JP2022070494A - Mediation device, management mediation method and program - Google Patents

Abstract

To quickly acquire information on a terminal device in arbitrary timing, while suppressing power consumption at the terminal device.SOLUTION: A mediation device executes first polling. The first polling is processing in which terminal communication processing is cyclically executed at intervals. In the terminal communication processing, a response is received from a terminal device by transmitting request notification to the terminal device. The mediation device, when receiving interruption from the terminal management device during execution of the first polling (S310), stops the first polling currently being executed to execute the terminal communication processing (S340).SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 7

Description

The present disclosure relates to a technique for managing a terminal device.

Patent Document 1 discloses a print server that constantly monitors the state of a printer. This print server notifies the information processing apparatus of the printer status when the printer status changes or at predetermined time intervals.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 07-248889

In order for the print server to monitor the status of the printer, it is necessary for the printer to send status information. The printer requires power to send status information to the print server. Therefore, if the printer is constantly monitored by the print server, the power consumption of the printer increases. In particular, in a relatively small printer configured to operate by the power of a battery, the influence of power consumption due to constant monitoring is not small.

For example, if the status information is acquired from the printer at a relatively long interval (for example, 30 minutes) instead of constantly monitoring, the power consumption of the printer due to the monitoring can be reduced. However, the longer the interval, the lower the immediacy of status information acquisition in exchange for the reduction in power consumption. In other words, even if you want to know the latest status information in the middle of the interval, you need to wait until the interval elapses.

In view of the above problems, it is an object of the present disclosure to be able to quickly acquire information on a terminal device at an arbitrary timing while suppressing power consumption of the terminal device.

One aspect of the present disclosure is a program used in a terminal management system. The terminal management system includes a terminal management device, an intermediary device, and a terminal device. The intermediary device can communicate with the terminal management device. The terminal device can communicate with the intermediary device. The terminal management device can manage the terminal device via the intermediary device.

The program causes a computer included in the intermediary device to execute periodic processing. Periodic processing includes executing terminal communication processing periodically at intervals. The terminal communication process includes a response request process and a response receive process. The response request process is a process of transmitting a request notification requesting a response from the terminal device. The response is transmitted from the terminal device in response to the request notification being received by the terminal device. The response reception process is a process of receiving the response.

The program causes the computer to further execute an interrupt reception process and an interrupt response process. The interrupt reception process is a process of receiving an interrupt from the terminal management device. The interrupt handling process is a process of stopping the currently executing periodic process and executing the terminal communication process in response to the interrupt being received by the interrupt reception process.

When such a program is executed by the intermediary device, the terminal device may basically send a response to the request notification received periodically at intervals. Therefore, the power consumption required for response transmission can be reduced. On the other hand, when the intermediary device receives an interrupt from the terminal management device, the intermediary device exceptionally stops the currently executing periodic processing and transmits a request notification. This allows the intermediary device to receive an immediate response from the terminal device.

Therefore, according to this program, it is possible to quickly acquire the response from the terminal device at an arbitrary timing while suppressing the power consumption in the terminal device.
In another aspect of the present disclosure, an intermediary device configured to execute the above program may be provided. In yet another aspect of the present disclosure, a management mediation method used in the mediation device in which the program is executed may be provided.

It is explanatory drawing which shows the schematic structure of the terminal management system of an embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which shows the schematic structure of the terminal apparatus of embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which shows typically four functions in the terminal management system of embodiment. It is a time chart which shows the execution example of the 1st polling of embodiment. It is a flowchart of the 1st polling process of embodiment. It is a flowchart of the search process of an embodiment. It is a flowchart of the 1st interrupt processing of embodiment. It is a flowchart of the 2nd polling process of embodiment. It is a flowchart of the 2nd interrupt processing of embodiment.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings.
[1. Embodiment]
(1-1) Outline of Terminal Management System The terminal management system 1 shown in FIG. 1 includes a centralized management device 5, a terminal management device 30, and at least one managed system. Each of the managed systems is equipped with an intermediary device.

In this embodiment, the terminal management system 1 includes, for example, two managed systems. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 1, the terminal management system 1 includes a first managed system 110 and a second managed system 120.

The first managed system 110 includes a first intermediary device 10. The first managed system 110 further comprises one or more terminal devices. In this embodiment, the first managed system 110 includes, for example, three terminal devices 41, 42, 43. In the present embodiment, the terminal devices 41 to 43 cannot directly communicate with either the centralized management device 5 and the terminal management device 30, but can communicate with the first intermediary device 10.

The second managed system 120 includes a second intermediary device 20. The second managed system 120 further comprises one or more terminal devices. In this embodiment, the second managed system 120 includes, for example, two terminal devices 44, 45. In the present embodiment, the terminal devices 44 and 45 cannot directly communicate with either the centralized management device 5 and the terminal management device 30, but can communicate with the second intermediary device 20.

Each terminal device 41 to 45 may be configured in any way. The terminal devices 41 to 45 may be easily portable, or may not be easy to carry because they are supposed to be stationary and used.

Each of the terminal devices 41 to 45 of the present embodiment is, for example, a small terminal device that can be easily carried. More specifically, each of the terminal devices 41 to 45 of the present embodiment has, for example, a printer function. The printer function is a function of recording an image based on image data on a recording paper (recording medium). At least one of the terminal devices 41 to 45 may further have a scanning function. The scan function is a function that reads an image recorded on a document and generates image data indicating the scanned image.

The centralized management device 5 and the terminal management device 30 are connected to the global network 200 and can communicate with each other through the global network 200. The global network 200 may be any network, and in the present embodiment, for example, the Internet is configured so that communication is performed according to the so-called TCP / IP protocol. Each of the centralized management device 5 and the terminal management device 30 may be connected to the global network 200 via a router (not shown) having a firewall function.

The first managed system 110 includes a first local network (not shown). The first local network may be a so-called intranet. Each of the first intermediary device 10 and the terminal devices 41 to 43 is connected to the first local network. Each of the first intermediary device 10 and the terminal devices 41 to 43 can communicate with each other via the first local network.

The first local network may be a wired network, a wireless network, or a network in which wired and wireless are mixed. In this embodiment, the first local network communicates according to a communication protocol including, for example, the TCP / IP protocol. More specifically, the first local network of the present embodiment is, for example, a so-called wireless LAN based on the standard of IEEE802.11.

The first managed system 110 further includes a first relay device 111. The first relay device 111 is connected to the global network 200 and the first local network, and relays the communication between the global network 200 and the first local network. The first intermediary device 10 can communicate with the terminal management device 30 via the first relay device 111.

The first relay device 111 may have a function of a so-called broadband router. Further, the first relay device 111 may include a firewall for restricting access from the global network 200 to the first managed system 110.

The second managed system 120 is basically configured in the same manner as the first managed system 110. That is, the second intermediary device 20 is basically configured in the same manner as the first intermediary device 10. Further, the second managed system 120 includes a second local network (not shown). The second local network may be the same type of network as the first local network, or may be a different type of network from the first local network. The second managed system 120 further includes a second relay device 121. The second relay device 121 has the same function as the first relay device 111. The second intermediary device 20 can communicate with the terminal management device 30 via the second relay device 121.

In the following description, the term "terminal device" simply refers to each of the terminal devices 41 to 45. Further, when the term is simply referred to as "managed system", it means each of the first managed system 110 and the second managed system 120. Further, when the term is simply referred to as "intermediary device", it means each of the first intermediary device 10 and the second intermediary device 20.

The terminal management system 1 includes a part of a so-called mobile terminal management system (MDM system). That is, the centralized management device 5 is owned by, for example, a first company that provides a service of an MDM system. On the other hand, the terminal management device 30, the first intermediary device 10, and the second intermediary device 20 are owned by, for example, a second company that desires to manage each of the terminal devices 41 to 45 by using an MDM system. The first intermediary device 10 may be installed in, for example, a first branch owned by a second company, and the second intermediary device 20 may be installed in a second branch office owned by, for example, a second company.

The centralized management device 5 can manage various managed mobile terminals (not shown) in the MDM system by communicating with the mobile terminals (not shown). It is one of the basic functions in the MDM system that the centralized management device 5 manages the mobile terminal by communicating with the mobile terminal.

The centralized management device 5 of the present embodiment can further manage a terminal device that does not have a function of directly communicating with the centralized management device 5. That is, the manager of the terminal device can manage the terminal device in the managed system by accessing the managed system (specifically, accessing the intermediary device) from the centralized management device 5 through the terminal management device 30. ..

The administrator can manage the terminal device by accessing the management site in the centralized management device 5 using, for example, a Web browser. Specifically, the administrator can access the management site and check the status of the terminal device, for example. Further, for example, the administrator can request an action from the terminal device through the management site.

Further, the administrator can also manage the terminal device in the same manner as described above by directly accessing the terminal management device 30 without the intervention of the centralized management device 5. For example, the administrator may manage the terminal device through the user I / F 33 described later included in the terminal management device 30 or by accessing the terminal management site in the terminal management device 30 using a Web browser. can. In addition, "I / F" is an abbreviation for "interface".

(1-2) Configuration of Terminal Management Device As shown in FIG. 1, the terminal management device 30 includes a control unit 31, a storage unit 32, a user I / F 33, and a communication I / F 34.

The control unit 31 has, for example, a CPU. The storage unit 32 has semiconductor memories such as ROM, RAM, NVRAM, flash memory, and SSD. That is, the terminal management device 30 includes a computer including a CPU and a semiconductor memory. The storage unit 32 may include a memory different from the semiconductor memory, such as a hard disk drive. The storage unit 32 stores various programs, data, and the like, including an operating system, a Web server, a terminal management program, and a management database (hereinafter referred to as "management DB").

The control unit 31 realizes various functions by executing the program stored in the storage unit 32. The various functions realized by the control unit 31 are not limited to those realized by executing the program, and some or all of them may be realized by using one or a plurality of hardware.

The management DB includes management information for each terminal device (hereinafter referred to as "registered terminal") registered as a management target. The management information includes, for example, the IP address, serial number, model name, affiliation information, status information, firmware version information, and the like of the registered terminal. The model name indicates the model of the terminal device.

The affiliation information is information that identifies the intermediary device to which the registered terminal is associated. The terminal management device 30 separately registers each of the registered terminals based on which intermediary device is used for management. In the present embodiment, the terminal devices 41 to 43 are associated with the first intermediary device 10, and the terminal devices 44 and 45 are associated with the second intermediary device 20, respectively.

The serial number is a unique number given to each terminal device to identify the terminal device. The serial number may be, for example, a MAC address or a specific number.
The status information may include any information indicating the status of the terminal device. The status information includes, for example, various setting values set in the terminal device, the remaining amount of the battery 56 described later, information indicating whether or not the remaining amount of the battery is less than the first threshold value, the remaining amount of the recording paper, and the recording paper. There is information indicating whether or not the product is exhausted, a print sheet count value, information indicating whether or not the print sheet count value has reached the second threshold value, information indicating the open / closed state of a cover (not shown), and a terminal device. It may include at least one of location information indicating a location, a user name of a terminal device, and the like. The location information and the user name may be manually input to the terminal device by the administrator. The various setting values may include, for example, a font used in the printer function, a font size, a density, an image quality, a recording paper size, a print history, a remaining amount of a colorant, and the like.

The user I / F 33 includes an input device for receiving various inputs by the administrator, such as a keyboard and a mouse. The user I / F 33 further includes a display device for displaying various information to the administrator, such as a liquid crystal panel or an LED display device.

The communication I / F 34 is an interface for communicating with the centralized management device 5, the intermediary devices 10, 20, and the like. The communication I / F 34 may be, for example, a wired LAN, a wireless LAN, or other various communication interfaces. In this embodiment, the communication I / F 34 is connected to the global network 200.

(1-3) Configuration of Intermediary Device In the present embodiment, both the first intermediary device 10 and the second intermediary device 20 have the same configuration, and therefore, the first intermediary device 10 will be described below. As shown in FIG. 1, the first intermediary device 10 includes a control unit 11, a storage unit 12, a user I / F13, and a communication I / F14.

The control unit 11 has, for example, a CPU. The storage unit 12 has a semiconductor memory such as a ROM, RAM, NVRAM, a flash memory, or an SSD. That is, the first intermediary device 10 includes a computer including a CPU and a semiconductor memory. The storage unit 12 may include a memory different from the semiconductor memory, such as a hard disk drive. The storage unit 12 stores various programs, data, and the like, including the OS 15, the intermediary program 16, and the registered terminal list.

The control unit 11 realizes various functions by executing a program stored in a non-transitional substantive recording medium. In the present embodiment, the storage unit 12 corresponds to a non-transitional substantive recording medium in which a program is stored. The various functions realized by the control unit 11 are not limited to those realized by executing the program, and some or all of them may be realized by using one or a plurality of hardware.

The registered terminal list includes information that identifies the registered terminal associated with the first intermediary device 10. In this embodiment, the registered terminal list includes, for example, the serial number of the associated registered terminal.

The mediation program 16 includes various processes for mediating the management of the terminal device by the centralized management device 5 or the terminal management device 30. Each process shown in FIGS. 5 to 9 is included in the intermediary program 16.

The intermediary program 16 may be provided pre-installed in the first intermediary device 10. The intermediary program 16 is provided in a state of being stored in a storage medium such as a CD-ROM, a DVD-ROM, a USB memory, or a flash memory, and the intermediary program 16 is read from the storage medium by the first intermediary device 10. It may be installed. The intermediary program 16 may be installed by being downloaded to the first intermediary device 10 via an Internet communication line.

In the following description, the subject that executes the program (for example, the control unit 11 in the first intermediary device 10) may be simply described by the program name. For example, the description "the mediation program 16" may mean "the control unit 11 that executes the mediation program 16" in detail.

The user I / F 13 includes an input device for receiving various inputs by the administrator, such as a keyboard and a mouse. The user I / F 13 further includes, for example, a liquid crystal panel, an LED display device, and the like.

The communication I / F 14 is an interface for communicating with the terminal management device 30 and the terminal devices 41 to 43 and the like. The communication I / F 14 may include, for example, a wired LAN, a wireless LAN, Bluetooth, USB, or other various communication interfaces. The first intermediary device 10 communicates with each device connected to the global network 200, including the terminal management device 30, through a firewall included in the first relay device 111.

(1-4) Configuration of Terminal Devices Next, the configurations of the terminal devices 41 to 45 will be described. In the present embodiment, since each of the terminal devices 41 to 45 has the same configuration, the terminal device 41 will be described below with reference to FIG. 2.

The terminal device 41 includes a control unit 51, a storage unit 52, a printing unit 53, a communication I / F 55, a battery 56, and a power supply circuit 57. The terminal device 41 may further include a reading unit 54.

The control unit 51 has, for example, a CPU. The storage unit 52 has, for example, a semiconductor memory such as a ROM, RAM, NVRAM, a flash memory, or an SSD. That is, the terminal device 41 includes a computer including a CPU and a semiconductor memory. Various programs, data, and the like are stored in the storage unit 52.

The control unit 51 realizes various functions by executing a program stored in a non-transitional substantive recording medium. In the present embodiment, the storage unit 52 corresponds to a non-transitional substantive recording medium in which a program is stored. The various functions realized by the control unit 51 are not limited to those realized by executing the program, and some or all of them may be realized by using one or a plurality of hardware.

The storage unit 52 stores the IP address, serial number, model name, and the like of the terminal device 41. The storage unit 52 further stores the self-check processing program of FIG. 6, which will be described later.

The printing unit 53 realizes the above-mentioned printer function. The reading unit 54 realizes the above-mentioned scanning function.
The communication I / F 55 is an interface for communicating with the terminal management device 30 and the first intermediary device 10. The communication I / F55 is, for example, an interface for communicating by wireless LAN, an interface for communicating by wired LAN, an interface for communicating by Bluetooth (registered trademark of Bluetooth SIG, Inc.), and USB (Universal). It may be provided with at least one of the interfaces for performing communication by (Serial Bus). The terminal device 41 may use any interface to communicate with the first intermediary device 10.

The power supply circuit 57 generates and outputs at least one type of power supply voltage from the power of the battery 56. Each part in the terminal device 41 is operated by one of at least one kind of power supply voltage generated by the power supply circuit 57. The battery 56 may be a primary battery or a secondary battery that can be recharged repeatedly. The terminal device 41 may be configured to operate by receiving power supplied from a power source different from that of the battery 56.

(1-5) Management Function The terminal management system 1 of the present embodiment mainly has four types of management functions schematically shown in FIG. Specifically, the terminal management system 1 has a terminal registration function, a periodic monitoring function, a self-check monitoring function, and an action instruction function. Hereinafter, these four types of management functions will be specifically described. In the following four types of functions, the processing performed by the intermediary device is basically realized by the control unit 11 executing the intermediary program 16. Further, the processing performed by the terminal management device 30 is basically realized by the control unit 31 executing the terminal management program described above. Further, the processing performed by the terminal device is also basically realized by executing the program installed in the terminal device.

(1-5-1) Terminal registration function In the terminal registration function, the intermediary device searches for a terminal device existing in the managed system including itself, and transmits terminal information related to the searched terminal device to the terminal management device 30. This is a function of causing the terminal management device 30 to register the terminal device as a management terminal by requesting registration. An example of the execution procedure of the terminal registration function will be described below with reference to FIG.

(1-5-1-a) First polling by the intermediary device As shown by "A1" in FIG. 3, the intermediary device performs the first polling for the purpose of searching the terminal device. Specifically, the terminal device is searched periodically by periodically broadcasting the search command. The search command requests that when the terminal device receives the search command, the terminal information in the terminal device is transmitted. The requested terminal information includes at least information that can identify the terminal device. Specifically, the terminal information may include, for example, a serial number, a model name, and an IP address. The terminal information may include status information.

“Pattern 1” in FIG. 4 shows an example of the first polling. That is, in the first polling, the search for the terminal device is periodically performed at intervals (that is, a standby period). In this embodiment, the first polling is performed at regular intervals (that is, at regular intervals).
Will be done. The interval may be of any length, for example 30 minutes in this embodiment.

(1-5-1-b) Response by the terminal device During the search period in the first polling, the terminal device that received the broadcast search command outputs the terminal information as shown by "A2" in FIG. Send to the intermediary device. As a result, the intermediary device can grasp the terminal device existing in the managed system to which the intermediary device belongs.

(1-5-1-c) Request for registration to the terminal management device The intermediary device that has acquired the terminal information for the first poll makes a registration request including the terminal information as shown by "A3" in FIG. It is transmitted to the terminal management device 30. As a result, in the terminal management device 30, the unregistered terminal device is newly registered in the management DB.

The intermediary device may transmit the terminal information of all the terminal devices that responded to the first poll to the terminal management device 30, or may transmit only the terminal information of the unregistered terminal device to the terminal management device 30. Any method may be used to determine whether or not the product has not been registered. For example, information about the registered terminal may be acquired from the terminal management device 30, and a judgment may be made based on the information. Further, for example, the determination may be made by referring to the above-mentioned registered terminal list.

Up to this point, the basic flow of the terminal registration function has been described, but in the present embodiment, in addition to the terminal search by the first polling, the terminal search is immediately executed at an arbitrary timing to register the unregistered terminal. Can be done. That is, by applying the first interrupt to the first polling, the first polling can be stopped and the terminal search can be executed. This first interrupt will be described in detail later.

(1-5-2) Periodic monitoring function The periodic monitoring function is a function in which the intermediary device periodically acquires status information from the registered terminal and transmits it to the terminal management device 30. Upon receiving the status information, the terminal management device 30 updates the management DB based on the status information. As a result, the administrator can check the latest status of the registered terminal by accessing either the centralized management device 5 or the terminal management device 30 and referring to the management DB.

An example of the execution procedure of the periodic monitoring function will be described below with reference to FIG.
(1-5-2-a) Periodic polling by the intermediary device As shown by "B1" in FIG. 3, the intermediary device performs a second polling to each of the registered terminals belonging to the intermediary device. The second poll contains instructions requesting status information.

The second polling of the present embodiment is, for example, a so-called SNMP polling performed according to the Simple Network Management Protocol (SMP) protocol. In addition, there are version 1 (SNMPv1), version 2 (SNMPv2), and version 3 (SNMPv3) in SNMP. The second polling may be performed according to any version of SNMP, but in the present embodiment, it is performed according to SNMPv3 having the highest security level. The same applies to the SNMP request shown by "C3" in FIG. SMPv3 has a password authentication function for each user, an access control function that can define a range of MIB (Management Information Base) that can be accessed for each user, and the like.

The second polling may be performed at any timing. The second polling may be performed, for example, at regular intervals (for example, every 30 minutes). Further, the intermediary device does not have to poll all the registered terminals every time. That is, for example, each time the polling execution timing arrives, the terminal devices to be polled may be sequentially switched one by one or by a predetermined number.

(1-5-2-b) Status information transmission from the terminal device The MIB used in the SNMP protocol is stored in the storage unit 52 of the terminal device. The terminal device that has received the second poll specified by itself transmits a part or all of the status information stored in the MIB to the intermediary device as shown by "B2" in FIG. ..

(1-5-2-c) Notification of status information to the terminal management device When the intermediary device receives the status information from the terminal device, it manages the status information to the terminal as shown by "B3" in FIG. It is transmitted to the device 30. Upon receiving the status information, the terminal management device 30 updates the "management database" based on the status information.

Up to this point, the basic flow of the periodic monitoring function has been described, but in the present embodiment, in addition to the acquisition of the status information by the second polling, the status information can be acquired immediately at any timing. That is, by applying the second interrupt to the second polling, the second polling can be stopped and the status information can be acquired. This second interrupt will be described in detail later.

(1-5-3) Self-check monitoring function The self-check monitoring function is a function in which the terminal device itself monitors the status and notifies the intermediary device when a status change is detected. The status changes to be detected include, for example, the remaining battery level decreases by a certain level, the remaining battery level becomes less than the first threshold value, the recording paper runs out, and the print count reaches the second threshold value. It includes at least one of a plurality of events such as a cover changing from a closed state to an open state, a location change, a user name change, and the like. More specifically, the fact that the remaining battery level decreases by a certain level means that the remaining battery level decreases by a specified percentage from the specified initial value (for example, the remaining amount at the time of full charge). That is, when the specified% is, for example, 10%, it is determined that the status change occurs every time the remaining battery level decreases by 10% such as 90%, 80%, 70%, and so on of the specified initial value.

An example of the execution procedure of the self-check monitoring function will be described below with reference to FIG.
(1-5-3-a) Self-check in the terminal device The terminal device has a self-check function. The self-check function is a function for checking its own status periodically (for example, at regular intervals) (see "C1" in FIG. 3). The self-check function further includes determining whether or not a status change has occurred based on the check result.

(1-5-3-b) Transmission of status information based on detection of status change When the terminal device detects a status change, as shown by "C2" in FIG. 3, the terminal device transmits self-check information as an intermediary device. Notify to. Self-check information includes at least information that can recognize the latest status after change. Specifically, the self-check information includes, for example, at least one of the information indicating the detected status change and the information indicating the status in which the status change has occurred. The self-check information may further include information indicating a status different from the status in which the status change is detected. That is, the self-check information may be of the same type as the status information transmitted by the terminal device in the above-mentioned periodic monitoring function.

(1-5-3-c) Transmission of status information from the intermediary device to the terminal management device When the intermediary device receives the self-check information from the terminal device, as shown by "C3" in FIG. The self-check information is transmitted to the terminal management device 30.

Upon receiving the self-check information, the terminal management device 30 updates the "management database" based on the self-check information. As a result, the administrator can check the latest status of each registered terminal.

(1-5-4) Action instruction function The action instruction function requests an action target terminal to take one or more actions from the instruction target terminal device (hereinafter referred to as "action target terminal"). It is a function to execute.

One or more types of actions may include, for example, at least one of various setting value update instructions, firmware update instructions, file download instructions, status information transmission requests, and the like. Further, the action instruction function may include an action instruction to the intermediary device. For example, requesting the intermediary device to broadcast for searching the terminal device (in other words, the terminal device existing in the same managed system as the intermediary device) existing around the intermediary device is an action. There may be one.

An example of the execution procedure of the action instruction function will be described below with reference to FIG.
(1-5-4-a) Action registration in the terminal management device The administrator transfers the action to the terminal management device 30 directly to the terminal management device 30 or via the centralized management device 5, among the terminal devices 41 to 45. Actions can be registered by designating one or more of the action target terminals.

The action table is stored in the storage unit 32 of the terminal management device 30. The action table contains information indicating the registered action. The action registered in the action table may be deleted from the action table according to the execution of the action.

The terminal management device 30 of the present embodiment does not actively access the intermediary device by itself. The main reason is that access to the inside of the managed system is blocked by the firewall in each of the relay devices 111 and 121. Therefore, the terminal management device 30 does not request the registered action by itself.

(1-5-4-b) Action confirmation poll from the intermediary device As shown by "D1" in FIG. 3, the intermediary program 16 periodically sends an action confirmation poll to the terminal management device 30. do. The action confirmation polling is a polling for confirming whether or not an action is registered in the terminal management device 30.

The action confirmation polling includes, for example, identification information (eg, a serial number) that identifies all registered terminals belonging to the managed system to which the intermediary device belongs. It is not necessary that the identification information of all registered terminals is included in the action confirmation polling once. For example, action confirmation polling may be performed individually for each one or a plurality of registered terminals. The action confirmation poll may be transmitted at any timing. The action confirmation poll may be transmitted, for example, periodically (for example, every hour).

(1-5-4-c) Provision of action information from the terminal management device The terminal management device 30 receives an action confirmation poll from an intermediary device, and is a registration device indicated by identification information included in the action confirmation poll. Check if there is an action corresponding to. When the corresponding action is registered, the terminal management device 30 that has received the action confirmation poll sends the action information indicating the action to the corresponding registered terminal (as shown by "D2" in FIG. That is, it is linked with the action target terminal) and transmitted to the intermediary device.

The association between the action information and the registered terminal may be performed in any way as long as the action information can identify which registered terminal the action is for. In this embodiment, for example, the IP address of the registered terminal is added to the action information.

(1-5-4-d) Action instruction based on action information When the intermediary device acquires the action information from the terminal management device 30, it is associated with the action information as shown by "D3" in FIG. The action is instructed to the target terminal. That is, it is instructed to execute the action indicated by the action information. In the present embodiment, as described above, the IP address of the corresponding action target terminal is added to the action information. Therefore, the intermediary device accesses the action target terminal based on the IP address and instructs the action indicated by the action information.

(1-5-4-e) Execution of action by the terminal device When the action target terminal receives an action instruction from the intermediary device, the action target terminal executes the action indicated by the action instruction. Then, after the action is executed, as shown by "D4" in FIG. 3, an action completion notification indicating that the action has been executed normally is transmitted to the intermediary device. The action completion notification may include information indicating the execution result of the executed action. Specifically, for example, it may include the status information of the action target terminal after the action is executed.

Upon receiving the action completion notification from the terminal device, the intermediary device notifies the terminal management device 30 that the action has been normally executed. This notification may also include information indicating the execution result of the action. As a result, the administrator can acquire information on the execution of the action and the execution result by accessing either the centralized management device 5 or the terminal management device 30.

(1-6) Details of Terminal Registration Function (1-6-1) Execution Example of Terminal Registration Function An execution example of the terminal registration function will be described with reference to FIG. Execution examples of the terminal registration function can be mainly classified into three types of patterns as illustrated in FIG. As described above, the pattern 1 is a pattern in which the first polling is executed without performing the first interrupt. Pattern 2 is a pattern in which the first interrupt is performed during the period of the interval in the first polling. Pattern 3 is a pattern in which the first interrupt is performed during the search period of the terminal device in the first polling. In FIG. 4, the time t0 indicates the start timing of the first polling. The first polling starts from the terminal search. That is, when the first polling is started, the terminal search is executed first.

The pattern 2 will be specifically described with reference to FIG. After the start of the first polling, the intermediary device resets (that is, initializes) the first polling when it receives the first interrupt at time t1 during the period of the interval. That is, the first polling that is currently being executed is stopped, and the first polling is started from the beginning. As a result, if the first interrupt is not received, the interval continues until the time t2, but by receiving the first interrupt, the terminal device is searched (that is, broadcast) at the time t1.

In this embodiment, the first interrupt is transmitted from, for example, the terminal management device 30. The administrator can instruct the terminal management device 30 via the centralized management device 5 or directly to the terminal management device 30 at an arbitrary timing. Therefore, when there is a terminal device to be newly registered immediately, the administrator can promptly register the terminal device without waiting for the end of the interval by instructing the first interrupt.

Next, the pattern 3 will be specifically described with reference to FIG. When the intermediary device receives the first interrupt at time t3 during the search period after the start of the first polling, the intermediary device continues the currently executing search without stopping. Then, when the running search is completed, the first polling is reset.

As described above, in the present embodiment, when the first interrupt is received during the interval period, the search is immediately executed by resetting the first polling. On the other hand, if the first interrupt is received during the search execution, the first polling is reset after the running search is continued to the end.

(1-6-2) First Polling Process The first polling for searching the terminal device is realized by the control unit 11 of the intermediary device executing the first polling process of FIG. When the control unit 11 is started, the first polling process is started.

When the control unit 11 starts the first polling process, the control unit 11 executes the search process in S110. This search process is a process of searching for a terminal device and transmitting the search result to the terminal management device 30. The period indicated by "search" in FIG. 3 corresponds to the execution period of the search process.

The details of the search process are as shown in FIG. The control unit 11 determines in S210 whether or not the priority terminal exists.
The search process is basically performed by broadcasting without specifying a destination, but for example, when there is a terminal device that wants to be registered preferentially and quickly, the administrator can use the information of the terminal device (for example, serial number, IP address, arrangement). The managed system, etc. to be managed) can be notified to the terminal management device 30, and the terminal device can be designated as the priority terminal. When the terminal management device 30 receives the designation of the priority terminal, the terminal management device 30 transmits a notification indicating that the priority terminal has been designated, including the information of the priority terminal, to the intermediary device of the managed system in which the priority terminal is arranged. do. Upon receiving the notification of the priority terminal designation, the intermediary device stores the information included in the notification in the storage unit 12. Then, the saved information is referred to when the search process is executed (particularly when S210 and S240 are executed).

If it is determined in S210 that there is no priority terminal, the process proceeds to S250. If it is determined that the priority terminal exists, the process proceeds to S220. In S220, a designated terminal search is performed. Specifically, the terminal information is acquired from the priority terminal by performing unicast to the priority terminal as the destination for one priority terminal. In S230, the terminal information acquired in S220 is transmitted to the terminal management device 30. In S240, it is determined whether or not there is another priority terminal for which the designated terminal search of S220 has not been performed. If there is no other priority terminal, it shifts to S250. If there are still other priority terminals, the process shifts to S220. That is, the processes of S220 to S230 are sequentially executed for all the priority terminals, and the process shifts to S250.

In S250, the terminal device is searched by performing the above-mentioned broadcast, and the terminal information transmitted from the terminal device that has received the search command is acquired. In S260, the search result by broadcasting of S250, that is, the acquired terminal information is transmitted to the terminal management device 30. When the processing of S260 is completed, the process proceeds to S120 (see FIG. 5).

In S120, the interval is started. In S130, it is determined whether or not the interval has elapsed, that is, whether or not the end of the interval has arrived. The determination of S130 is repeated until the interval elapses, and when the interval elapses, the process proceeds to S110.

(1-6-3) First Interrupt Processing The first interrupt processing for responding to the first interrupt from the terminal management device 30 will be described with reference to FIG. 7. When the control unit 11 of the intermediary device receives the first interrupt from the terminal management device 30, the control unit 11 executes the first interrupt process shown in FIG. 7. Strictly speaking, the process of S310 in FIG. 7, that is, the process of receiving the first interrupt, is not a part of the first interrupt process, but is a process that triggers the start of the first interrupt process. For convenience, it is shown in FIG.

When the control unit 11 starts the first interrupt process by receiving the first interrupt (see S310), the control unit 11 determines in S320 whether or not the search process in the first polling process is being executed. If the search process is not being executed, that is, during the interval period, the process proceeds to S340. If the search process is being executed, the process proceeds to S330.

In S330, the search process currently being executed is continued as it is, and waits until it is completed. Then, when the execution search process is completed, the process proceeds to S340.
In S340, the first polling process currently being executed is reset. That is, the first polling process currently being executed is stopped, and the first polling process is started from the beginning. As a result, the search process (S110) is started immediately.

(1-7) Details of the periodic monitoring function The execution example of the periodic monitoring function can also be classified into three types of patterns as in the three patterns illustrated in FIG. 4 in the terminal registration function. In FIG. 4, if the period of "search" is replaced with the request and acquisition of status information in the second polling process (hereinafter, abbreviated as "status acquisition"), and "first interrupt" is replaced with "second interrupt". , FIG. 4 can be regarded as a diagram showing an execution example of the periodic monitoring function.

That is, when the intermediary device receives the second interrupt during the period of the second polling interval, the intermediary device resets the second polling. When there is a terminal device whose status is to be checked immediately, the administrator can quickly check the status of the terminal device by instructing the second interrupt without waiting for the end of the interval.

On the other hand, if the intermediary device receives the second interrupt during the status acquisition period in the second polling, the intermediary device continues without stopping the status acquisition currently being executed. Then, when the execution status acquisition is completed, the second polling is reset.

(1-7-1) Second polling process The second polling process for acquiring the status is realized by the control unit 11 of the intermediary device executing the second polling process of FIG. When the control unit 11 is started, the second polling process is started in parallel with the first polling process described above.

When the control unit 11 starts the second polling process, the control unit 11 executes the status acquisition process in S410. Specifically, the status information is acquired from each registered terminal by requesting the status information from each registered terminal in the managed system to which the intermediary device belongs by unicasting the destination designation.

Similar to the processes of S210 to S240 in the first polling process, the priority terminal can be specified, and if there is a priority terminal, the status information of the priority terminal is preferentially acquired and transmitted to the terminal management device 30. You may.

Further, in the status acquisition process, the status information may be requested by sequentially accessing all the IP addresses specified by the subnet, not limited to the unicast that specifies the destination for each registered terminal.

When the status acquisition process is completed, the process proceeds to S420. In S420, the interval is started. In S430, it is determined whether or not the interval has elapsed. The determination of S430 is repeated until the interval elapses, and when the interval elapses, the process proceeds to S410.

(1-7-2) Second Interrupt Processing The second interrupt processing for responding to the second interrupt from the terminal management device 30 will be described with reference to FIG. When the control unit 11 of the intermediary device receives the second interrupt from the terminal management device 30 (see S510), the control unit 11 executes the second interrupt process shown in FIG.

When the second interrupt process is started by receiving the second interrupt (see S510), the control unit 11 determines in S520 whether or not the status acquisition process in the second polling process is being executed. If the status acquisition process is not being executed, that is, during the interval period, the process proceeds to S540. If the status acquisition process is being executed, the process proceeds to S530.

In S530, the status acquisition process currently being executed is continued as it is, and waits until it is completed. Then, when the execution status acquisition process is completed, the process proceeds to S540.
In S540, the second polling process currently being executed is reset. That is, the second polling process currently being executed is stopped, and the second polling process is started from the beginning. As a result, the status acquisition process (S410) is started immediately.

(1-8) Effect of Embodiment According to the embodiment described above, the following effects (a) to (c) are exhibited.
(A) In the intermediary device of the present embodiment, the various functions and processes described above are realized by executing the intermediary program 16.

Specifically, in the terminal registration function, the terminal device is basically searched by the first polling. Therefore, the terminal device may basically transmit terminal information to a search command that is periodically received at intervals. Therefore, the power consumption required for transmitting the terminal information can be reduced. The terminal device of this embodiment is operated by the electric power of the battery 56. Therefore, the fact that the information request to the terminal device is performed at a relatively long interval also contributes to a long battery life.

On the other hand, when the intermediary device receives the first interrupt from the terminal management device 30, the intermediary device exceptionally stops the first polling currently being executed and executes the search. As a result, the intermediary device can immediately receive the terminal information from the terminal device.

Even in the periodic monitoring function, status information is basically acquired by the second polling. Therefore, the terminal device may basically transmit status information in response to a request that is periodically received at intervals. Therefore, the power consumption required for transmitting the status information can be reduced. On the other hand, when the intermediary device receives the second interrupt from the terminal management device 30, the intermediary device exceptionally stops the second polling currently being executed and requests the status information. As a result, the intermediary device can immediately receive the status information from the terminal device.

Therefore, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to quickly acquire the information of the terminal device at an arbitrary timing while suppressing the power consumption of the terminal device.
(B) If the intermediary device receives the first interrupt during the interval period in the first poll, it resets the first poll without waiting for the end of the interval. On the other hand, if the first interrupt is received during the search period in the first poll, the first poll is not reset immediately and the running search is continued. Then, when the search is completed, the first polling is reset.

In other words, instead of resetting the first polling uniformly when the first interrupt is received, whether to reset it immediately or continue the running process to the end according to the timing when the first interrupt is received. I'm switching. By continuing the search for the first interrupt during the search execution, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of a terminal device that remains unsearched even though it exists in the managed system.

Therefore, information on other terminals can be appropriately and quickly obtained from the terminal device according to the reception timing of the first interrupt. The same applies to the second polling.
(C) When the intermediary device receives the designation of the priority terminal, the intermediary device preferentially performs a search or a status information request for the priority terminal. Therefore, the administrator can quickly register a specific terminal device or quickly acquire status information from the specific terminal device, if necessary.

In the present embodiment, the intermediary program 16 corresponds to an example of the program in the present disclosure. The control unit 11 and the storage unit 12 of the intermediary device correspond to an example of the computer in the present disclosure. The search command in the first polling and the request for status information in the second polling both correspond to an example of the request notification in the present disclosure. The terminal information from the terminal device for the first polling and the status information from the terminal device for the second polling both correspond to an example of the response to the request notification in the present disclosure. At least one of the serial number and the IP address of the terminal device corresponds to an example of the terminal specific information in the present disclosure.

Both the first polling process of FIG. 5 and the second polling process of FIG. 8 correspond to an example of the periodic process in the present disclosure. Both S110 and S410 correspond to an example of terminal communication processing in the present disclosure. Both S220 and S250 correspond to an example of the response request processing and the response reception processing in the present disclosure. Both S310 and S510 correspond to an example of interrupt reception processing in the present disclosure. Both the processes of S320 to S340 and the processes of S520 to S540 correspond to an example of the interrupt handling process in the present disclosure. The process of S340 executed by the negative determination in S320 and the process of S540 executed by the negative determination in S520 both correspond to an example of the first initialization process in the present disclosure. Both S330 and S530 correspond to an example of continuous processing in the present disclosure. The process of S340 executed via S330 by being affirmed by S320 and the process of S540 executed via S530 by being affirmed by S520 are both of the second initialization process in the present disclosure. Corresponds to one example. Both S230 and S260 correspond to an example of the transmission process in the present disclosure.

[2. Other embodiments]
Although the embodiments of the present disclosure have been described above, the present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be variously modified and implemented.

(2-1) For example, when the first interrupt is received during the search period in the first poll, the running search may be stopped immediately and the first poll may be reset.
Also in the second polling, if the second interrupt is received during the status acquisition period, the running status acquisition process may be immediately stopped and the second polling may be reset.

(2-2) The application of the present disclosure is not limited to the application to the MDM system. That is, the present disclosure is also applicable to a terminal management system unrelated to the MDM system, which is not provided with the centralized management device 5.

(2-3) A plurality of functions possessed by one component in the above embodiment may be realized by a plurality of components, or one function possessed by one component may be realized by a plurality of components. May be good. Further, a plurality of functions possessed by the plurality of components may be realized by one component, or one function realized by the plurality of components may be realized by one component. Further, a part of the configuration of the above embodiment may be omitted. Further, at least a part of the configuration of the above embodiment may be added or replaced with the configuration of the other above embodiment.

1 ... Terminal management system, 10 ... First intermediary device, 11, 31, 51 ... Control unit, 12, 32, 52 ... Storage unit, 14, 34, 55 ... Communication I / F, 16 ... Intermediary program, 20 ... No. 2 mediation device, 30 ... terminal management device, 41-45 ... terminal device, 56 ... battery.

Claims (11)

A program used in a terminal management system
The terminal management system includes a terminal management device, an intermediary device capable of communicating with the terminal management device, and a terminal device capable of communicating with the intermediary device.
The terminal management device is configured to be able to manage the terminal device via the mediation device.
The program is applied to the computer included in the intermediary device.
Periodic processing, including periodic execution of terminal communication processing at intervals.
To execute,
The terminal communication process is
Response request processing for transmitting a request notification requesting a response from the terminal device, and
Response reception processing for receiving the response transmitted from the terminal device in response to the request notification being received by the terminal device, and
Including
The program is applied to the computer and further to the computer.
An interrupt handling process that stops the currently executing periodic process and executes the terminal communication process in response to the interrupt reception process for receiving an interrupt from the terminal management device and the interrupt reception process. When,
To execute,
program. The program according to claim 1.
The interrupt handling process is
In response to the interrupt being received by the interrupt reception process during the period corresponding to the interval, the cycle process currently being executed is stopped and the cycle process is started from the beginning without waiting for the end of the interval. The first initialization process to be executed,
Including the program. The program according to claim 1 or 2.
The interrupt handling process is
A continuation process, in which the terminal communication process currently being executed is continued without being stopped in response to the interrupt being received by the interrupt reception process during the execution of the terminal communication process.
Including
The interrupt handling process stops the currently executing periodic process in response to the end of the terminal communication process continued by the continuous process.
program. The program according to claim 3.
The interrupt handling process is
A second initialization process, in which the periodic process is executed from the beginning in response to the end of the terminal communication process continued by the continuous process.
Including the program. The program according to any one of claims 1 to 4.
The terminal device has terminal identification information that identifies the terminal device.
The request notification requests that the terminal specific information be transmitted, and the request notification is made.
The response request process includes a broadcast process of transmitting the request notification by a broadcast that does not specify a destination.
program. The program according to claim 5.
The response request process is a unicast process executed prior to the broadcast process, and includes a unicast process of transmitting the request notification to the terminal device by a unicast process in which the terminal device is designated as a destination. ,
program. The program according to any one of claims 1 to 4.
The request notification requests the terminal device to transmit information indicating the status of the terminal device.
program. The program according to any one of claims 1 to 7.
The program is applied to the computer and further to the computer.
A transmission process for transmitting information based on the response received by the response reception process to the terminal management device,
A program that runs. The program according to any one of claims 1 to 8.
The terminal device comprises a battery and is configured to transmit the response by the power of the battery.
program. An intermediary device used in terminal management systems
The terminal management system includes the intermediary device, a terminal management device capable of communicating with the intermediary device, and a terminal device capable of communicating with the intermediary device.
The terminal management device is configured to be able to manage the terminal device via the mediation device.
The intermediary device is
A communication unit configured to communicate with the terminal device,
Control unit and
Equipped with
The control unit
Execute periodic processing including executing terminal communication processing periodically at intervals,
The terminal communication process is
Response request processing for transmitting a request notification requesting a response from the terminal device via the communication unit, and
A response reception process for receiving the response transmitted from the terminal device via the communication unit in response to the request notification being received by the terminal device.
Including
The control unit further
Interrupt reception processing for receiving an interrupt from the terminal management device via the communication unit, and
In response to the interrupt being received by the interrupt reception process, the interrupt handling process for stopping the cycle process currently being executed and executing the terminal communication process, and
An intermediary device that runs. It is a management mediation method used in a mediation device in a terminal management system.
The terminal management system includes the intermediary device, a terminal management device capable of communicating with the intermediary device, and a terminal device capable of communicating with the intermediary device.
The terminal management device is configured to be able to manage the terminal device via the mediation device.
The management mediation method is
Periodically executing terminal communication processing at intervals,
Have,
The terminal communication process is
Sending a request notification requesting a response from the terminal device via the communication unit, and
Receiving the response transmitted from the terminal device in response to the request notification being received by the terminal device.
Including
The management mediation method further
Receiving an interrupt from the terminal management device and
Executing the terminal communication process in response to receiving the interrupt, and
A management mediation method that has.

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