information presentation device, system, program, and presentation method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an information presentation device, a system, a program, and a presentation method capable of sensitively monitoring a state.SOLUTION: An information presentation device includes a presentation part and a management part. The presentation part acquires a Web content, and presents the acquired Web content. The management part monitors the presentation part, and further acquires state information representing at least whether the state of the presentation part is "normal" or "abnormal".SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

  Embodiments described herein relate generally to an information presentation apparatus, a system, a program, and a presentation method.

  For example, a so-called web system that describes content using a markup language such as HTML and presents it to a user is widely used in various forms. One of the merits of using a web system is that a general-purpose browser is operated on the client side, so that the contents supplied from the server side can have various expressions. It is also possible to cause a computer to execute a predetermined procedure by including a script (a program expressed by a sequence of commands) inside the content.

  In the web system, a technique for monitoring the system is used for early detection of a possible failure and the like and stable operation.

In the prior art, keep-alive communication is used as a method for confirming that communication connection is effectively maintained in a protocol such as TCP or HTTP. In this method, a message indicating an “alive” state is periodically transmitted to the other party between communication subjects connected to each other. In this method, when a message does not arrive within a predetermined time from the other party, it is possible to detect a possibility that some abnormality has occurred.
Further, in the conventional technology, there is a case where a method of periodically sending a message from a client (web browser) to a server is also adopted in the above-described web system. In that case, by monitoring the message from the client side on the server side, the server side detects the possibility of an event such as a communication failure or the client leaving the communication connection.

  In order to monitor processes running on the computer, a list of processes managed by the computer operating system is also referred to. There is also a technique for monitoring a process based on a history pattern of commands issued from the process to the operating system.

  As an example, it is often desirable for a system that presents information on a display device to operate unattended or by monitoring from a remote location. In that case, the display device is only seen by the user, and it is assumed that an operator who operates the display device or a computer connected to the display device does not exist at least in the vicinity of the display device. . In such a system, it is desired that the system state can be monitored more finely than just whether or not the computer (client) maintains communication with the server. Here, more specifically, the state of the system means that the content (program) is operating normally or whether an abnormality has occurred.

  In particular, when an information presentation system is constructed using web technology, various content expressions can be realized as described above. However, on the other hand, it is also true that the frequency of occurrence of failures such as programs (scripts) is relatively higher than when only simple images and simple sounds are presented. That is, in a web system that is basically operated unattended, detailed monitoring of the system status is particularly strongly demanded.

  It is also desirable for the system to automatically recover when any failure is detected in the system.

JP 2002-108658 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2006-012208

Robert Braden (Editor), "4.2.3.6 TCP Keep-Alives", "Requirements for Internet Hosts-Communication Layers", [online], October 1989, Network Working Group, Internet Engineering Task Force, Request for Comments: 1122, Pages 101-102, [Searched on January 10, 2017], Internet <URL: https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc1122#page-101>

  The problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide an information presentation apparatus, system, program, and presentation method capable of finely monitoring the state.

  The information presentation apparatus according to the embodiment includes a presentation unit and a management unit. The presenting unit acquires web content and presents the acquired web content. The management unit monitors the presenting unit and obtains status information at least indicating whether the state of the presenting unit is “normal” or “abnormal”.

Schematic which shows the structural example of the system (digital signage system) of embodiment. The block diagram which shows each schematic function structure of the computer 200 of embodiment, and the web server apparatus 400. FIG. Schematic which shows the sequence of the process in which the computer 200 of embodiment and the web server apparatus 400 operate | move in cooperation. The flowchart which shows the procedure of the process which the browser control process part 223 of embodiment monitors the browser 210. FIG. The flowchart which shows the more detailed procedure of the process which determines the state of a browser in embodiment. The state transition diagram which shows the transition of the state of the local connection in the computer 200 of embodiment.

  Hereinafter, an information presentation device, a system, a program, and a presentation method of an embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration example of a system according to the present embodiment. A system 1 shown in the figure typically functions as a digital signage system using a web browser (Web browser). As shown in the figure, the system 1 includes a display device 100, a computer 200 (information presentation device), a network 300, a web server device 400, and a management PC 600.
The system 1 is not limited to being a digital signage system. The present embodiment may be applied to any system for presenting content.

  The display device 100 has a function of displaying an image or video output from the computer 200. The display device 100 is realized using, for example, a liquid crystal panel, an organic EL, a cathode ray tube, or the like. The display device 100 displays an array of pixels arranged in a large number in the vertical direction and the horizontal direction as one image. The display device 100 can also display a moving image (video). "

  The computer 200 has a function of causing the display device 100 to display content. The specific form of the computer 200 is arbitrary. Specifically, the computer 200 is a device such as a personal computer (personal computer, PC), a mobile phone, a smartphone (smartphone), or a tablet. The computer 200 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit), and a program can be run by the CPU. Functions such as a browser and a management agent described later are described as programs and executed by the CPU of the computer 200.

  Note that the computer 200 and the display device 100 may be configured as an integrated device, such as a device such as a smartphone, a tablet terminal, and a tablet PC. Further, the computer 200 and the display device 100 may be configured as separate devices. The computer 200 may be in the form of a set top box (STB), for example.

  The network 300 is a communication unit that enables data communication between information devices. Devices connected to the network can transmit and receive data to and from each other via the network 300. In the network 300, communication based on a communication protocol such as IP (Internet Protocol) is performed. The network 300 may be realized by a wired (copper wire, optical cable, etc.) communication means, a wireless (radio wave, etc.) communication means, or a combination of wired and wireless. Also good. In the illustrated configuration example, the network 300 is connected to a computer 200, a web server device 400, and a management PC 600.

  The web server device 400 manages the content and distributes the content to the computer 200 in response to a request from the computer 200. The web server device 400 also manages the movement and state of functions that run on the computer 200.

In the present embodiment, the type of content is not limited. The content is data for expressing an image / video, audio, text, or the like. Some contents are described in, for example, HTML (Hypertext Markup Language). The HTML content may include a program (for example, a script written in JavaScript (registered trademark)) inside.
Note that the content may be described in other than HTML. The content may be plain text, an image (for example, a JPEG file or a PNG file), a video (moving image), or audio.

  The management PC 600 is a personal computer for defining and maintaining content information related to content displayed on the display device 100. The content information is information including items such as the content itself (described in HTML), the operation of the content, the operation condition of the content, the display start date and time, the display end date and time, and the like.

  In the illustrated system 1, the computer 200 can be connected to the web server device 400 via the network 300. The management PC 600 can also be connected to the web server device 400 via the network 300.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing schematic functional configurations of the computer 200 and the web server device 400.
First, the functional configuration of the computer 200 will be described. The computer 200 includes functions of a browser 210 (presentation unit) and a management agent 220 (management unit).

The browser 210 has a function of interpreting content described in HTML and displaying the content on a screen. The HTML content can include a script. The script is described in, for example, JavaScript (registered trademark). The browser 210 has a function of executing a script described in the HTML content. Typically, the browser 210 is realized by software. The “browser” is also called a “web browser”.

That is, the browser 210 acquires web content and presents the acquired web content. Here, the web content may take the form of HTML data (which may include a script inside), image data, video (moving image) data, audio data, text data, and the like. In web content, images, video, audio, and text are laid out as needed. The data defining the layout may be a description in HTML.

The management agent 220 has a function of managing operations of the computer 200 and the browser 210. Specifically, the management agent 220 activates the browser 210 and monitors whether the browser 210 is operating normally after the activation. If an abnormality occurs in the browser 210, the management agent 220 restores the browser 210. Specifically, the management agent 220 restores the browser 210 by terminating the browser 210 in which an abnormality has occurred and restarting the browser 210.
In other words, the management agent 220 monitors the browser 210 and acquires state information at least indicating whether the state of the browser 210 is “normal” or “abnormal”. That is, the management agent 220 manages and monitors the browser 210. Note that the state information of the browser 210 may include other states. Examples of other states include “unknown” and “connected”.

In addition, the management agent 220 has a case where communication (local connection) between the management agent 220 and the browser 210 is disconnected, or an event in which the browser 210 does not respond to a request from the management agent 220 continues for a predetermined time. Furthermore, it is determined that the status information of the browser 210 is “abnormal”.
In addition, the management agent 220 acquires process information related to the process of the browser 210, and when the process information related to at least one of the processes corresponds to a predetermined “abnormal” pattern, the status information Determined as "abnormal".
Here, the predetermined “abnormal” pattern corresponds to the case where the web content title information included in the process information matches the predetermined “abnormal” pattern. For example, when an abnormal event occurs in the execution of the script of a script included in HTML, the title of the HTML content is set to a character string having a predetermined pattern. As a result, the management agent 220 can determine that the state information is “abnormal”.

  Further, the management agent 220 connects to the web server device 400 via the network 300 and transmits information related to the state of the browser 210 to the web server device 400.

  As illustrated, the management agent 220 includes a local connection processing unit 221, a management connection processing unit 222, a browser control processing unit 223, a management agent control processing unit 224, and a timer processing unit 225. The Typically, the management agent 220 is realized by software. The function of each part constituting the management agent 220 is as follows.

The local connection processing unit 221 performs a local connection in the computer 200 between the browser 210 and the management agent 220.
The management connection processing unit 222 performs processing related to communication connection between the management agent 220 and the agent management unit 430 of the web server device 400.
The browser control processing unit 223 controls the movement of the browser 210. That is, the browser control processing unit 223 monitors the browser 210 or restores the browser 210 when an abnormality or the like occurs.
The management agent control processing unit 224 controls the movement of the management agent 220 as a whole.
The timer processing unit 225 provides a trigger that is necessary when a predetermined time elapses when the management agent 220 performs various managements. The timer processing unit 225 functions as a timer for a predetermined time by being called from another function unit. As an example, when waiting for a response from the other party of communication, the timer processing unit 225 notifies the caller when the specified timeout time has elapsed. As an example, when it is desired to repeat a periodic process, the timer processing unit 225 performs a process specified by the caller every time a specified time elapses.

  The functions and operations of the browser 210 and the management agent 220 will be described in more detail.

  The browser 210 is activated by the browser control processing unit 223 of the management agent 220. Note that the browser 210 acquires the player 211 from the web server device 400 after the browser 210 is started by specifying parameters or the like at startup. The player 211 is one of HTML contents described in HTML. As described above, HTML content can include executable scripts. When the player 211 is activated on the browser 210, the player 211 connects to the web server device 400 and waits for an instruction from the web server device 400. Further, the browser 210 acquires the content data 212 in accordance with an instruction from the web server device 400, interprets the content data 212, and causes the display device 100 to display the content.

  The player 211 operates under control from the web server device 400. Then, the player 211 causes the display device 100 to display content acquired from the web server device 400 at a controlled timing. The display and the like are performed by the function of the browser 210.

  The content data 212 is data including content that the browser 210 presents to the user.

  Next, the functional configuration of the web server device 400 will be described. As illustrated, the web server device 400 includes a player management unit 410, a content management unit 420, and an agent management unit 430.

The player management unit 410 manages communication connection between the web server device 400 and the player 211 on the computer 200.
The content management unit 420 distributes the player 211 and the content data 212 based on management from the computer 200 side. The player 211 and the content data 212 are described in HTML, and are accompanied by data such as images and sounds as necessary. The player 211 and the content data 212 are interpreted and executed by the browser 210 on the computer 200 that is the distribution destination.
The agent management unit 430 manages communication connection between the web server device 400 and the management agent 220 on the computer 200.

Next, the processing procedure and flow will be described.
FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing a processing sequence in which the computer 200 and the web server device 400 operate in cooperation. Hereinafter, it demonstrates along this sequence.
A flow until the management agent control processing unit 224 activates the browser 210 is shown.

In step S010, the management agent control processing unit 224 of the management agent 220 starts a management connection. Specifically, the management agent control processing unit 224 calls the management connection processing unit 222.
In step S011, a network connection is established between the management agent 220 and the web server device 400. Specifically, the management connection processing unit 222 activated in step S010 requests connection to the agent management unit 430 of the web server device 400, and establishes a connection between the two.

In step S020, the management agent control processing unit 224 starts local connection. Specifically, the management agent control processing unit 224 calls the local connection processing unit 221.
In step S021, the local connection processing unit 221 called in step S020 starts to listen to the port. As a result, the local connection processing unit 221 enters a state of waiting for a communication connection from the browser 210. In a state where the local connection processing unit 221 is listening to a port, the browser 210 can request connection to the port.

In step S030, the management agent control processing unit 224 starts browser activation processing. Specifically, the management agent control processing unit 224 first calls the browser control processing unit 223.
In step S031, the browser control processing unit 223 activates the browser 210. At this time, the browser control processing unit 223 specifies the URL (uniform resource locator) of the player 211 as a parameter so that the browser 210 acquires the HTML file of the player 211. For example, the path name of the executable file of the browser 210 is “file: //program_files/browser.exe”, and the URL of the HTML file of the player 211 held by the web server device 400 is “http://23.34.45.56/player”. When it is “.html”, the browser control processing unit 223 executes an instruction “file: //program_files/browser.exe http://23.34.45.56/player.html”.

In step S <b> 032, the browser 210 requests the HTML file of the player 211 from the content management unit 420 of the web server device 400 using the URL specified as a parameter at the time of startup of the browser 210.
In step S <b> 033, the content management unit 420 returns the HTML file of the player 211 to the browser 210 based on the request from the browser 210.
In step S034, the browser 210 displays the player 211. The HTML file of the player 211 includes a script for realizing the function of the player 211. For example, when the interpretation execution system of the browser 210 executes the script, the function of the player 211 in the following processing procedure operates.

In step S035, a communication connection is established between the player 211 and the player management unit 410 of the web server device 400. Specifically, the player 211 connects to the player management unit 410 via a network.
In step S036, a local connection is established between the player 211 and the local connection processing unit 221. Since the local connection processing unit 221 has already started listening, the player 211 connects to the local connection processing unit 221 over the network.

  In step S037, the player management unit 410 instructs the player 211 to acquire content. At this time, the content acquisition instruction transmitted by the player management unit 410 includes the URL of the content to be acquired by the player 211. The content acquisition instruction has information defined in advance in the management PC 600. That is, regarding the content acquisition instruction, the time at which the player management unit 410 sends the content acquisition instruction to the player 211 (instruction time) and the time at which the player 211 displays the content (display time) are for management purposes in advance. Defined by PC600. Information (for example, the URL of a content file) that specifies content to be acquired by the player 211 is also defined in advance by the management PC 600.

In step S038, the player 211 acquires content from the content management unit 420 of the web server device 400. Specifically, the player 211 requests content from the content management unit 420 based on the information (information specifying content) instructed in step S037 from the player management unit 410 side. Then, the content management unit 420 returns the requested content to the player 211.
In step S039, the player 211 displays the content acquired in step S038 as an output of the browser screen based on the information (display time) instructed in step S037.

In step S040, the management agent control processing unit 224 starts timer processing. Specifically, the management agent control processing unit 224 activates the timer processing unit 225 so that the management agent 220 periodically checks the state of the browser 210.
In step S041, the timer processing unit 225 calls the browser control processing unit 223 with the expiration of the timer as a trigger, and monitors the browser 210. That is, the timer processing unit 225 calls the browser control processing unit 223 periodically (every timer setting time). The browser control processing unit 223 determines whether the browser state at that time is a normal state or an abnormal state by monitoring the browser 210. If there is an abnormality, the browser control processing unit 223 performs a recovery process of the browser 210.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a procedure of processing in which the browser control processing unit 223 monitors the browser 210. The process shown in this flowchart is a process of monitoring the browser 210 shown in step S041 of FIG. Hereinafter, the processing procedure will be described with reference to this flowchart.

In step S101, the browser control processing unit 223 determines the state of the browser. The browser control processing unit 223 determines whether the browser state is clear or unknown, and when the browser state is clear, the state is “normal”, “connected”, or “abnormal”. It is determined which one.
Details of the browser state determination method will be described later with reference to FIG.

In step S102, the browser control processing unit 223 performs conditional branching based on the determination result in step S101. If the browser state is normal and the local connection state is maintained (step S102: YES), the browser 210 can be continued to operate as it is, so the process of the entire flowchart (browser monitoring process) is terminated. . In other cases (step S102: NO), the process proceeds to the next step S103.
The maintenance of the local connection state will be described later with reference to FIG.

In step S103, the browser control processing unit 223 further performs conditional branching based on the determination result in step S101.
When the browser state is clear and the browser state is “normal” or “connected” (step S103: YES), the browser 210 may be kept operating as it is. finish. In other cases (step S103: NO), the process proceeds to the next step S104.

As a result of the determination processing up to step S103, the process proceeds to step S104 when the browser state is unknown or when the browser state is clear and the browser state is “abnormal”.
In step S104, the browser control processing unit 223 stops all browser processes. A browser may be configured to realize a necessary function as a whole by a plurality of processes (units of processing managed by an operating system) operating in cooperation. The processing in this step is to end all these processes once.
In step S105, the browser control processing unit 223 activates the browser. The browser activation method is the same as the activation method in step S031 (FIG. 3).

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a detailed procedure of processing for determining the browser state. This determination process is the process described in step S101 (FIG. 4).

  The management agent 220 can hold the browser state in an internal memory. As described above, the browser state is classified into one of “normal”, “abnormal”, “connected”, and “unknown”. When the browser state is clear, the state is one of “normal”, “abnormal”, and “connected”.

  In order to determine the browser state, the browser control processing unit 223 refers to the process information of the browser 210 managed by the operating system of the computer 200. This process information includes information on the name of the program corresponding to the process. For example, when the name of the executable file of the program that realizes the function of the browser 210 is “mybrowser.exe”, the process information includes information of this name. Therefore, the browser control processing unit 223 can narrow down specific browser processes from among a large number of processes, and acquire information on these processes from the operating system. The function of the browser 210 may be configured by one process or may be configured by a plurality of processes. When configured by a plurality of processes, any one of these processes has information on the title of the content presented by the browser 210 at that time as an attribute. In the process described below, the browser status is acquired based on the content title information.

The title of the content may be specified by, for example, a “TITLE” tag included in the header portion of the HTML file. Further, for example, the title of the content can be set by executing a predetermined command by a script included in the HTML content file. That is, the content is created so that the title of the content represents the current state (that is, the browser state) of the content (program). The content state is distinguished by, for example, three types of titles: “normal title”, “connected title”, and “abnormal title”.
The type of title corresponding to the content state is not limited to the above. Further, the number of types of states is not limited to three.

  Further, when the process having the content title does not exist for some reason (for example, when the process is lost due to a processing error), the management agent 220 determines that the browser state is “unknown”. Such determination is performed in the processing shown in the flowchart below.

Hereinafter, it demonstrates along this flowchart.
In step S201, the browser control processing unit 223 checks a list of processes running on the computer 200 and determines whether one or more browser processes exist. If there is one or more browser processes (step S201: YES), the process proceeds to step S203. In other cases, that is, when there is no browser process (step S201: NO), the process proceeds to step S202.
In step S202, the browser control processing unit 223 sets the browser state to “abnormal”. Then, the process of the entire flowchart (browser state determination process) ends.

  In step S203, the browser control processing unit 223 initializes the browser state to “unknown”. If the browser status is not set to “normal”, “connected”, or “abnormal” in the processing after step S204, the browser status finally becomes “unknown” set here.

  The process from step S204 to S211 is an iterative process. The browser control processing unit 223 repeatedly executes the processing of these steps for each browser process. However, there are cases where the loop is repeated in the middle due to conditional branching.

In step S205, the browser control processing unit 223 determines whether or not the browser title matches the normal title. If the title information regarding the browser process at that time matches the normal title (step S205: YES), the process proceeds to step S206. In other cases, that is, when the title information regarding the browser process at that time does not match the normal title (step S205: NO), the process proceeds to step S207.
In step S206, the browser control processing unit 223 sets the browser state to “normal”. Then, the process of the entire flowchart ends.

In step S207, the browser control processing unit 223 determines whether or not the browser title matches the connected title. If the title information regarding the browser process at that time matches the connected title (step S207: YES), the process proceeds to step S208. In other cases, that is, when the title information regarding the browser process at that time does not match the connected title (step S207: NO), the process proceeds to step S209.
In step S208, the browser control processing unit 223 sets the browser state to “connected”. Then, the process of the entire flowchart ends.

In step S209, the browser control processing unit 223 determines whether or not the browser title matches the abnormal title. When the title information regarding the browser process at that time matches the abnormal title (step S209: YES), the process proceeds to step S210. In other cases, that is, when the title information regarding the browser process at that time does not match the abnormal title (step S209: NO), the process proceeds to step S211.
In step S210, the browser control processing unit 223 sets the browser state to “abnormal”. Then, the process of the entire flowchart ends.

Step S211 is the end point of the repeated loop from step S204 to S211.
When the control shifts to step S211, the browser control processing unit 223 returns the control to step S204 in order to perform processing related to the browser process when there is a next browser process.
When the control is transferred to step S211, if the processing of all browser processes has already been completed, the browser control processing unit 223 ends the processing of the entire flowchart.

  As described above, according to the processing illustrated in FIG. 5, the browser control processing unit 223 of the management agent 220 acquires information on the title (content title) of the browser process via the operating system, thereby Know the status.

FIG. 6 is a state transition diagram showing state transition of local connection. The process for determining the state of local connection is the process described in step S102 (FIG. 4).
As a premise thereof, as described in step S036 (FIG. 2), the player 211 establishes a connection with the local connection processing unit 221. After the connection between the player 211 and the local connection processing unit 221 is established, the player 211 periodically transmits a life / death confirmation request to the local connection processing unit 221, and accordingly, the life / death from the local connection processing unit 221 is transmitted. Receive an acknowledgment. In addition, when the local connection processing unit 221 recognizes that the non-communication state with the player 211 has continued for a certain period of time, the local connection processing unit 221 transmits a life / death confirmation request to the player 211 and sends a life / death confirmation response from the player 211. Receive. In addition, the message of the life / death confirmation request is called “ping message”, and the message of the life / death confirmation response is called “pong message”.
If there is no response within a certain time, it will time out and retry. When the number of timeouts exceeds the maximum number of timeouts, the local connection processing unit 221 determines that the browser 210 is frozen (no longer responding), and disconnects the connection.

In the state transition process, the number of timeouts is counted. The management agent 220 includes a memory for temporarily storing the number of timeouts at that time.
In the state transition process, the function of the timer processing unit 225 is used.
The timer processing unit 225 notifies that it has expired (timed out) when a predetermined time has expired. TO1 and TO2 in FIG. 6 correspond to the type of timer. A predetermined timeout length is determined for each timer type. The timeout length is set in advance as a numerical value in units of “seconds”, for example.
The state of local connection maintenance can be determined by exchanging the life / death confirmation request and the life / death confirmation response from both of the player 211 and the local connection processing unit 221.

That is, the management agent 220 determines that the state information is “abnormal” in any of the following cases (at least one).
a) When communication between the management agent 220 and the browser 210 is disconnected,
b) When the browser 210 does not respond to the request from the management agent 220 for a predetermined time.
Note that the reason why the communication between the management agent 220 and the browser 210 is disconnected is the freeze of the browser 210, the disconnection from the browser 210 side, and other abnormalities.

  Hereinafter, description will be given along the state transition diagram of FIG.

[State S301]
When the process of monitoring the local connection state is started, first the state transitions to state S301.
In the state S301, the local connection processing unit 221 sets a timer. Here, the local connection processing unit 221 sets a timeout TO1. The specific time length of the timeout TO1 is set as appropriate.
When the local connection processing unit 221 receives some message before the TO1 times out in the state of S301, the state transitions to the state S302.
When TO1 times out in the state of S301, the state transitions to state S303.

[Status S302]
In the state S302, the local connection processing unit 221 sets (resets) the timeout number to 0. Also, the local connection processing unit 221 stops (cancels) the timeout TO2. As a result, the timeout TO2 does not time out.
After completion of these processes in the state S302, the state transitions to the state S301.

[Status S303]
In the state S303, the local connection processing unit 221 transmits a ping message to the player 211 and sets a timeout TO2.
If the local connection processing unit 221 receives the pong message before TO2 times out in state S303, the state transitions to state S302.
When TO2 times out in state S303, the state transitions to state S304.

[Status S304]
In the state S304, the local connection processing unit 221 adds 1 to the number of timeouts.
After completion of the above processing in state S304, the flow goes to state S305.

[Status S305]
In the state S305, the local connection processing unit 221 determines whether or not the number of timeouts has reached the upper limit, and changes the state transition destination according to the determination result.
Specifically, if (timeout count ≦ timeout upper limit), the flow goes to the state S303.
If (timeout count> timeout upper limit), the flow goes to the state S306.

[Status S306]
In the state S306, the local connection processing unit 221 disconnects the connection with the player 211.
After completion of the above processing in the state S306, the state transitions to the end state, and the entire processing shown in this state transition diagram is finished.

Here, the system recovery process is summarized as follows.
When the status information indicates “abnormal”, the management agent 220 stops the processes in operation of the browser 210 and then restarts the browser 210 to restore the browser 210. As described with reference to FIG. 5, the status information indicates “abnormal” when there is no browser process (step S201 in FIG. 5: NO) or the browser title is abnormal for any one of the browser processes. This is a case where it matches the title (step S209 in FIG. 5: YES).
In addition, when it is unclear whether the browser 210 is in the “normal” or “abnormal” state, the management agent 220 stops all the processes in the browser 210 and then starts the browser 210 The browser 210 is restored by performing again.

  In the above embodiment, the functions of the browser 210 and the management agent 220 are realized by software. However, an equivalent function may be realized by hardware (integrated circuit) such as LSI.

  In the above embodiment, the management agent 220 determines four states of “normal”, “abnormal”, “connected”, and “unknown”. However, it is sufficient that the management agent 220 can distinguish at least “normal” or “abnormal”. Other states may or may not be determined. Further, the number of types of states to be determined is not limited to 4, and may be 3 or less, or 5 or more.

  Further, the management agent 220 may detect a power supply abnormality of the display device 100. Specifically, the management agent 220 attempts to acquire power state information indicating whether the power state of the display device 100 connected to the computer 200 is on or off. When the power supply state information cannot be acquired, the management agent 220 determines that the display device 100 is “abnormal”.

  According to at least one embodiment described above, the computer 200 includes the management agent 220 that acquires state information at least indicating whether the state of the browser 210 is “normal” or “abnormal”. The possibility that not only communication with the web server device 400 but also an abnormality caused by the inside of the computer 200 can be detected increases.

  In addition, you may make it implement | achieve the function which the computer 200 in the embodiment mentioned above and the web server apparatus 400 have with a computer. In that case, a program for realizing this function may be recorded on a computer-readable recording medium, and the program recorded on this recording medium may be read into a computer system and executed. Here, the “computer system” includes an OS and hardware such as peripheral devices. The “computer-readable recording medium” is a portable medium such as a flexible disk, a magneto-optical disk, a ROM, a CD-ROM, a DVD-ROM, a USB memory, or a storage device such as a hard disk built in a computer system. That means. Furthermore, a “computer-readable recording medium” dynamically holds a program for a short time, like a communication line when transmitting a program via a network such as the Internet or a communication line such as a telephone line. In this case, a volatile memory inside a computer system serving as a server or a client in that case may be included and a program held for a certain period of time. The program may be a program for realizing a part of the above-described functions, or may be a program that can realize the above-described functions in combination with a program already recorded in a computer system.

  Although several embodiments of the present invention have been described, these embodiments are presented by way of example and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These embodiments can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, replacements, and changes can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. These embodiments and their modifications are included in the scope and gist of the invention, and are also included in the invention described in the claims and the equivalents thereof.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... System, 100 ... Display apparatus, 200 ... Computer (information presentation apparatus), 210 ... Browser (presentation part), 211 ... Player, 212 ... Content data, 220 ... Management agent (management part), 221 ... Local connection process part 222, management connection processing unit, 223 ... browser control processing unit, 224 ... management agent control processing unit, 225 ... timer processing unit, 300 ... network, 400 ... web server device, 410 ... player management unit, 420 ... content management unit 430 ... Agent management unit, 600 ... Management PC

Claims (10)

A presentation unit for obtaining web content and presenting the obtained web content;
A management unit that monitors the presenting unit and obtains at least state information indicating whether the state of the presenting unit is “normal” or “abnormal”;
An information presentation device comprising: When the communication between the management unit and the presentation unit is disconnected, or when an event in which the management unit does not respond to a request from the presentation unit continues for a predetermined time, or the management unit When the event that the presenting unit does not respond to the request from the unit continues for a predetermined time, the state information is determined to be “abnormal”.
The information presentation apparatus according to claim 1. The management unit obtains process information related to the process of the presenting unit, and when the process information related to at least one of the processes corresponds to a predetermined “abnormal” pattern, the state Determine that the information is "abnormal",
The information presentation apparatus according to claim 1 or 2. The predetermined “abnormal” pattern corresponds to a case where information of the title of the web content included in the process information matches a predetermined “abnormal” pattern.
The information presentation apparatus according to claim 3. The management unit, when the status information represents "abnormal", to stop all the active processes of the presentation unit, then restart the presentation unit, to restore the presentation unit,
The information presentation apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4. When it is unclear whether the presenting unit is in a “normal” state or an “abnormal” state, the management unit stops all the running processes of the presenting unit, and then displays the presenting unit. The presentation unit is restored by restarting.
The information presentation device according to any one of claims 1 to 5. The management unit attempts to obtain power state information indicating whether the power state of the display device connected to the information presentation device is on or off, and when the power source state information cannot be obtained, the display device It is determined that it is abnormal
The information presentation device according to any one of claims 1 to 6. An information presentation device according to any one of claims 1 to 7,
A display device connected to the information presentation device and displaying an image presented by a presentation unit included in the information presentation device;
A web server device for delivering the web content to the presentation unit;
A system comprising: Computer
A presentation unit for obtaining web content and presenting the obtained web content;
While monitoring the presenting unit, whether the state of the presenting unit is “normal”, “abnormal”, or “normal” or “abnormal” is “unknown” , And a management unit that acquires state information representing at least
A program for causing an information presentation apparatus to function. A presentation process of acquiring web content and presenting the acquired web content;
A management process for monitoring the presenting process and obtaining status information at least indicating whether the state of the presenting process is “normal” or “abnormal”;
Having a presentation method.

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