JP5208880B2 - Inventory support system and inventory support program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to management of externally connected devices used in computer terminals, and more particularly to a technique for supporting inventory of externally connected devices.

  In general, when a computer terminal is used, an external connection device such as a USB memory or a printer is often used. However, in an environment where a large number of computer terminals are used, such as companies and schools, the number of externally connected devices used therein is enormous. Therefore, in order to prevent the loss of externally connected devices, companies and the like need to regularly manage the location of externally connected devices (hereinafter referred to as “inventory”).

  Inventories in companies and the like are often performed in a form in which a specific person in charge of work management is determined and the person in charge of the management takes the lead. However, externally connected devices are easy to handle, and are rented out or taken out to the outside. Therefore, it is necessary to perform inventory for all externally connected devices on a regular basis, and there is a problem that the work burden on the manager in charge and the worker who performs inventory increases.

  As means for solving the above problem, user information of a device using a memory card is acquired, and the acquired user information is compared with user information that is a manager of a predetermined memory card. There is a technique for determining whether or not the user using the system is an administrator. In this technique, means for managing a memory card by registering user information as an administrator for each memory card in advance and grasping the usage status of the user of the memory card is used. As a result, the administrator can easily check the history of use by other than the administrator for each memory card. By using this technique for inventory work, the workload of the administrator can be reduced. (See Patent Document 1)

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-46878

  If the technique of patent document 1 is used, since the administrator of the memory card is registered in advance, the usage history other than the administrator can be confirmed, and how the card is used can be grasped. However, in order to prevent the memory card from being lost, it is necessary for the administrator to check the history of usage by non-administrators against all memory cards. Even if it can be done, if the number of memory cards to be managed increases, it will take time to confirm, and eventually the work burden of the manager responsible for inventory will increase. Furthermore, when it is used in a place other than the system using the technique of Patent Document 1, the usage history cannot be grasped.

  An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art. Specifically, using the usage status of externally connected devices (including storage media etc.) used in computer terminals, it is determined whether inventory of externally connected devices is necessary, thereby supporting inventory. The problem is to provide a system.

In order to solve the above-described problem, the inventory support system of the present invention includes a terminal that can attach and detach externally connected devices and a management server, and detachment information that stores detachable information related to the attachment and detachment of externally connected devices in the terminal. Necessity of inventory in the externally connected device based on the storage unit, the usage information generating unit that generates usage information indicating the usage status of the externally connected device at a predetermined time based on the attachment / detachment information, and the usage information of the externally connected device An inventory determination unit for determining

  By configuring as in the present invention, it is possible to grasp whether or not an externally connected device has been attached to or detached from the terminal based on the attachment / detachment information acquired from the terminal. Furthermore, the use information generated based on the attachment / detachment information can be used to determine the risk of loss of the externally connected device. Accordingly, it is possible to automatically determine an externally connected device that needs to be inventoried according to the usage status of the externally connected device, and it is possible to provide a system that supports the inventory.

  The externally connected device in the present invention means a device that is used in a form of being connected from the outside to the terminal body and has a role of assisting the operation of the terminal. Specifically, an external storage medium such as a USB memory, FD (magnetic disk), MO (magneto-optical disk), CD (optical disk), DVD (optical disk) or removable hard disk, input device such as a keyboard, mouse or scanner, and display Alternatively, an output / display device such as a printer and a communication device such as a modem or a router are included. The present invention is not limited to the above, and any device may be used as long as it is used in a form of being connected to the terminal body from the outside.

  The inventory support system of the present invention includes a terminal and a management server to which an externally connected device can be attached and detached, an operation log information storage unit that stores operation log information indicating a history of processing executed in the terminal, and an operation log A usage information generation unit that generates usage information indicating the usage status of the externally connected device at a predetermined time based on the information, and an inventory determination that determines the necessity of the inventory of the externally connected device based on the usage information of the externally connected device It is good also as a structure provided with a part.

By configuring as in the present invention, it is also possible to grasp information about what processing has been performed on the externally connected device. As a result, it is possible to determine the necessity of inventory taking into consideration the content of the processing performed on the externally connected device.

  The operation log information in the present invention refers to information indicating a history of control operations for various devices and the like, processes executed in accordance with notifications / requests by user operations and application instructions in the terminal.

  The usage information in the inventory support system of the present invention includes the attachment / detachment time of the externally connected device, the number of terminals to which the externally connected device has been attached / detached, the content and processing frequency of processing performed by the terminal on the externally connected device, and the file name. And the amount of data, and the inventory determination unit uses the usage information to calculate a utilization level indicating the degree of use by the terminal for each externally connected device, and based on the calculated utilization level. The external connection device may have a means for determining the necessity of inventory.

By configuring as in the present invention, it is possible to grasp how much has been conventionally used by the terminal in each externally connected device, and the need for inventory taking into account the past utilization degree for the externally connected device Can be determined.

  The processing content in the present invention refers to information indicating the content of processing performed by the terminal on the external connection device.

  The processing frequency in the present invention refers to information indicating the number of times a specific processing content is executed within a predetermined period of processing content performed by the terminal on the external connection device.

  The inventory support system of the present invention further includes a data information acquisition unit that acquires data information related to data stored in the externally connected device, and the inventory determination unit compares the usage information with the acquired data information. According to the configuration, the necessity of inventory in the externally connected device is determined.

  The data information in the present invention refers to information related to data (such as a file) stored in the external device. For example, there are file save date and time or file processing date and time, file name, number of files, data capacity, and the like.

  By configuring as in the present invention, it is possible to detect the possibility that the externally connected device has been taken out of the network and used by detecting a change in information regarding the data stored in the externally connected device. . As a result, it is possible to determine the necessity of inventory taking into account the use of externally connected devices outside the network.

  It is also possible to realize the above-described present invention by reading the program of the present invention into a terminal and executing it. That is, a program used in an inventory support system including an attachment / detachment information storage unit that stores attachment / detachment information related to attachment / detachment of an externally connected device in a terminal, and usage information indicating a usage state of the externally connected device at a predetermined time based on attachment / detachment information The inventory information support function for generating the inventory information and the inventory determination function for determining the necessity of the inventory in the externally connected device based on the usage information of the externally connected device may be configured as an inventory support program for realizing in the computer .

  Further, the above-described present invention can be realized by causing the terminal of the present invention to read and execute the program. That is, a program used in an inventory support system including an operation log information storage unit that stores operation log information indicating a history of processing executed in a terminal, and the usage status of the externally connected device at a predetermined time based on operation log information Configured as an inventory support program that allows a computer to implement a usage information generation function that generates usage information indicating the status and an inventory determination function that determines the necessity of inventory in the externally connected device based on the usage information of the externally connected device May be.

  These inventory support programs also have the same effects as the above-described inventory support system, and can also have the various features described above.

  According to the present invention configured as described above, since it is possible to automatically determine the externally connected devices that need to be inventoried, each externally connected device is not lost one by one. It is not necessary to perform such confirmation work. As a result, even when there are a large number of externally connected devices, the confirmation work can be performed only on the necessary externally connected devices, and the effect of reducing the burden on the worker regarding the inventory can be obtained. it can.

The conceptual diagram which shows an example of the system configuration | structure of this invention. The conceptual diagram which shows an example of the hardware constitutions of the management server of this invention. The functional block diagram which shows an example of the system configuration | structure in Example 1 of this invention. The flowchart which shows an example of the process in Example 1 of this invention. The figure which shows an example of the attachment / detachment information of this invention. The figure which shows an example of the attachment / detachment information of this invention. The figure which shows an example of the attachment / detachment information memorize | stored in the attachment / detachment information storage part 12 of this invention. The figure which shows an example of the usage information of this invention. The figure which shows an example of the usage information memorize | stored in the usage information storage part 14 of this invention. The image figure which shows an example of the image displayed on the display apparatus 5 of the terminal B of this invention. The image figure which shows an example of the image displayed on the display apparatus 5 of the management terminal C of this invention. The figure which shows an example of the information memorize | stored in the external connection apparatus information storage part 19a of this invention. The functional block diagram which shows an example of the system configuration | structure in Example 2 of this invention. The flowchart which shows an example of the process in Example 2 of this invention. The figure which shows an example of the operation log information of this invention. The figure which shows an example of the usage information of this invention. The figure which shows an example of the usage information memorize | stored in the usage information storage part 14 of this invention. The figure which shows an example of the point setting table of this invention. The functional block diagram which shows an example of the system configuration | structure in Example 3 of this invention. The flowchart which shows an example of the process in Example 3 of this invention. The figure which shows an example of the usage information of this invention. The figure which shows an example of the usage information memorize | stored in the usage information storage part 14 of this invention. The figure which shows an example of the data information memorize | stored in the data information storage part 42 of this invention. The functional block diagram which shows an example of the system configuration | structure in Example 4 of this invention. The functional block diagram which shows an example of the system configuration | structure in Example 5 of this invention.

Example 1 Configuration
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 conceptually shows an example of the overall configuration of the inventory support system of the present invention. In the present invention, as shown in FIG. 1, an inventory management server A (hereinafter referred to as “management server A”) includes a plurality of client terminals B (hereinafter referred to as “terminal B”) and an administrator client terminal (hereinafter referred to as “terminal B”). Management terminal C ”) and a communication network N (hereinafter referred to as“ network N ”).

  Network N is a CSMA / CD (Carrier Sense Multiple Access Collision Detection) system equipped with a cable that physically transmits information in a limited facility such as a company or school, and a relay device such as a LAN switch or hub. Although it is configured as an Ethernet (trademark) type LAN, the network N is constructed by an intranet using Internet technology in addition to the Ethernet type LAN, or a WAN (Wide Area Network). It may be constructed by the technology.

  FIG. 2 conceptually shows an example of the hardware configuration of the management server A, terminal B, or management terminal C.

  The management server A includes an arithmetic device 1 such as a CPU that executes arithmetic processing of a program, a storage device 2 such as a RAM and a hard disk for storing information, processing results of the arithmetic device 1 and information stored in the storage device 2 on the Internet. And at least a communication device 3 that transmits and receives via a network such as a LAN. Each function (each unit) realized on the terminal is executed when a unit (program, module, or the like) that executes the process is read into the arithmetic unit 1. When using the information stored in the storage device 2 in the processing, each function reads the corresponding information from the storage device 2 and uses the read information in the processing in the arithmetic device 1 as appropriate.

  The management server A may include an input device 4 such as a keyboard, a mouse, or a numeric keypad and a display device 5 such as a display (screen) as necessary. In addition, the management server A may have its functions distributed to a plurality of terminals or servers.

  The hardware configurations of the terminal B and the management terminal C are almost the same as those of the management server A, and as shown in FIG. 2, the computing device 1, the storage device 2, the communication device 3, the input device 4, and the display device 5 are included. . Furthermore, in this embodiment, the external connection device 6 is connected to the terminal B.

  FIG. 3 shows a functional block diagram of the management server A, terminal B, and management terminal C constituting the inventory support system of the present invention. Each component and each means in the present invention are only logically distinguished in function, and may be physically or virtually identical.

  FIG. 3 shows only the minimum equipment, components, means and the like necessary in the present invention, and the description of the other devices, components, means, etc. is omitted.

  The management server A obtains, as attachment / detachment information, information on attachment / detachment of the external device 6 to / from the network I / F 10 and terminal B for transmitting / receiving various information to / from the terminals B and C via the network N. Acquisition unit 11, attachment / detachment information storage unit 12 that stores the acquired attachment / detachment information, use information generation unit 13 that generates, from the stored attachment / detachment information, information indicating a usage status of a specific external connection device 6 used by the terminal, generation The usage information storage unit 14 that stores the used information, the inventory determination unit 15 that determines the necessity of performing inventory for the externally connected device 6 using the stored usage information, and the determination result regarding the necessity of inventory are notified. Notification unit 16, external connection device 6 information storage unit 19 a storing information about external connection device 6, attachment / detachment information and information about external connection device 6 And a determining inventory completion determination unit 19b whether the inventory is complete from.

  The terminal B generates a network I / F 20 for transmitting and receiving various information to and from the management server A and the management terminal C via the network N, and detachment information indicating that the external connection device 6 is attached or detached at the terminal B. The attachment / detachment information generation unit 21 that transmits to the management server A, the determination result reception unit 22 that receives the determination result notified from the management server A, and the terminal control unit 23 that executes various operations in the terminal B according to the received determination result. The input device 4 for inputting information to the terminal B and the display device 5 for displaying information instructed by the terminal control unit 23 are provided.

  The management terminal C receives the determination result notified from the management server A, the network I / F 30 for transmitting and receiving various information to and from the management server A and the terminal B via the network N, and the reception result. A management terminal control unit 32 that executes various operations in the management terminal C according to the determination result, and a display device 5 that displays information instructed by the management terminal control unit 32 are provided.

  The operation of each component will be described below based on the functional block diagram constituting the present invention shown in FIG.

  The attachment / detachment information generation unit 21 acquires from the terminal control unit 23 that the external connection device 6 has been attached to or removed from the terminal B, and generates attachment / detachment information. Further, the generated attachment / detachment information is transmitted to the management server A via the network I / F 20.

  The above attachment / detachment information is information indicating when and what kind of external storage medium is attached / detached to / from the terminal B, and is a terminal identification that can uniquely identify the terminal that has been attached / detached. Information, external connection device identification information that can uniquely identify the external connection device 6, attachment / detachment operation information indicating attachment / detachment of the external connection device 6, and attachment / detachment date / time indicating the date / time when the attachment / detachment was performed Say.

  The externally connected device identification information is information that can uniquely identify the externally connected device, and includes, for example, a serial number and a manufacturing number. A unique code or numerical value stored in advance in the external connection device may be used.

  The detachment information acquisition unit 11 acquires detachment information of the terminal B connected to the network N via the network I / F 10 and stores the acquired detachment information in the detachment information storage unit 12.

  The detachment information storage unit 12 stores the detachment information acquired by the detachment information acquisition unit 11. The storage format at that time is preferably a format in which the terminal identification information included in the attachment / detachment information is used and stored in association with each terminal B. Furthermore, it may be configured to store in a time series in the order in which the attachment / detachment information is acquired using the attachment / detachment date and time included in the attachment / detachment information. It should be noted that a good format stored in association with the external device 6 or a format using a database may be used.

  The usage information generation unit 13 extracts the detachment information output within a predetermined time from the detachment information storage unit, and generates the usage information from the externally connected device identification information, the terminal identification information, and the detachment date / time included in the extracted detachment information And stored in the usage information storage unit 14. Further, the usage information generation unit 13 may update the contents stored in the usage information storage unit 14 each time by extracting the output attachment / detachment information as needed.

  The above usage information is information indicating a history of usage performed on the externally connected device 6, and includes externally connected device identification information, terminal identification information of the terminal B that attached / detached the externally connected device 6, and a terminal This includes the number of times of attachment / detachment for each B (number of attachments / detachments) and the date / time when the latest attachment / detachment was performed for each terminal B (latest attachment / detachment date / time). Note that the contents included in the usage information may be all used or only a part may be used as necessary.

  The usage information storage unit 14 stores usage information generated by the usage information generation unit 13 from the attachment / detachment information. The storage format at that time is preferably a format in which the external connection device 6 identification information included in the use information is used and stored in association with each external connection device 6.

  The inventory determination unit 15 first identifies the externally connected device 6 (target device) that is a target for determining the necessity of inventory using the externally connected device 6 usage information stored in the usage information storage unit 14. Regarding the method of specifying the target device, the externally connected device 6 designated in advance by a user such as an administrator may be specified as the target device, or all the externally connected devices 6 stored in the usage information storage unit 14 may be specified. The target device may be specified.

  Next, the inventory determination unit 15 extracts the usage information related to the target device stored in the usage information storage unit 14, and determines whether it is necessary to execute the inventory using the usage information. Then, the inventory determination unit 15 transmits the determination result to the notification unit 16.

  There are various methods for determining the necessity of inventory for the target device. For example, (1) a determination method using the time elapsed since the last attachment / detachment, (2) a determination method using the number of attachments / detachments, and (3) a determination using the number of attached / detached terminals. A method of (4) a method of determining using the length of the attached time can be considered.

[Inventory Necessity Determination Method (1)]
A method for determining using the time elapsed since the last attachment / detachment will be described. In this method, first, the detachment date and time (last detachment date and time) when the target device was last used is extracted from the usage information related to the target device stored in the usage information storage unit 14. Next, the elapsed time from the last attaching / detaching date and time to the current date and time is calculated. If the calculated elapsed time is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value, it is determined that the externally connected device 6 is likely to be lost or taken out to the outside, and “inventory is needed” is determined. It is to do.

[Necessary inventory determination method (2)]
A method of determining using the number of attachments / detachments will be described. In this method, first, the number of times of attaching / detaching the target device is extracted from the usage information related to the target device stored in the usage information storage unit 14. Then, the extracted number of times of attachment / detachment is compared with a predetermined threshold value, and the target device whose attachment / detachment number is less than the threshold value is likely to be lost or taken out to the outside. It is determined that “there is a need for inventory”.

[Necessary inventory determination method (3)]
A method of determining using the number of terminals that have been attached and detached will be described. In this method, first, the number of terminals indicating how many target devices B have been attached / detached is calculated from the usage information related to the target device stored in the usage information storage unit 14. Then, the calculated number of attachments and detachments is compared with a predetermined threshold value. When the number of terminals is equal to or greater than the threshold value, it is assumed that the external connection device 6 has a high possibility of being lost or taken outside. It is determined that “inventory is necessary”.

[Necessity determination method for inventory (4)]
As a method other than the necessity determination method described above, when the length of time that the target device is used (the length of time that the target device is used by being inserted into the terminal B) is shorter than a predetermined threshold value A method of determining that “inventory is necessary” is also conceivable. In this method, the length of time from attachment to removal of the target device in each terminal B is acquired from the attachment / detachment information stored in the attachment / detachment information storage unit 12, and the total value of the obtained time lengths is further obtained. When the calculated total value is less than a predetermined threshold value, it is determined that the device is an externally connected device 6 that is likely to be lost or taken out to the outside, and “inventory is necessary”. It is.

  The determination may be made using any one of the above-described inventory necessity determination methods, or may be determined by combining two or more. For example, when determining in combination, points are set according to the values calculated by the respective determination methods, and the total value of points is derived as a utilization level for each externally connected device 6, and the utilization level is used. You may determine the need for inventory. Further, the present invention is not limited to the four necessity determination methods described above, and any means may be used as long as it is a method for determining the necessity of inventory using information related to use of the externally connected device 6.

  The notification unit 16 transmits the determination result regarding the necessity of inventory determined by the inventory determination unit 15 to the management terminal C via the network I / F 10. The notification related to the determination result is preferably transmitted in a format that is transmitted to the management terminal C every time a predetermined time period elapses.

  In the notification of the determination result in the above, information listing the externally connected devices 6 determined to require inventory is transmitted. Further, a predetermined terminal is associated with each external connection device 6 and stored in advance (for example, a user of the external connection device 6 is determined in advance, and information indicating the user is stored in the external connection device 6). 6 or in the management server A), the externally connected device identification information and the terminal identification information of the terminal B that executes inventory may be associated with each other and transmitted. .

  In addition to the above-described format in which the determination result notification is transmitted to the management terminal C, the determination result notification may be transmitted to the terminal B at a predetermined timing all at once. In addition, a predetermined terminal is associated with each external connection device 6 and stored in advance, and the terminal B that manages the external connection device 6 that is determined to be inventoried has its You may make it transmit the determination result whether the inventory about the external connection apparatus 6 currently managed is required.

  The determination result receiving unit 22 receives the notification of the determination result output from the notification unit 16 via the network I / F 20 and transmits the notification to the terminal control unit 23. The terminal control unit 23 displays a notification of the determination result on the display device 5.

  When the user of the terminal B whose notification of the determination result is displayed on the display device 5 has the externally connected device 6 determined to require inventory, the externally connected device 6 is attached to the terminal B. Execute inventory counting. In the above example, the inventory is executed by the method of attaching to the terminal B associated with the external device 6 in advance. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the inventory is detected by detecting that it is attached to any terminal B. You can do it.

  The determination result receiving unit 31 receives the notification of the determination result output from the notification unit 16 via the network I / F 30 and transmits the notification to the management terminal control unit 32. The management terminal control unit 32 displays a notification of the determination result on the display device 5.

  The externally connected device information storage unit 19a of the management server A stores the identification information of all the externally connected devices 6 used in the present system connected in the network N and the inventory execution status.

  The inventory completion determination unit 19b of the management server A receives the attachment / detachment information acquired by the attachment / detachment information acquisition unit 11 within a predetermined period from the time when the notification of the determination result of the inventory determination unit 15 is output from the notification unit 16, and the external connection It is compared with the information in the device information storage unit 19a to determine whether the inventory has been executed. Next, the inventory completion determination unit 19b updates the information in the external device information storage unit 19a as needed according to the inventory completion determination result. Then, the inventory completion determination unit 19b determines that inventory has been completed when it is detected that the inventory has been executed for all the external connection devices 6 stored in the external connection device information storage unit 19a. In addition, when the inventory is not completed for a predetermined period or longer, the inventory completion determination unit 19b may be configured to cause the notification unit 16 to transmit a notification of the determination result to the management terminal C or the terminal B again.

[Example 1-Treatment process (1)]
Next, an example of a processing process in the inventory support system of the present invention will be described with reference to the functional block diagram of FIG. 3, the flowchart of FIG. In the following description, a case where a USB memory is used as the external connection device 6 will be described as an example. The inventory necessity determination method will be described in the case of using (1) a method of determining using the time elapsed since the last attachment / detachment.

  When the terminal control unit 23 detects that the USB memory is attached to the terminal B, the attachment / detachment information generation unit 21 of the terminal B generates attachment / detachment information based on the content of the information, and the generated attachment / detachment information is transmitted to the network I / O. It transmits to the management server A via F20. An example of the generated attachment / detachment information is shown in FIG.

  With respect to the format of the transmission timing of the attachment / detachment information to the management server A, the attachment / detachment information generation unit 21 transmits the attachment / detachment information to the management server A as needed every time the attachment / detachment information is generated. As another transmission format, the generated attachment / detachment information is stored in the terminal B for a certain period, and the attachment / detachment information within a certain period stored at a predetermined timing is collectively transmitted to the management server A. Possible format. When transmitting collectively in this way, the terminal B includes a temporary storage unit (not shown) that temporarily stores attachment / detachment information, and the terminal B that has attached / detached the external connection device 6 is temporarily stored in the temporary storage unit. Terminal identification information, external connection device identification information, attachment / detachment operation information indicating attachment / detachment of the external connection device 6, and date / time when the latest attachment / detachment was performed (latest attachment / detachment date / time) are stored. And the information in a temporary memory part is transmitted to the management server A as attachment / detachment information for every fixed period. An example of the attachment / detachment information at the time of transmitting collectively is shown in FIG. Also, the attachment / detachment information may include the number of times of attachment / detachment for each external device connection apparatus (number of attachments / detachments).

  The detachment information acquisition unit 11 of the management server A acquires the detachment information transmitted from the terminal B via the network I / F 10 and stores the acquired detachment information in the detachment information storage unit 12 (S101). An example of the attachment / detachment information stored in the attachment / detachment information 12 is shown in FIG.

  The usage information generation unit 13 acquires the attachment / detachment information for the specific external connection device 6 within a predetermined period from the attachment / detachment information stored in the attachment / detachment information storage unit 12. The external connection device 6 identification information included in the attachment / detachment information is used in association with the terminal identification information of the terminal B that has attached / detached the external connection device 6 and the date / time when the latest attachment / detachment was performed (latest attachment / detachment date / time). Information is generated and stored in the usage information storage unit 14 as needed.

  The above processing will be specifically described. The attachment / detachment information is stored as shown in FIG. 7, and when the predetermined period is set from “2009/6/11 9:00” to “2009/6/11 17:00”, the external connection device “USB- An example of generating usage information for “001” will be described. First, when the latest attachment / detachment date / time when each terminal attached / detached to / from the external connection device “USB-001” (here, the date / time when the latest attachment was performed) is extracted, the terminal “CL-001” becomes “2009”. / 6/11 15:25 ”, the terminal“ CL-002 ”becomes“ 2009/6/11 16:46 ”, and the terminal“ CL-004 ”becomes“ 2009/6/11 16:13 ”. Then, the usage information is generated in association with the externally connected device identification information, the terminal identification information, and the latest attachment / detachment date and time. An example of generated usage information is shown in FIG.

  Regarding the above usage information, it is also possible to generate usage information in a format different from that in FIG. Specifically, in FIG. 8A, the terminal identification information and the latest attachment / detachment date / time of each terminal B attached / detached to / from the external connection device “USB-001” are generated in association with each other. Are used in association with the last use terminal identification information indicating the terminal that was last attached / detached to / from the external connection device “USB-001” and the last attach / detach date and time indicating the date and time when the last attachment / detachment was performed. A form of generating is also conceivable. An example of usage information generated in this case is shown in FIG. When the usage information in the format of FIG. 8B is generated, the content of the usage information is updated as needed according to the change of the last used terminal or the last used date and time.

  In the usage information storage unit 14, the usage information generated by the usage information generation unit 13 is stored for each externally connected device identification information. Furthermore, in the usage information storage unit 14, the contents of the stored usage information are updated according to the usage information generated as needed by the usage information generation unit 13 (S102). An example of the usage information stored in the usage information storage unit 14 is shown in FIG. FIG. 9 shows an example of usage information stored in a period from June 1, 2009 to June 30, 2009.

  The inventory determination unit 15 first identifies an external connection device 6 (target device) that is a target for determining the necessity of inventory from the external connection devices 6 stored in the use information storage unit 14 (S103). Regarding the specifying method, the externally connected device 6 designated in advance by a user such as an administrator may be specified as the target device, or one of the externally connected devices 6 stored in the usage information storage unit 14 is targeted. When the process of automatically specifying the device and determining the necessity of inventory for the target device is performed, the next is to specify another external connection device 6 as the target device and perform the determination. A format in which the devices are identified as target devices one by one may be used. Here, a case where “USB-001” is specified as the target device will be described as an example.

  Next, the inventory determination unit 15 calculates the elapsed time from the last attachment / detachment date and time to the present using the usage information, compares the calculated elapsed time with a predetermined threshold, and the elapsed time If it is longer than the threshold, it is determined that “inventory is needed” (S104). Information on the determined target device is transmitted to the notification unit 16.

The above processing will be specifically described. First, the inventory determination unit 15 extracts the last attachment / detachment date / time of the target device. When the usage information is stored as shown in FIG. 9, the final attach / detach date and time of the external device “USB-001” as the target device is “2009/6/30 17:30”. Next, an elapsed time from the last attachment / detachment date / time of the target device to the present is calculated. If the current date and time is “2009/6/30 18:00”, the target device “USB-001” is calculated as “30 minutes”. Then, the calculated elapsed time is compared with a predetermined threshold value, and if the elapsed time is equal to or greater than the threshold value, it is determined that “inventory is necessary”. Here, when the threshold value is set to “480 hours”, the target device “USB-001” is less than the threshold value, so it is determined that “inventory is not necessary”, and the determination result is transmitted to the notification unit 16. .

  Similarly, processing when externally connected devices “USB-002” and “USB-003” are specified as target devices will be described. When the externally connected device “USB-002” is specified as the target device, the final attachment / detachment date / time is “2009/6/5 12:15”, and the elapsed time is calculated as “605 hours 45 minutes”. Then, when the calculated elapsed time is compared with a predetermined threshold “480 hours”, it becomes equal to or greater than the threshold, so it is determined that “inventory is necessary”, and the determination result is transmitted to the notification unit 16. When the externally connected device “USB-003” is specified as the target device, the last attachment / detachment date / time is “2009/6/25 18:00”, and the elapsed time is calculated as “120 hours”. Then, when the calculated elapsed time is compared with a predetermined threshold “480 hours”, it is less than the threshold, so it is determined that “inventory is not necessary”, and the determination result is transmitted to the notification unit 16.

  In the above-described determination, the determination is made after calculating the elapsed time from the last attachment / detachment date / time, but it is also possible to make a determination based on whether attachment / detachment has been performed after a predetermined date / time. Specifically, when the current date and time is “2009/6/30 18:00”, the predetermined time (for example, “480 hours ago”) is “2009/6/10 18:00”. Is determined. Then, it is determined that the externally connected device 6 that has been finally attached / detached after the predetermined time “2009/6/10 18:00” is “no need for inventory”, and the final attachment / detachment is made before the predetermined time. This is a method of determining that the externally connected device 6 is “Need to inventory”.

  The notification unit 16 transmits the determination result on the necessity of inventory determined by the inventory determination unit 15 to the terminal B or the management terminal C via the network I / F 10 (S105).

  The above processing will be specifically described. The case where the inventory instruction notification is transmitted to the terminal B will be described as an example. The instruction notification unit 16 determines that the target device “USB-002” received from the target device determination unit 15 is “inventory is necessary”. The result notification is transmitted to all the terminals B connected in the management network through the network I / F all at once. The determination result receiving unit 22 of the terminal B receives the determination result via the network I / F 20 and transmits it to the terminal control unit 23. The terminal control unit 23 displays the determination result on the display device 5 of the terminal B based on the received information. An example of the display on the display device 5 is shown in FIG.

  The notification unit 16 displays a list of all the externally connected devices 6 used in the network N on the list that indicates the necessity of inventory based on the determination result in the inventory determination unit 15. A notification of the determination result may be transmitted to the management terminal C to the management terminal C and displayed on the display device 5 of the management terminal C so that the manager of the network N can recognize it. An example of the display on the display device 5 of the management terminal C is shown in FIG.

  Further, the instruction notifying unit 16 lists only the externally connected devices 6 determined as “inventory is necessary” by the inventory determining unit 15 and transmits the information to the management terminal C as a notification of the determination result. By displaying on the display device 5 of the terminal C, the administrator of the network N may be made to recognize. An example of the display on the display device 5 of the management terminal C is shown in FIG.

  Further, the administrator for each externally connected device 6 is determined in advance, and the terminal identification information of the terminal B used by the administrator is stored in association with the identification information of each externally connected device 6. For example, the externally connected device 6 determined to be “inventory need” and the terminal that manages the externally connected device 6 may be listed together and displayed on the display device 5 of the management terminal C. An example of the display on the display device 5 of the management terminal C in this case is shown in FIG. Of course, it is possible to list terminals that have used the externally connected device 6 determined to be “inventory necessary” and display them on the display device 5 of the management terminal C. is there.

  After the notification of the determination result is transmitted from the notification unit 16, the externally connected device information storage unit 19 b determines whether the inventory has been executed from the attachment / detachment information acquired by the attachment / detachment information acquisition unit 11. (S105)

  The above processing will be specifically described. The case where the determination result notification is transmitted for the external connection device “USB-002” will be described as an example. A user who has the external connection device “USB-002” displays the determination result displayed on the display device 5. In accordance with the notification, the inventory is executed by attaching the externally connected device “USB-002” to its own terminal B. Next, the attachment / detachment information generation unit 21 of the terminal B to which the externally connected device “USB-002” is attached transmits the attachment / detachment information to the management server A via the network I / F 20, and the attachment / detachment information reception unit 11 acquires the attachment / detachment information. The attached / detached information is transferred to the inventory completion determination unit 19b. Then, the inventory completion determination unit 19b determines the completion of inventory by updating the information regarding the inventory of the externally connected device “USB-002” stored in the externally connected device information storage unit 19a. An example of information stored in the external device information storage unit 19a at that time is shown in FIG.

  By setting it as the above-mentioned embodiment, it is determined that there is a high possibility that the externally connected device 6 that has not been used for a long time is lost or taken out to the outside, and limited stocktaking can be executed. . That is, it is possible to determine the necessity of inventory considering the usage status of the externally connected device 6.

[Example 1-Treatment process (2)]
Next, an example of a processing process in the case of using (2) a determination method using the number of attachments / removals as an inventory necessity determination method will be described with reference to the functional block diagram of FIG. 3 and the flowchart of FIG. .

  Since operations other than (S102) and (S104) in the flowchart of FIG. 4 are the same as those in [Example 1-Processing process (1)], the description thereof is omitted.

  The usage information generation unit 13 acquires the attachment / detachment information for the specific external connection device 6 within a predetermined period from the attachment / detachment information stored in the attachment / detachment information storage unit 12. Next, for each terminal that has been attached / detached to / from the external connection device 6 from the acquired attachment / detachment information, the number of attachments / detachments for how many times attachment / detachment has been performed within a predetermined period is calculated. Then, the external connection device identification information included in the attachment / detachment information, the terminal identification information of the terminal B that has attached / detached the external connection device 6, the date / time when the latest attachment / detachment was performed (latest attachment / detachment date / time), and the calculated number of attachments / detachments Usage information is generated in association with each other and stored in the usage information storage unit 14 as needed (S102).

  The above processing will be specifically described. The attachment / detachment information is stored as shown in FIG. 7, and when the predetermined period is set from “2009/6/11 9:00” to “2009/6/11 17:00”, the external connection device “USB- An example of generating usage information for “001” will be described. First, the terminal B that has been attached / detached to / from the external connection device 6 and the number of attachments / detachments of the attachment / detachment (here, the number of attachments) are calculated. For the external connection device “USB-001”, the terminal “CL-001” is “twice”, the terminal “CL-002” is “one time”, and the terminal “CL-004” is “three times”. What is going on is calculated. Next, when the latest attachment / detachment date / time when each terminal attached / detached to / from the external connection device “USB-001” (here, the date / time when the latest attachment was performed) is extracted, the terminal “CL-001” becomes “ 2009/6/11 15:25 ”, the terminal“ CL-002 ”becomes“ 2009/6/11 16:46 ”, and the terminal“ CL-004 ”becomes“ 2009/6/11 16:13 ”. Then, usage information is generated in association with the externally connected device identification information, the terminal identification information, the number of attachments / detachments, and the latest attachment / detachment date and time. An example of generated usage information is shown in FIG.

  The target device determination unit 15 uses the usage information to extract the number of attachments / detachments in the specified target device, compares the extracted number of attachments / detachments with a predetermined threshold, and if the number of attachments / detachments is less than the threshold, It is determined that “inventory is necessary” (S104). Information on the determined target device is transmitted to the notification unit 16.

  The above processing will be specifically described. Here, a case where “USB-001” is specified as the target device will be described as an example. First, the inventory determination unit 15 extracts the number of times the target device is attached or detached. When the usage information is stored as shown in FIG. 9, the number of attachments / detachments “28 times” of the external device “USB-001” as the target device is extracted. Then, the extracted number of times of attaching / detaching is compared with a predetermined threshold value, and when the number of attaching / detaching times is less than the threshold value, it is determined that “inventory is necessary”. Here, when the threshold value is set to “10 times”, the target device “USB-001” is equal to or greater than the threshold value, so it is determined that “inventory is not necessary”, and the determination result is transmitted to the notification unit 16. .

  Similarly, processing when externally connected devices “USB-002” and “USB-003” are specified as target devices will be described. When the externally connected device “USB-002” is specified as the target device, the number of times of attachment / detachment “5 times” is extracted. Then, when the extracted number of times of attachment / detachment is compared with a predetermined threshold value “10 times”, it becomes less than the threshold value, so it is determined that “inventory is necessary”, and the determination result is transmitted to the notification unit 16. When the externally connected device “USB-003” is specified as the target device, the number of attachments / detachments “7 times” is extracted. Then, when the extracted number of times of attachment / detachment is compared with a predetermined threshold value “10 times”, it becomes less than the threshold value, so it is determined that “inventory is necessary”, and the determination result is transmitted to the notification unit 16.

  By adopting the above-described embodiment, it is determined that there is a high possibility that the externally connected device 6 that is not frequently used on a daily basis is lost or taken out to the outside, and the inventory is executed intensively. Can do. That is, it is possible to determine the necessity of inventory taking into account the frequency of use of the externally connected device 6.

[Example 1-Treatment process (3)]
Next, an example of a processing process in the case of using (3) a method of determining using the number of attached / detached terminals as a method for determining the necessity of inventory will be described with reference to the functional block diagram of FIG. 3 and the flowchart of FIG. Etc. will be described.

  Since operations other than (S102) and (S104) in the flowchart of FIG. 4 are the same as those in [Example 1-Processing process (1)], the description thereof is omitted.

  The usage information generation unit 13 acquires the attachment / detachment information for the specific external connection device 6 within a predetermined period from the attachment / detachment information stored in the attachment / detachment information storage unit 12. Next, the terminal identification information of the terminal B that has been attached to and detached from the externally connected device 6 is extracted from the acquired attachment / detachment information. Then, usage information is generated by associating the externally connected device identification information included in the attachment / detachment information with the terminal identification information of the terminal B that has attached / detached the externally connected device 6 and stored in the usage information storage unit 14 as needed (S102) ).

  The above process will be specifically described. The attachment / detachment information is stored as shown in FIG. 7, and when the predetermined time is set from “2009/6/11 9:00” to “2009/6/11 17:00”, the external connection device “USB- An example of generating usage information for “001” will be described. First, when terminal identification information relating to the terminal B that is attached to and detached from the external connection device “USB-001” is extracted, the terminals “CL-001”, “CL-002”, and “CL-004” are extracted. It becomes. Then, usage information is generated in association with the external device identification information and the terminal identification information. An example of generated usage information is shown in FIG.

  The target device determination unit 15 uses the usage information to calculate the number of terminals B that have been attached and detached using the specified target device, compares the calculated number of terminals with a predetermined threshold, If the number is equal to or greater than the threshold, it is determined that “inventory is needed” (S104). Information on the determined target device is transmitted to the notification unit 16.

  The above processing will be specifically described. Here, a case where “USB-001” is specified as the target device will be described as an example. First, the inventory determination unit 15 calculates the number of terminals that have been attached and detached using the target device. When the usage information is stored as shown in FIG. 9, the target device “USB-001” is attached and detached by the terminals “CL-001”, “CL-002”, and “CL-004”. It is calculated as “3 units”. Then, the calculated number of terminals is compared with a predetermined threshold, and when the number of terminals is equal to or greater than the threshold, it is determined that “inventory is necessary”. Here, when the threshold value is set to “4 units”, the target device “USB-001” is less than the threshold value, so it is determined that “inventory is not necessary”, and the determination result is transmitted to the notification unit 16. .

  Similarly, processing when externally connected devices “USB-002” and “USB-003” are specified as target devices will be described. When the externally connected device “USB-002” is specified as the target device, since the terminal “CL-003” is attached / detached, “1” is calculated. Then, when the calculated number of terminals is compared with a predetermined threshold value “4 units”, it is less than the threshold value, so it is determined that “inventory is not necessary”, and the determination result is transmitted to the notification unit 16. When the externally connected device “USB-003” is identified as the target device, the terminals “CL-005”, “CL-006”, “CL-007”, “CL-008”, “CL” Therefore, “5” is calculated. Then, when the calculated number of terminals is compared with a predetermined threshold value “4 units”, it becomes equal to or greater than the threshold value, so it is determined that “inventory is necessary”, and the determination result is transmitted to the notification unit 16.

  By adopting the above-described embodiment, it is determined that there is a high possibility that the externally connected device 6 that is regularly reused by a large number of terminals will be lost or taken out to the outside. Can be executed. That is, it is possible to determine the necessity of inventory taking into account the number of users of the externally connected device 6.

Example 2 Configuration
Next, a second embodiment of the inventory support system of the present invention will be described using the functional block diagram of FIG. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the same component as Example 1, and when performing the same operation | movement as Example 1, the detailed description is abbreviate | omitted.

  In the second embodiment of the inventory support system of the present invention, an operation log information acquisition unit 17 that acquires operation log information indicating a history of processing executed in the terminal B, and the acquired operation log information are stored inside the management server A. An operation log information storage unit 18 for storing, and a utilization degree calculation unit 15a for calculating a utilization degree indicating the degree of utilization for each externally connected device 6 using the usage information is generated inside the inventory determination unit 15. An operation log that includes an inventory determination unit 15b that determines the necessity of inventory for each externally connected device 6 based on the degree of utilization, and generates operation log information indicating the history of processing executed in the terminal B inside the terminal B The information generation unit 24 is different from the embodiment of Example 1 in that the information generation unit 24 is provided.

  In the present embodiment, usage information is generated based on the operation log information, a utilization level in a specific external connection device 6 is calculated based on the usage information, and an inventory of the external connection device 6 is calculated based on the utilization level. It is characterized by determining necessity.

  Hereinafter, the operation of each component will be described. Detailed descriptions of the same components or operations as those in the first embodiment are omitted.

  The operation log information generation unit 24 detects an operation performed on the terminal B from the terminal control unit 23 and generates operation log information. Further, the generated operation log information is transmitted to the management server via the network I / F 20.

  The operation log information is, for example, information indicating contents operated by the user using the input device 4 of the terminal B, contents executed or executed in the terminal B, and includes terminal identification information, user identification information , Including date and time information, processing content (operation content), processing target information, storage location, external device identification information, and the like.

  Further, the terminal identification information is information that can uniquely identify the terminal. For example, the terminal serial number, manufacturing number, MAC address, IP address, any unique number, code, name, etc. Is used as terminal identification information.

  Furthermore, the user identification information is information that can uniquely identify the user who uses the terminal. For example, the user's name, department name, employee number name, any unique number, code, A name or the like is used as user identification information.

  Furthermore, the processing content is content executed in the terminal, and means control by an application or hardware processed by middleware or OS. More specifically, key input, pointing device operation (button press, movement, etc.), attachment / detachment of external connection device 6, file operation (creation, deletion, copy, movement, overwrite saving, file name change, etc.), application operation There is information indicating (addition / deletion / detection of drive), addition / deletion / detection of drive, change of IP address, writing of storage medium, printing, copy to clipboard, and the like. In addition, these are examples and are not limited.

  Furthermore, the processing target information refers to a target that is executed according to the processing content. More specifically, there are identification information of the externally connected device that has been operated, identification information of the executed file (file name, folder name, etc.), and the name of the application that has been operated. In addition, these are examples and are not limited.

  The operation log information acquisition unit 17 acquires operation log information of the terminal B connected to the network N via the network I / F 10 and stores the acquired operation log information in the operation log information storage unit 18.

  The operation log information storage unit 18 stores the operation log information acquired by the operation log information storage unit 17. The storage format of the operation log information at that time is preferably a format in which the terminal identification information included in the operation log information is used and stored in association with each terminal. Further, the date and time information included in the operation log information may be used to store the operation log information in time series in the order of acquisition.

  The usage information generation unit 13 extracts operation log information within a predetermined period from the operation log information storage unit, and uses the externally connected device identification information, terminal identification information, processing content, and attachment / detachment date / time included in the extracted operation log information. Is generated and stored in the usage information storage unit 14. Moreover, the usage information generation part 13 updates the content memorize | stored in the usage information storage part 14 at any time based on the extracted operation log information.

  The utilization degree calculation means 15a extracts the usage information of the specific externally connected device 6 from the usage information stored in the usage information storage unit 14. Next, the number of terminals that have been attached to and detached from the externally connected device 6 included in the extracted usage information, the content of processing performed on the externally connected device 6 and the processing frequency thereof are extracted. And based on the extracted information, the utilization degree of each external connection apparatus 6 is calculated, and the calculated utilization degree is transmitted to the determination means 15b.

  The determination unit 15b compares the utilization levels of the terminals acquired from the utilization level calculation unit 15a, and determines the external connection device 6 having the highest utilization level as the external connection device 6 that needs to be inventoried. Then, the determination unit 15 b transmits the determined information of the external device 6 to the notification unit 16.

Example 2 Treatment Process
Next, an example of a processing process in the inventory support system of the present invention will be described with reference to the functional block diagram of FIG. 13 and the flowchart of FIG. In the following description, a case where a USB memory is used as the external connection device 6 will be described as an example.

  The operations of (S203), (S206), and (S207) in the flowchart of FIG. 14 are the same as those in [Example 1-Processing process (1)], and thus the description thereof is omitted.

  When the operation log information generation unit 24 detects the control executed by the terminal control unit 23, the operation log information generation unit 24 generates operation log information based on the content of the detected information, and manages the generated operation log information via the network I / F 20. To server A.

  The operation log information acquisition unit 17 of the management server A acquires the operation log information transmitted from the terminal B via the network I / F 10 and stores the acquired operation log information in the operation log information storage unit 18 (S201). . An example of the operation log information stored is shown in FIG.

  FIG. 15 described above collectively shows an example of the operation log information generated within a certain period. Actually, the operation log information is generated every time an operation is performed on the terminal B. In the example of the operation log information illustrated in FIG. 15, terminal identification information, user identification information, date / time information, processing content, processing target information, and a storage location are associated with each other and generated as one operation log information.

  The usage information generation unit 13 acquires operation log information indicating that processing has been performed on the external device 6 within a predetermined time from the operation log information stored in the operation log information storage unit 18. Further, from the acquired operation log information, the external connection device identification information indicating the external connection device 6 that has been processed, the terminal identification information indicating the terminal B that has processed the external connection device 6, the external connection device 6 Processing information indicating the content of the processing performed on the information is extracted, usage information is generated by associating these pieces of information, and stored in the usage information storage unit 14 as needed.

  The above processing will be described in detail. The operation log information is stored as shown in FIG. 15, and the predetermined time is from “2009/6/11 9:00” to “2009/6/11 10:30”. An example of generating usage information for the externally connected device “USB-001” in the case of setting will be described. First, information on the terminal B that has been attached to and detached from the external connection device 6 is extracted. Here, it is extracted that one of the terminals “CL-001” is attached to and detached from the external connection device “USB-001”.

  Next, processing contents indicating a predetermined operation performed on the external connection device “USB-001” are extracted. Here, the predetermined process (process type) is four types of “file move”, “file copy”, “file delete”, and “overwrite save”, and information on how many times the four types of process have been performed is shown. The case of calculating will be described as an example. For files stored in the external device “USB-001”, the process type “file move” is “once” and the process type “overwrite save” is “twice”. Calculated. Then, usage information is generated in association with the externally connected device identification information, terminal identification information, and processing content (processing type and processing frequency). An example of the generated usage information is shown in FIG.

  In the usage information storage unit 14, the usage information generated by the usage information generation unit 13 is stored for each externally connected device identification information. Furthermore, in the usage information storage unit 14, the contents of the stored usage information are updated according to the usage information generated at any time by the usage information generation unit 13 (S202). An example of the usage information stored in the usage information storage unit 14 is shown in FIG. FIG. 17 shows an example of usage information stored in a period from April 1, 2009 to June 30, 2009.

  The utilization level calculation means 15a extracts the usage information of the target device specified in (S203) from the usage information stored in the usage information storage unit 14, calculates the utilization level in the target device (S204), The calculated utilization level is transmitted to the determination means 15b.

  The above processing will be specifically described. First, a point setting table (not shown) is provided in advance in the utilization degree calculation means 15a, and points corresponding to information extracted from the usage information storage unit 14 are set in advance. An example of the point setting table is shown in FIG.

  Next, when the usage information is stored as illustrated in FIG. 17, the utilization degree calculation unit 15 a determines that the terminal B that has been attached to or detached from the target device “USB-001” is the terminal “CL-001”, the terminal Since “CL-002” and the terminal “CL-004” are specified, “15 points” is given. Next, the processing contents performed on the target device “USB-001” are “file move” “11 times”, “file copy” “2 times”, “file delete” “1 time”, Since “Overwrite” is “14 times”, it is “55 points”. Therefore, the utilization degree of the target device “USB-001” is “15 + 55”, which is “70 points”.

  The determination unit 15b compares the utilization level of the target device acquired from the utilization level calculation unit 15a with a predetermined threshold value. If the utilization level is equal to or greater than the threshold value, “there is a need for inventory” for the target device. Is determined (S205), and the determination result is transmitted to the notification unit 16 as information related to the target device.

  The above processing will be specifically described. The determination unit 15b compares the utilization degree “70 points” of the target device “USB-001” with a predetermined threshold value. Here, when the threshold value is set to “50 points”, the target device “USB-001” is equal to or greater than the threshold value, and therefore, the target device “USB-001” is determined as “inventory is necessary”.

  By setting it as the above-mentioned embodiment, in addition to the number of the terminals which used the external connection apparatus 6, the determination which considered the content of the process performed with respect to the external connection apparatus 6 is attained. In other words, if the externally connected device 6 that is regularly reused by many terminals, and the externally connected device 6 in which a large amount of data may be stored, is lost or taken outside. It can be determined that there is a possibility that damage will become large, and inventory can be executed intensively.

Example 3 Configuration
Next, a third embodiment of the inventory support system of the present invention will be described using the functional block diagram of FIG. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the same component as Example 1 and Example 2, and the detailed description is abbreviate | omitted when performing the same operation | movement as Example 1 and Example 2. FIG.

  The third embodiment of the inventory support system of the present invention includes a data information acquisition unit 42 that acquires information about data stored in the external connection device 6 connected to the terminal B inside the management server A, The terminal B includes a data information generation unit 41 that generates information about data stored in the data storage 40 of the external device 6 connected to the terminal B and transmits the information to the management server A. This is different from the embodiment of Example 2.

  In this embodiment, the difference between the data information indicating the data stored in the external connection device 6 and the usage information is detected, and it is determined that the data in the external connection device 6 has been changed. . As a result, it is possible to detect the possibility that the externally connected device 6 has been taken out of the network and the data stored therein has been changed. In other words, by examining the difference between the data information of the external device 6 (the content of the data actually stored) and the usage information (the content of the data updated in the system), It is characterized in that the necessity of inventory is determined according to the presence or absence.

  Hereinafter, the operation of each component will be described. Detailed descriptions of the same components or operations as those in the first and second embodiments are omitted.

  The data storage unit 40 acquires specific data that is to be stored in the external device 6 based on the operation of the terminal B, and stores the specific data in the external device 6.

  The data information generation unit 41 generates data information indicating the content of data stored in the data storage unit 40, and transmits the generated data information to the management server A via the network I / F 20.

  The above data information refers to information regarding the content of data stored in the external device 6. For example, there are file saving date and time or file processing date and time, file name, number of files, data amount, etc., but not limited to these, any information indicating the contents of data that can be acquired from the data stored in the external device 6 can be used. It may be a thing. In addition, the last update date / time (the last file save date / time or the last file processing date / time) may be included in the data saved in the external device 6.

  The data information acquisition unit 42 acquires data information from the data information generation unit 41 in the external device 6 connected to the terminal B via the network I / F 10 and transmits the data information to the inventory determination unit 15.

  The usage information generation unit 13 extracts operation log information indicating an operation performed on a specific external connection device 6 from the operation log information storage unit, and external connection device 6 identification information included in the extracted operation log information. Usage information is generated from the terminal identification information, processing content, and processing target information, and stored in the usage information storage unit 14. In addition, the usage information generation unit 13 changes the contents stored in the usage information storage unit 14 as needed based on the extracted operation log information (especially when the operation content indicates data writing or output to the external connection device 6). Update.

  The inventory determination unit 15 compares the usage information stored in the usage information storage unit 14 with the data information indicating the content of the data stored in the external device 6 acquired from the data information acquisition unit 42, Detect whether there is a difference between the two contents. When a difference is detected in the contents of the two, it is determined that the externally connected device 6 that is the target device is “inventory is necessary”.

  The comparison and determination between the data information and the usage information can use various pieces of information that both the data information and the usage information have in common. For example, (1) a method using a file name, (2) a method using a processing date and time for a file, (3) a method using a number of files, and (4) a method using a data amount are conceivable.

[Comparison Judgment Method (1)]
A method for comparison determination using file names will be described. In this method, first, processing target information (file name) is extracted from the usage information stored in the usage information storage unit 14. Next, the file name included in the data information acquired from the data information acquisition unit 42 is extracted. If a difference is detected by comparing the two, it is determined that the target device may have been used outside the network, and the externally connected device 6 that is the target device is determined to be “inventory required”. .

[Comparison judgment method (2)]
A method for making a comparison determination using the processing date and time for a file will be described. In this method, first, the processing date (file processing date) is extracted from the usage information stored in the usage information storage unit 14. Next, the file processing date and time included in the data information acquired from the data information acquisition unit 42 is extracted. If a difference is detected by comparing the two, it is determined that the target device may have been used outside the network, and the externally connected device 6 that is the target device is determined to be “inventory required”. .

  Note that the processing date / time for the file described above is a date / time indicating the operation performed on the file, such as a file creation date / time, an update date / time, or a browsing date / time, and a date / time required for the processing may be used. .

  It is also possible to extract the last file processing date and time from the usage information, extract the last file processing date and time included in the data information, and make a similar determination by comparing the respective last file processing dates and times. is there. In this case, if the last file processing date / time included in the data information is later than the file processing date / time included in the usage information, the target device may be used outside the network and may be the target device. It is possible to determine that “inventory is necessary” for the externally connected device 6.

[Comparison judgment method (3)]
A method for comparison judgment using the number of files will be described. In this method, first, the number of files predicted to be stored in the external device 6 is calculated using the usage information stored in the usage information storage unit 14. Next, the number of files actually stored in the external device 6 is calculated from the data information acquired from the data information storage unit 42. If a difference is detected by comparing the two, it is determined that the target device may have been used outside the network, and the externally connected device 6 that is the target device is determined to be “inventory required”. .

[Comparison judgment method (4)]
A method for comparison and determination using the data amount will be described. In this method, first, the amount of data for each processing target (file name) is extracted from the usage information stored in the usage information storage unit 14. Next, the data amount for each file name included in the data information acquired from the data information acquisition unit 42 is extracted. If a difference is detected by comparing the two, it is determined that the target device may have been used outside the network, and the externally connected device 6 that is the target device is determined to be “inventory required”. . In addition to the above method, a method of calculating and comparing the data amount of the entire file stored in the external device 6 may be used.

  In addition, you may make it determine using any one of the above-mentioned comparison determination methods, and you may make it determine combining 2 or more. Furthermore, not limited to the four necessity determination methods described above, any means can be used as long as it is a method for determining the necessity of inventory using information included in both usage information and data information. It doesn't matter.

  In the above determination method, if the data information and the usage information do not match, it is determined that “inventory is necessary”. However, the number of times that the comparison between the data information and the usage information does not match is equal to or more than a predetermined number. If there is, it may be determined that “inventory is necessary”. As a result, it is possible to determine that inventory is necessary when taking out frequently, and to determine that “inventory is not necessary” otherwise.

Example 3 Treatment Process
Next, an example of a processing process in the inventory support system of the present invention will be described with reference to the functional block diagram of FIG. 19 and the flowchart of FIG. In the following description, a case where a USB memory is used as the external connection device 6 and the external connection device “USB-001” is selected as the target device will be described. Further, a case where (1) a method using a file name is used as a comparison determination method will be described as an example.

  The operations of (S301), (S303), (S306), and (S307) in the flowchart of FIG. 20 are the same as those in [Example 2—Processing process], and thus the description thereof is omitted.

  The usage information generation unit 13 acquires operation log information indicating that processing has been performed on the external device 6 within a predetermined time from the operation log information stored in the operation log information storage unit 18. Further, from the acquired operation log information, the external connection device identification information indicating the external connection device 6 that has been processed, the terminal identification information indicating the terminal B that has processed the external connection device 6, the external connection device 6 The processing contents and the processing target information indicating the contents of the processing performed for the processing contents, the date / time information on the processing contents, and the like are extracted, the usage information is generated by associating these information, and stored in the usage information storage unit 14 as needed. .

  The above processing will be described in detail. The operation log information is stored as shown in FIG. 15, and the predetermined time is from “2009/6/11 9:00” to “2009/6/11 10:30”. An example of generating usage information for the externally connected device “USB-001” in the case of setting will be described. First, information on the terminal B that has been attached to and detached from the external connection device 6 is extracted. Here, it is extracted that one of the terminals “CL-001” is attached to and detached from the external connection device “USB-001”.

  Next, processing contents indicating a predetermined operation performed on the external connection device “USB-001” are extracted. Here, the predetermined process (process type) is assumed to be four types of “file move”, “file copy”, “file delete”, and “overwrite save”, and processing target identification information on which the four types of process are performed An example of acquiring the latest processing date will be described. For the file “customer information.xls” stored in the external device “USB-001”, the process type “file move” is “once” and the process type “overwrite save” is “twice”. It can be extracted. Then, usage information is generated in association with the externally connected device identification information, processing target information, and processing content (processing type, processing frequency, and latest processing date and time). An example of the generated usage information is shown in FIG.

  In the usage information storage unit 14, the usage information generated by the usage information generation unit 13 is stored in association with the external device identification information. Furthermore, in the usage information storage unit 14, the contents of the stored usage information are updated according to the usage information generated as needed by the usage information generation unit 13 (S302). An example of the usage information stored in the usage information storage unit 14 is shown in FIG. FIG. 22 shows an example of usage information stored in a period from June 1, 2009 to June 30, 2009.

  The data storage unit 40 of the externally connected device “USB-001” connected to the terminal B stores the data moved or copied by the terminal B.

The data information generation unit 41 generates data information from the content of data stored in the data storage unit 40 and transmits the data information to the management server B. An example of the generated data information is shown in FIG.

The data information acquisition unit 42 acquires the data information of the externally connected device “USB-001” generated by the data information generation unit 41 via the network I / F 10 (S304), and the acquired data information is an inventory determination unit. 15 to send.

  The inventory determination unit 15 compares the usage information stored in the usage information storage unit 14 with the data information acquired from the data information acquisition unit 42, and detects whether there is a difference (S305).

  The above processing will be specifically described. When the usage information regarding the external connection device “USB-001” as the target device is stored as shown in FIG. 22, the file predicted to be stored in the external connection device “USB-001” is “customer It can be seen that there are two types, “information.xls” and “price list.xls”. Next, when the acquired data information of the externally connected device “USB-001” is as shown in FIG. 23, the files actually stored are “customer information.xls”, “quotation sheet.doc”, and “ It can be seen that there are three types of “meeting result.txt”. As a result of comparing the two, it can be seen that “price list.xls” has been deleted and two new files, “estimate.doc” and “meeting result.txt” have been added. It is detected that there is a difference between information and data information.

  The inventory determination unit 15 determines the necessity of inventory according to whether or not the difference between the usage information and the data information can be detected (S306). In the case of the above-described example, it is determined that the externally connected device “USB-001” that is the target device is “inventory is necessary”.

  In the above-described embodiment, the case where (1) the method using the file name is used as the comparison determination method has been described. , (4) The method of using the data amount is also compared and determined by the same processing method.

  By setting it as the above-mentioned embodiment, the determination which considered whether the change preserve | saved with respect to the data preserve | saved inside the external connection apparatus 6 is attained. In other words, it is possible to determine the risk that the externally connected device 6 is taken out of the network and the contents of the data stored in the external device 6 are changed, and the necessity of inventory considering the risk can be determined. It becomes.

Example 4 Configuration
Next, a fourth embodiment of the inventory support system of the present invention will be described using the functional block diagram of FIG. The same components as those in the first to third embodiments are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the same operations as those in the first to third embodiments are described in detail. Is omitted.

  In the fourth embodiment of the inventory support system of the present invention, the operation log information storage unit 18 for storing operation log information generated in the terminal B is generated inside the terminal B, and usage information is generated from the stored operation log information. A usage information generation unit 13 for transmitting to the external connection device 6, and a usage information storage unit 14 for storing usage information acquired from the terminal B inside the external connection device 6 connected to the terminal B. The server A includes a usage information acquisition unit 14b that acquires usage information stored in the externally connected device 6, and is different from the third embodiment.

  In the present embodiment, usage information is generated inside the terminal B, the usage information is stored in the external connection device 6, and the management server A uses the data information and the usage information acquired from the external connection device 6. Based on this, the necessity of inventory is determined. That is, there is a feature in that the necessity of inventory of the externally connected device is determined using only information (data information, usage information) acquired from the externally connected device.

  Hereinafter, the operation of each component will be described. The detailed description of the components that perform the same operations as those in the first to third embodiments will be omitted.

  The operation log information storage unit 18 stores the operation log information generated by the operation log information generation unit 24 in the terminal B.

  The usage information generation unit 13 uses the operation log information stored in the operation log information storage unit 18 in the terminal B, and an operation log indicating an operation performed on the externally connected device 6 connected to the terminal B. Information is extracted, and usage information is generated from the externally connected device 6 identification information, terminal identification information, processing contents, and processing target information included in the extracted operation log information. Further, the generated usage information is stored in the usage information storage unit 14 in the external device 6. Moreover, the usage information generation part 13 updates the content memorize | stored in the usage information storage part 14 at any time based on the produced | generated usage information. In the above description, it is described that the usage information is generated using the operation log information. However, the data information when the externally connected device 6 is attached is acquired from the data information generation unit 13, and the operation log information is used for the data information. The usage information may be generated by updating the information.

  The usage information acquisition unit 14 b acquires the usage information stored in the usage information storage unit 14 in the external connection device 6 connected to the terminal B via the network I / F 10. Then, the acquired use information is transmitted to the inventory determination unit 15.

  The inventory determination unit 15 uses the data information indicating the content of the data actually stored in the external device 6 acquired from the data information acquisition unit 42 and the operation log information in the terminal B acquired from the usage information acquisition unit 14b. The data information of the data estimated to be stored in the generated externally connected device 6 is compared, and it is detected whether there is a difference between the two contents. When a difference is detected in the contents of the two, it is determined that the externally connected device 6 that is the target device is “inventory is necessary”.

  By setting it as the above-mentioned embodiment, the management server A can determine the necessity of inventory based only on the information which can be acquired from the external connection apparatus 6. FIG. That is, since it is not necessary to generate usage information inside the management server A, there is an effect that processing in the management server A can be reduced.

  Next, a fifth embodiment of the inventory support system of the present invention will be described using the functional block diagram of FIG. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the same component as the above-mentioned Example 1 to Example 4, and when performing the same operation | movement as the above-mentioned Example 1 to Example 4, the detailed description is Omitted.

The fifth embodiment of the inventory support system of the present invention includes a storage information update unit 43 that updates storage information stored in the storage information storage unit 44 of the external connection device 6 inside the terminal B, and a storage information storage. A storage information comparison unit 45 that compares the storage information in the unit 44 and the data information acquired from the data information generation unit 41, and is externally connected to the inside of the external connection device 6 at the time of previous use (detachment). The present embodiment is different from the above-described embodiment in that a storage information storage unit 43 that stores storage information regarding data stored in the device 6 is provided.

  The above-mentioned storage information refers to information regarding the content of data stored in the external connection device 6 when the external connection device 6 is used in the terminal B belonging to the network N. That is, the data information is information indicating the content of the actual data stored in the data storage unit 40 of the externally connected device 6, whereas the stored information is stored in the externally connected device 6 by the operation of the terminal B belonging to the network N. This is information indicating the content of the data that is to be stored. The information included in the stored information is preferably the same as the data information.

In the present embodiment, when the external connection device 6 is attached to the terminal B, the storage information regarding the data stored in the external connection device 6 at the time of previous attachment / detachment (during use), and the current attachment time The data information regarding the data stored in the external device 6 is compared. The comparison result is transmitted to the management server S as attachment / detachment information. The management server A is characterized in that it determines the necessity of inventory using the comparison result included in the acquired attachment / detachment information.

  Hereinafter, the operation of each component will be described. Note that detailed descriptions of components that perform the same operations as those in the above-described embodiment are omitted.

  When the external connection device 6 is attached to the terminal B, the storage information comparison unit 45 compares the data information acquired from the data information generation unit 41 with the storage information stored in the storage information storage unit 43 in the external connection device 6. To do. Then, the result of comparison is notified to the attachment / detachment information generation unit 21.

  The attachment / detachment information generation unit 21 acquires that the externally connected device 6 is attached to the terminal B, and generates attachment / detachment information including the comparison result acquired from the stored information comparison unit 45. Then, the generated attachment / detachment information is transmitted to the management server A via the network I / F 20.

  When the storage information update unit 43 acquires from the terminal control unit 23 that the data stored in the data storage unit 40 of the external device 6 has been updated, the storage information update unit 43 obtains the data information generated by the data information generation unit 41. The information is stored in the saved information storage unit 43 in the external device 6. Note that the data information acquired from the data information generation unit may be updated information, or the information before being updated is stored in a temporary storage unit (not shown), and the stored data The updated data information may be generated using the updated information and stored in the saved information storage unit 43.

  The usage information generation unit 13 acquires the attachment / detachment information including the comparison result of the stored information stored in the attachment / detachment information storage unit 12, and counts the number of matches or mismatches of the comparison result of the storage information for each external connection device 6. Usage information including a value is generated and stored in the usage information storage unit 14. In the present embodiment, the number of matches or mismatches is used. However, the number of matches or mismatches with respect to the number of attachments of the external device 6 may be used as the total value instead of the number of times.

  The inventory determination unit 15 acquires the usage information including the total value of the comparison result of the stored information from the usage information storage unit 14, and the usage frequency outside the network of the target device whose total value is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value. Assuming that the externally connected device 6 is highly likely to be lost or the like, it is determined that “there is a need for inventory”.

  By configuring as in the present embodiment, there is an effect that processing in the management server A can be reduced.

  Next, a fourth embodiment of the inventory support system of the present invention will be described. In the embodiments in the above-described examples, the necessity of inventory is determined in each external connection device 6 by using the terminal identification information included in the attachment / detachment information or the operation log information. However, in the present embodiment, the necessity of inventory in each external connection device 6 is determined by using “user identification information for identifying a user who uses the terminal B” included in the operation log information. There is a feature in the point.

  The inventory support system according to the present embodiment includes a terminal that can be attached to and detached from the external connection device 6 and a management server, and an operation log information storage unit that stores operation log information indicating the contents of processing executed in the terminal; A usage status generation unit that generates a usage status indicating a status of use of the external connection device 6 by a user for a predetermined time based on the operation log information; An inventory determination unit that determines the necessity of inventory in the connected device 6.

  Further, the inventory determination unit uses the usage information to calculate a utilization level indicating a degree of utilization of the externally connected device 6 by a user who uses the terminal, and to calculate the utilization level. And a stocktaking judging means for judging the necessity of stocktaking in the externally connected device 6.

  The configuration in this embodiment can be realized by replacing the terminal identification information used in each of the above-described embodiments with user identification information.

  In the present embodiment, the processing method of using the user identification information included in the operation log information has been described, but a format in which the user identification information is included in advance in the attachment / detachment information is also conceivable. When the user identification information is included in the attachment / detachment information, even if the information acquired in the present embodiment is the attachment / detachment information, the processing in the present embodiment can be performed.

  By adopting this embodiment, since it is possible to determine the necessity of inventory for the externally connected device 6 according to the usage status of the externally connected device 6 between users, the loss of the externally connected device 6 is more directly lost. It is possible to determine the necessity of inventory taking into account the possibility.

  In this embodiment, the user identification information included in the operation log information can be used to make a determination according to the usage status of the externally connected device 6 between users. However, even if a method of including user identification information in the attachment / detachment information is used. Of course it doesn't matter.

A: Management server B: Terminal C: Management terminal 1: Arithmetic device 2: Storage device 3: Communication device 4: Input device 5: Display device 6: Externally connected device 10: Network I / F
11: Detachment information acquisition unit 12: Detachment information storage unit 13: Use information generation unit 14: Use information storage unit 14b: Use information acquisition unit 15: Inventory determination unit 15a: Utilization calculation unit 15b: Determination unit 16: Notification unit 17 : Operation log information acquisition unit 18: Operation log information storage unit 19a: Externally connected device information storage unit 19b: Inventory completion determination unit 20: Network I / F
21: Attachment / detachment information generation unit 22: Determination result reception unit 23: Terminal control unit 24: Operation log information generation unit 30: Network I / F
31: Determination result receiving unit 32: Management terminal control unit 40: Data storage unit 41: Data information generation unit 42: Data information acquisition unit 43: Storage information update unit 44: Storage information storage unit 45: Storage information comparison unit

Claims (6)

An inventory support system comprising a management server and a terminal to which externally connected devices can be attached and detached,
Attaching / detaching information storage unit for storing attaching / detaching information related to attaching / detaching of externally connected devices in the terminal;
A usage information generating unit that generates usage information indicating a usage status of the externally connected device at a predetermined time based on the attachment / detachment information;
An inventory determining unit that determines the necessity of inventory in the externally connected device 6 based on the usage information of the externally connected device;
An inventory support system characterized by comprising: An inventory support system comprising a management server and a terminal to which externally connected devices can be attached and detached,
An operation log information storage unit for storing operation log information indicating a history of processing executed in the terminal;
A usage information generating unit that generates usage information indicating a usage status of the externally connected device at a predetermined time based on the operation log information;
Based on the usage information of the externally connected device, an inventory determining unit that determines the necessity of inventory in the externally connected device; and
An inventory support system characterized by comprising: The inventory determination unit
Utilization degree calculating means for calculating a utilization degree indicating the degree to which the externally connected device is used by the terminal using the usage information;
Determination means for determining the necessity of inventory in the external connection device based on the calculated utilization degree;
The inventory support system according to claim 2, further comprising: The inventory support system further includes:
A data information acquisition unit for storing data information related to data stored in the external device;
The inventory determination unit
By comparing the usage information and the acquired data information, a comparison determination unit that determines the necessity of inventory in the externally connected device;
The inventory support system according to claim 2, further comprising: A program used for an inventory support system including an attachment / detachment information storage unit that stores attachment / detachment information related to attachment / detachment of an externally connected device in a terminal,
A usage information generation function for generating usage information indicating a usage status of the externally connected device at a predetermined time based on the attachment / detachment information;
Based on the usage information of the external connection device, an inventory determination function for determining the necessity of inventory in the external connection device, and
Inventory support program that enables computers to realize A program used in an inventory support system including an operation log information storage unit that stores operation log information indicating a history of processing executed in a terminal,
A usage information generating function for generating usage information indicating a usage status of the externally connected device at a predetermined time based on the operation log information;
Based on the usage information of the external connection device, an inventory determination function for determining the necessity of inventory in the external connection device, and
Inventory support program that enables computers to realize

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