JP4126645B2 - Remote operation / monitoring system - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a remote operation / monitoring system, and more particularly to a remote operation monitoring system that performs remote operation and / or monitoring of a controlled device such as a vehicle using a network such as the Internet.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Devices such as vehicles are generally parked and stored, for example, in a parking lot when not in use. Many vehicles are equipped with various expensive devices (on-vehicle devices) such as audio devices, car navigation devices, and communication / information processing devices. The user or owner needs to operate such a vehicle itself or a vehicle-mounted device remotely or monitor the theft or the like. In recent years, with the development of a network represented by the Internet, remote control / monitoring via a network such as various control or monitoring devices has been progressing. Prior arts in or related to such technical fields include, for example, “Remote Operation System” in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-59867, “Remote Operation Connection Establishment Method, Remote Device and Control Device” in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-59871, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-309067 “Mobile Control / Measurement System”, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-344183 “Remote Control System, Remote Control Device, Remote Control Method, and Computer-Readable Recording Medium Recording Remote Control Program” And JP-A-2001-338237, “Internet terminal having Web site operation proxy channel button” and the like.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, the conventional technology as described above has a problem that the operability is not sufficient because a dedicated terminal is required or the operation procedure is not unified even though it is via the same network. Have. Further, in the case of a one-to-one system that does not perform centralized reception by the center, each controlled device must accept an operation from a user (user). For this reason, the cost of the controlled device increases, and it is difficult to cope with a change in usage form from the user.
[0004]
OBJECT OF THE INVENTION
The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems of the prior art, and an object thereof is to provide a remote operation / monitoring system that overcomes or reduces these problems.
[0005]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above problems, the remote control / monitoring system of the present invention employs a characteristic configuration as described below.
[0006]
(1) In a remote operation / monitoring system in which a user performs operation control and / or monitoring of a controlled device via a network,
The user is connected to the network via a portable information terminal,
Wherein the controlled device is connected to the network via a control device controller,
In the center connected to the network , a user database that holds various information about the user, a control device database that holds information about the controlled device, a monitoring device that monitors the controlled device, and a Web page are created Provided, a control message issuing device that converts the operation received by the Web server into a control message, and a security ensuring device that performs authentication of the user and the controlled device .
The user database holds the utilization history information of the controlled device by the user,
The control message issuing device refers to the database, creates a control procedure for operations registered in advance as the control message ,
The control procedure simplifies user authentication if the use location / time of the controlled device is in accordance with the past use history, and uses that are not in the past use history, such as sudden use at midnight. Is a remote control / monitoring system that enhances user authentication .
[0008]
( 2 ) The remote operation / monitoring system according to (1), wherein the control procedure is a control procedure in which an operation performed by a user is predicted according to a location and time of a controlled device, and the operation is simplified.
[0009]
( 3 ) The control procedure is such that only the departure time is specified, the engine of the vehicle as the controlled device in advance, the start of the air conditioner, various self-checks and the result report, and the movement of the vehicle to the boarding position. The remote operation / monitoring system according to (1), which is a control procedure.
[0010]
( 4 ) The remote operation / monitoring system according to (1), wherein the monitoring device continuously monitors the controlled device and notifies the user via the network and the portable information terminal when an abnormality is detected.
[0011]
( 5 ) The remote control / monitoring system according to any one of (1) to ( 4 ), wherein the controlled device is a vehicle.
[0014]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, the configuration and operation of a preferred embodiment of a remote operation / monitoring system according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
[0015]
FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram of a vehicle operation / monitoring system which is a preferred embodiment of a remote operation / monitoring system according to the present invention. This remote operation / monitoring system includes a portable information terminal 1 operated by a user, a network 2, a center 3, and an in-vehicle controller (control device controller) 4 connected to an in-vehicle device (non-control device). The center 3 provided in a remote location includes a Web server 301, a control message issuing device 302, a security ensuring device 303, a vehicle monitoring device (monitoring device) 304, a vehicle database 305 and a user database 306.
[0016]
The mobile information terminal 1 is a mobile terminal such as a mobile phone having a web browsing function that can be accessed by the web. It has a function of transmitting information obtained from the Web server 301 to the user, a function of receiving input from the user, transmitting the contents to the Web server 301, and an e-mail receiving function. The network 2 is a communication network such as the Internet or a mobile phone network.
[0017]
Next, the Web server 301 provides the user with an appropriate Web page for operation registration based on the contents of the vehicle database 305 and the user database 306, the position of the vehicle / user, the time, etc. It has a function to send the operation contents to other devices.
[0018]
The control message issuing device 302 has a function of converting an operation received by the Web server 301 into a single or a plurality of control messages and transmitting the operation to the vehicle controller (control device) 4 at appropriate timings. The security ensuring device 303 has functions such as user / vehicle authentication and message encryption as necessary. The vehicle monitoring device 304 has a function of continuously monitoring the vehicle according to the contents of the vehicle database 305 or a user request, reflecting the result in the vehicle database 305, and notifying the portable information terminal 1 by e-mail.
[0019]
The vehicle database 305 holds static information such as vehicle owner information, dynamic information such as vehicle status, and historical statistical information such as general usage time. On the other hand, the user database 306 holds authentication information about users, information about controllable vehicles and their functions, general usage time, and other information. The in-vehicle controller 4 has a function of connecting to a wireless network (Internet) 2 and a function of controlling other devices (in-vehicle devices) mounted on the vehicle by a control message via the network 2.
[0020]
Next, the overall operation of the remote control / monitoring system shown in FIG. 1 will be described in detail with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. First, the flowchart of FIG. 2 shows operation steps or sequences of the portable information terminal 1, the vehicle monitoring device 304, the security ensuring device 303, and the in-vehicle controller 4 in FIG. The vehicle monitoring device 304 continuously issues a status notification request to the in-vehicle controller 4 when continuous monitoring of the vehicle is registered by the user in advance (step A1).
[0021]
The in-vehicle controller 4 that has received this status notification request collects vehicle information from the in-vehicle device (step A2), and transmits the collected vehicle information to the security ensuring device 303 (step A3). The transmitted vehicle information is received by the vehicle monitoring device 304 through vehicle authentication (step A4) in the security ensuring device 303, and the vehicle database 305 is updated (step A5). Thereafter, only when it is determined by the vehicle state determination (step A6) that the user needs to be notified, the user is notified by e-mail via the portable information terminal 1 (step A7). Therefore, the user can know the state of the vehicle by checking the e-mail (step A8). For example, when a person other than the person authorized by the owner tries to use the vehicle, the vehicle owner is different from the prior art in that the vehicle owner can know it immediately.
[0022]
Next, the flowchart of FIG. 3 shows the operation steps of the portable information terminal 1, the security ensuring device 303, the Web server 301, the control message issuing device 302, and the in-vehicle controller 4. First, the user uses the portable information terminal 1 to request the security ensuring device 303 to start remote operation registration via the network 2 (step B1). At this time, user authentication is performed in the security ensuring device 303 using the mobile phone number, user ID, password, and the like (step B2).
[0023]
In the Web server 301, an optimal operation reception page is created from the user attributes obtained from the user database 306, the vehicle attributes / states obtained from the vehicle database 305, time, and various history information (step B3). It transmits to the portable information terminal 1 (step B4). The user designates the operation content using this page (step B5) and transmits it to the Web server 301 (step B6).
[0024]
For example, if the vehicle usage location / time is in accordance with the past usage history, user authentication is simplified. Conversely, usage that is not in the past usage history, such as sudden use at midnight, enhances user authentication. In addition, the operation performed by the user is predicted based on the location and time of the vehicle from external information and past history, and the operation is simplified. Specifically, by specifying the departure time in advance, options such as advance engine, air conditioner start-up, various self-checks and results report, and movement to the boarding position of the vehicle are prepared in advance. Here, it is greatly different from the prior art in that a series of control procedures can be registered. The transmitted operation content is user-authenticated (step B7) by the security ensuring device 303 and then received by the Web server 301.
[0025]
The Web server 301 accepts the operation content received from the security ensuring device 303 (step B8), and transmits the result to the portable information terminal 1 (step B9). Therefore, the user can know the operation acceptance result from the portable information terminal 1 (step B10). Thereafter, the Web server 301 transmits the operation content to the control message issuing device 302 (step B11).
[0026]
Next, the control message issuing device 302 creates a single or a plurality of control messages based on the operation contents (step B12), and transmits them to the in-vehicle controller 4 at a designated time or a timing determined to be appropriate (step B12). B13). This is also very different from the prior art.
[0027]
The in-vehicle controller 4 controls another device (in-vehicle device) mounted on the vehicle according to the control message received from the control message issuing device 302 (step B14), and transmits the control result to the security ensuring device 303 (step B14). B15). The transmitted control result is transmitted to the portable information terminal 1 via the security ensuring device 303 (step B16), the control message issuing device 302 (step B17), and the Web server 301 (step B18) for vehicle authentication. The person is notified (step B19). With the above operation, a series of operations of the remote control / monitoring system is completed.
[0028]
Next, the operation of the second embodiment of the remote control / monitoring system according to the present invention will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. The flowchart of FIG. 4 shows operation steps of the portable information terminal 1, the vehicle monitoring device 304, the security ensuring device 303, and the in-vehicle controller 4. In the first embodiment shown in FIG. 2, a state notification request is transmitted from the vehicle monitoring device 304. In this case, even when the state of the vehicle has not changed at all, there is communication between the vehicle monitoring device 304 and the in-vehicle controller 4, and thus the communication cost of the portable information terminal 1 is increased. Therefore, in the second embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the vehicle controller 4 is provided with a vehicle state determination function (means), and communication is performed only when it is determined that notification of the vehicle state is necessary, thereby reducing communication costs. It is characterized by.
[0029]
The flowchart of FIG. 4 shows the operation steps of the portable information terminal 1, the vehicle monitoring device 304, the security ensuring device 303, and the in-vehicle controller 4 as in FIG. The in-vehicle controller 4 periodically performs vehicle information collection (step C1) and vehicle state determination (step C2). Therefore, the vehicle state notification (step C3) is performed only when it is determined that the vehicle state notification to the security ensuring device (or center) 303 is necessary. The security ensuring device 303 receives the notification from the vehicle through the vehicle authentication (step C4) and the vehicle monitoring device 304 updates the vehicle database 305 (step C5). Furthermore, the vehicle state notification (steps C6 and C7) by e-mail or the like to the portable information terminal 1 is performed.
[0030]
Next, a third embodiment of the remote control / monitoring system according to the present invention will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. The flowchart in FIG. 5 shows operation steps among the portable information terminal 1, the security ensuring device 303, and the Web server 301. The user only makes an inquiry about information to the security ensuring device 303 of the center 3 through the portable information terminal 1. This is effective when the vehicle monitoring device 304 of the center 3 continuously monitors the vehicle, and the center 3 responds to an inquiry from the user asynchronously with the communication with the vehicle.
[0031]
In the flowchart of FIG. 5, first, an information reference request is transmitted from the user via the portable information terminal 1 (step D1). This request is sent to the Web server 301 after user authentication (step D2). The Web server 301 creates an optimal reference item input page from the information in the user database 306, time, etc. (step D3), and transmits the reference item input page to the information portable terminal 1 (step D4). The user inputs an information reference item to the reference item input page sent from the Web server 301 using the portable information terminal 1 (step D5), and transmits the information reference item to the security ensuring device 303 (step D5). D6). The Web server 301 accepts the information reference item through user authentication (step D7) (step D8), refers to the vehicle database 305, creates a message (step D9), and obtains the reference information via the portable information terminal 1. It transmits to a user (step D10).
[0032]
The configuration and operation of the preferred embodiment of the remote operation / monitoring system according to the present invention have been described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, such embodiments are merely examples of the present invention and do not limit the present invention. Those skilled in the art will readily understand that various modifications and changes can be made according to a specific application without departing from the gist of the present invention.
[0033]
【The invention's effect】
As can be understood from the above description, according to the remote control / monitoring system of the present invention, various remarkable effects can be obtained as follows. First, it is possible to operate / monitor a device such as a vehicle via a network such as the Internet from a center provided at a remote place. Secondly, by presenting as a choice an investigation that is expected from information such as the user's operation history or by registering a series of remote controls with a specific identifier in advance, the user's simple Control of advanced vehicle equipment and the like is possible through operation registration.
[0034]
Third, since the user recognition / operation registration procedure is determined based on the contents, time, and past history information in the user database and the vehicle database, the user recognition / operation registration is always performed in an appropriate procedure. . Fourthly, any operation registered by the user is automatically converted into an appropriate control message, so that a dedicated operation terminal is not required.
[0035]
Fifth, since the state of the vehicle is continuously monitored and an e-mail can be sent to the portable information terminal when a change (abnormality) occurs, the user immediately knows the change in the vehicle state. It is possible. Sixth, since the user is authenticated at the time of accepting an operation that is appropriately performed by the user, only an appropriate user can perform remote operation / monitoring.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram of a preferred embodiment of a remote operation / monitoring system according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a partial operation of the first embodiment of the remote control / monitoring system shown in FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a partial operation of the first embodiment of the remote control / monitoring system shown in FIG. 1;
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the second embodiment of the remote control / monitoring system according to the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the operation of the third embodiment of the remote control / monitoring system according to the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
1 Mobile information terminal 2 Network (Internet)
3 Center 4 On-board controller (control device controller)
301 Web server 302 Control message issuing device 303 Security ensuring device 304 Vehicle monitoring device (monitoring device)
305 Vehicle database 306 User database

Claims (5)

In a remote operation / monitoring system in which a user performs operation control and / or monitoring of a controlled device via a network,
The user is connected to the network via a portable information terminal,
Wherein the controlled device is connected to the network via a control device controller,
In the center connected to the network , a user database that holds various information about the user, a control device database that holds information about the controlled device, a monitoring device that monitors the controlled device, and a Web page are created Provided, a control message issuing device that converts the operation received by the Web server into a control message, and a security ensuring device that performs authentication of the user and the controlled device .
The user database holds the utilization history information of the controlled device by the user,
The control message issuing device refers to the database, creates a control procedure for operations registered in advance as the control message ,
The control procedure simplifies user authentication if the use location / time of the controlled device is in accordance with the past use history, and uses that are not in the past use history, such as sudden use at midnight. Is a remote operation / monitoring system characterized by strengthening user authentication .   The remote control / monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein the control procedure is a control procedure in which an operation performed by a user is predicted according to a location and time of a controlled device, and the operation is simplified. .   The control procedure is a control procedure in which the engine of the vehicle as a controlled device in advance, the start of the air conditioner, various self-checks and the result report, and the movement of the vehicle to the boarding position are performed simply by specifying the departure time The remote control / monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein:   The remote operation / control device according to claim 1, wherein the monitoring device continuously monitors the controlled device and notifies the user via the network and the portable information terminal when an abnormality is detected. Monitoring system. Wherein the controlled device, the remote operation / monitoring system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that a vehicle.

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