JP2003005827A - Remote monitoring system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a remote monitoring system which can reliably send a state notice showing that abnormality has occurred in an object to be monitored to a terminal carried by a person in charge of maintenance and in which an operation is simple in acquiring information about the object to be monitored and remotely controlling the object to be monitored. SOLUTION: In a monitor and control apparatus Ki provided in each gap filler Gi, a data collecting part 10 periodically collects monitoring information (radio wave transmitting and receiving level, temperature in housing, etc.), of the gap filler Gi through a monitoring IF part 2. In the case abnormality is detected on the basis of the monitoring information, a mail preparing part 12 prepares e-mail (state notice) for notifying that the abnormality is detected, and a mail server 13 directly distributes the state notice not only to a central management center through a NIF part 4 but also to the maintenance terminal carried by the person in charge of maintenance. The state notice includes a URL displayed by a hyperlink to a web page provided by a web server 16 of the monitor Ki.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a monitoring device which is provided for each monitoring target installed in a remote place and monitors the state of the monitoring target, and a monitoring result of each monitoring device via a predetermined communication network. The present invention relates to a remote monitoring system equipped with a management device that collects and centrally manages data.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a remote monitoring system of this type, a management device accumulates monitoring information about a monitoring target sent from the monitoring device via a communication network, and the monitoring target of the monitoring target is stored based on this monitoring information. When an abnormality is detected, the fact is notified to the maintenance center installed near the monitoring target via the communication network. Upon receiving this notification, the maintenance center acquires more detailed information about the monitoring target accumulated in the management device via the communication network and performs maintenance work on the monitoring target based on the monitoring information. ing.

[0003]

However, in the above-mentioned remote monitoring system, the monitoring information transmitted by the monitoring device is always notified to the maintenance center via the management device. If an abnormality occurs in either the communication network of the above or the communication network between the management device and the maintenance center, there is a problem that the monitoring information does not reach the maintenance center and the maintenance work is hindered. .

Further, for example, when performing maintenance work or restoration work on a monitoring target, a worker goes to the installation site of the monitoring target to check the presence or absence of external damage to the device, and the contents of the abnormality at the site. If you need monitoring information to know in detail, or if the monitoring target is installed in a place that is not easily accessible, such as on the roof of a building or on a steel tower, you can operate the monitoring device remotely to perform work. You may have to do it. In such a case, a terminal device for maintenance work is required to obtain history information from the management device or remotely operate the monitoring device via the communication network. This type of terminal device is usually
A dedicated one was made for each system.

However, since the terminal device dedicated to the system requires a great deal of labor for its development, there is a problem that the system becomes expensive, and the user of the terminal device has a unique usage method for each system. Had to be mastered, and there was a problem that it was not easy to use.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides
It is possible to reliably deliver a status notification indicating that an abnormality has occurred to the monitored object to the terminal device owned by the maintenance person,
Moreover, it is an object of the present invention to provide a remote monitoring system that is easy to operate when acquiring information about the monitoring target and remotely controlling the monitoring target.

[0007]

In the remote monitoring system according to claim 1, which is an invention for achieving the above object, a monitoring device for monitoring the state of the monitoring target is provided for each monitoring target installed in a remote location. The management device collects the monitoring results of each monitoring device via a predetermined communication network and performs centralized management.

Then, in the monitoring device, the state detecting means detects the state of the monitoring target, and when an abnormality of the monitoring target is detected based on the monitoring result, the abnormality notifying means notifies the preset maintenance person. As a destination, a state notification indicating the state of the monitoring target is automatically transmitted by electronic mail via a predetermined communication network.

Therefore, in the remote monitoring system of the present invention,
Not only the status of the monitoring target is centrally managed by the management device, but also when an abnormality occurs in the monitoring target, a notification (email) to the maintenance person is sent directly without going through the management device. Therefore, it is possible to promptly and surely notify the maintenance staff of the abnormality of the monitoring target regardless of the operation status of the management device.

Here, the abnormal communication means retransmits the status notification when there is no response from the destination within the preset time limit after transmitting the status notification as described in claim 2. Alternatively, the status notification may be transmitted to different destinations depending on the content of the status notification.

That is, in the former case (claim 2), the maintenance person who receives the status notification is decided to make a response (for example, access to obtain detailed information) to the monitoring device by some method. If there is no response from the destination within the time limit, it is estimated that the status notification has not arrived or the status notification cannot be received.
By retransmitting the status notification, it is possible to greatly reduce the possibility that an abnormal situation is left unattended, and improve the reliability of the system. In this case, the retransmission destination of the status notification may be the same maintenance person or another maintenance person. Further, at the time of retransmission, information indicating that there is no response from the maintenance person may be added to the status notification and transmitted to the management device. Furthermore, the destination may be changed or the status notification may be transmitted to a plurality of destinations at the same time each time the retransmission fails a plurality of times.

In the latter case (claim 3), for example,
Corresponding to the cause of the abnormality estimated from the contents of the status notification,
By notifying the optimum maintenance person, the burden on the maintenance person can be reduced. Next, in the remote monitoring system according to claim 4, in the monitoring device, the history information storage means stores history information about the state of the monitoring target, and the operating means controls the operation of the monitoring target according to a command from the outside. At the same time, the maintenance function providing means provides the history information accumulated in the history information accumulating means in response to a request from the terminal device operated by the maintenance person, and the remote operation of the monitoring target through the operating means is performed through the communication network. Through.

In the remote monitoring system of the present invention thus configured, the maintenance staff who receives the status notification from the abnormality notifying means operates the terminal device to collect the history information of the monitoring target from the monitoring device. Alternatively, the monitoring device can control the monitoring target. As a result, the maintenance staff can make an accurate situation determination based on the collected history information and can promptly execute abnormality countermeasures based on the determination.

As described in claim 5, the communication network is the Internet, the maintenance function providing means functions as a web server, and the terminal device uses a graphical user interface (GUI) on a web browser to monitor the device. If you configure it to display the information obtained from and input commands to the monitoring device, without developing a special terminal device for maintenance personnel to use, or special software to be installed in the terminal device, Information can be easily exchanged between the monitoring device and the terminal device, and the system can be constructed at low cost.

In particular, as described in claim 6, if the URL of the monitoring device which is the transmission source is displayed in the status notification by using a hyperlink, the terminal device receiving the status notification can: URL displayed on the display screen
The web page of the monitoring device can be browsed by simply clicking. Then, by operating an icon or the like on this Web page, the history information or the like accumulated in the monitoring device can be displayed on the screen of the terminal device. As a result, when the maintenance staff receives the status notification, the maintenance staff can easily and promptly deal with it.

It is preferable that the terminal device that receives the status notification from the notification means includes notifying means for notifying the maintenance person of the reception of the status notification. Further, as the terminal device, a personal computer, a PDA (Personal Digital Assistance),
Any device such as a mobile phone having a Web browser and a mail client function can be used. Especially, if a mobile terminal is used as in claim 8, the monitoring device can be used at any place. Maintenance work can be performed.

[0017]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the remote monitoring system of this embodiment. The remote monitoring system of the present embodiment is a satellite digital voice broadcast that enables the use of high-quality services by digital broadcasting in a moving body such as a car, and the radio waves from the satellite (S band: 2.6 GHz band). ) Is directly received and retransmitted to a place where the radio waves from the satellite do not reach directly, and is for monitoring the operating state of the gap filler. In addition, the gap filler must be installed in a place that can overlook the area where the radio waves from the satellite cannot be received directly, and most of them are installed in places where people cannot easily approach, such as the tower or the rooftop of a building. Has been done.

As shown in the figure, the remote monitoring system of this embodiment has a gap filler Gi (i = 1, 1) to be monitored.
2, ...) provided for each of the monitoring devices Ki for detecting the state of the gap filler Gi and controlling the gap filler Gi, each monitoring device Ki and a communication network (for example, a public line,
A central management center C, which is connected via a dedicated line, the Internet, etc.) N, collects the monitoring information detected by each monitoring device Ki, and centrally manages all the monitoring devices Ki, and the maintenance work of the gap filler Gi. A maintenance terminal device (a mobile phone in this case) Tj (j = 1, 2, ...) That is carried by each of the maintenance personnel. In the following, the monitoring device Ki is also called a monitoring server, and the central management center C and the maintenance terminal device Tj are also called monitoring clients.

Here, FIG. 2A is a block diagram showing the internal configuration of the monitoring device Ki, and FIG. 2B is a block diagram showing the internal configuration of the maintenance terminal device Tj. As shown in FIG. 2A, the monitoring device Ki, which is a monitoring server, includes a monitoring interface (IF) unit 2 including an I / O port group for inputting / outputting data to / from the gap filler Gi, and TCP / IP. A network interface (NIF) unit 4 that transmits and receives data via the communication network N according to the protocol, and a monitoring client (central management center C or maintenance terminal device Tj).
Information about the gap filler Gi to the user, and the gap filler Gi based on the request from the monitoring client.
Data processing unit 6 for executing processing for remote control of
It has and.

Of these, the data processing unit 6 sends monitoring information indicating the state of the gap filler Gi (for example, the reception level of the radio wave from the satellite, the transmission level of the radio wave to be retransmitted, the temperature in the housing, etc.) to the monitoring IF. Whether or not an abnormal situation (for example, transmission / reception level abnormality, temperature abnormality, etc.) has occurred based on the data collection unit 10 as a state detection unit that periodically collects data via the unit 2 and the monitoring information collected by the data collection unit 10. If there is an abnormality, an e-mail for notifying the fact (hereinafter referred to as “status notification”) is created, and a mail creation section 12 as an error notification means and a status notification created by the mail creation section 12 A mail server 13 for delivering via the NIF unit 4 is provided.

Further, the data processing unit 6 includes the data collection unit 1
0 in accordance with a command from the outside and a database 14 as a history information storage means for sequentially storing the collected monitoring information.
A monitoring target control unit 15 as an operating means for controlling the operation of the gap filler Gi via the monitoring IF unit 2;
In response to a data transmission request from the monitoring client (central management center C or maintenance terminal device Tj) via the unit 4, the data extracted from the database 14 is converted into an HTML format that can be viewed by a Web browser, and the NIF is converted. Part 4
To the monitoring client of the request source via the
A Web server 16 as a maintenance function providing unit that outputs a command to the monitoring target control unit 15 in response to a control request from the monitoring client via the F unit 4 is provided.

The data processing unit 6 includes a CPU, a ROM,
The data collection unit 10, the mail creation unit 12, the mail server 13,
The monitoring target control unit 15 and the Web server 16 are realized as processes executed by the CPU, and the address storage unit 11
Is configured on a non-volatile memory (for example, EEPROM), and the database 14 is configured on a RAM or an external storage device.

The address storage unit 11 stores at least the address of the central management center C and the address assigned to the maintenance staff who is in charge of maintenance of the gap filler Gi, and the mail creation unit 12 stores the address. The status notification is sent to both, and the Web page provided by the Web server 16 is not accessed even after the preset time limit (for example, 15 minutes) has passed after sending the status notification. At times, the status notification is retransmitted.

The status notification created by the mail creating unit 12 includes information on the gap filler Gi to be monitored (installation position, model used, etc.), detected abnormality type, and monitoring information determined to be abnormal. In addition to the URL (Uniform Reso
urce Locator) is included. However, the URL is a hyperlink.

The Web provided by the Web server 16
The page is created so as to provide detailed information necessary for maintenance work, a control function of the gap filler Gi through the monitoring target control unit 15, and the like in accordance with a request from the monitoring client. On the other hand, the maintenance terminal device Tj is shown in FIG.
As shown in (b), a human interface (HIF) unit 20 including a display screen for performing various displays, keys for inputting various commands, a buzzer for generating an alarm, and the like, and a communication network N are used. N that controls the sending and receiving of data
An IF unit 22, a mail receiving unit 26 having a mail client function for receiving a mail via the NIF unit 22, and a data processing unit 24 including a Web browser 28 for browsing a Web page are provided.

The data processing unit 24 is a CPU, RO
It consists of a computer mainly composed of M and RAM,
The mail receiving unit 26 and the Web browser 28 are both configured to be realized as processing executed by the CPU. In addition, the mail receiving unit 26 has a function as a notification unit that causes the HIF unit 20 to generate an alarm (ring tone) when a mail is received.

Further, the Web browser 28 provides a graphical user interface (GUI) using a graphic for displaying information and a pointing device for input operation, and the monitoring device Ki is displayed on the display screen of the maintenance terminal device Tj. When the web page to be provided is displayed, a data transmission request or control request to the monitoring device Ki is transmitted only by operating the icon on the web page.

In the remote monitoring system configured as described above, the monitoring device Ki periodically collects the monitoring information indicating the state of the gap filler Gi and records the history of the monitoring information based on the collected monitoring information. Create a database to represent. At the same time, the presence / absence of an abnormality is determined based on the monitoring information, and if there is an abnormality, an e-mail (state notification) is sent to the central management center C and a predetermined maintenance person.

The maintenance terminal device Tj that has received this e-mail (state notification) issues an alarm to notify the maintenance person in possession of the device Tj that the e-mail has been received. After that, by the operation of the maintenance staff, the content of the status notification is displayed on the display screen of the maintenance terminal device Tj that has received the email, and when the URL of the Web page, which is one of the display items, is clicked, The terminal device Tj executes access to the monitoring device Ki. As a result, the maintenance work Web page of the gap filler Gi is displayed on the display screen of the maintenance terminal device Tj.

Since the Web page is created by using the GUI as described above, the history information about the specific monitoring information can be browsed by operating the icon button on the screen. Alternatively, it is possible to remotely control the gap filler Gi (adjust the transmission / reception level, etc.).

In the monitoring device Ki, after the transmission of the electronic mail (status notification), if the maintenance person at the transmission destination does not access the Web page even after the time limit elapses, the electronic mail is sent to the maintenance person. Is retransmitted and the fact is notified to the central management center C by e-mail.

As described above, in the remote monitoring system of this embodiment, the monitoring device Ki that detects the abnormality of the gap filler Gi is not only the central management center C but also the maintenance responsible for the maintenance of the gap filler Gi. E-mail (status notification) is sent directly to the person in charge.

Therefore, according to the remote monitoring system of the present embodiment, the status notification to the person in charge of maintenance is promptly delivered without going through the central management center C, so that the gap filler Gi is promptly dealt with. In addition to being able to respond, even if the function of the central management center C is down for some reason, the gap filler Gi
The abnormality can be notified to the maintenance person without fail, and the reliability of the system can be improved.

Further, in the remote monitoring system of this embodiment, when there is no access to the Web page from the maintenance staff even though the monitoring device Ki has transmitted the status notification, the fact is notified to the central management center C. Therefore, even if the maintenance staff cannot know the reception of the status notification for some reason, it is possible to take countermeasures through the central management center C, and The reliability can be further improved.

Further, in the present embodiment, the maintenance terminal device T
j need only have a mail client function and a Web browser function, and a mobile phone or the like having these functions can be used as the maintenance terminal device Tj, and it is necessary to newly create dedicated hardware or dedicated software. Since it does not exist, the system can be constructed easily and inexpensively. Moreover, since the information is displayed on the Web page using the GUI, the maintenance staff does not need to master the complicated operations such as command input and the special usage method, and the operation can be performed easily. The work efficiency of the maintenance work using Tj can be improved.

Furthermore, in the remote monitoring system of this embodiment, when the status notification is first received via the maintenance terminal device Tj, the monitoring information about the current status of the gap filler Gi can be obtained, and then the Web page is displayed. By browsing, the detailed information necessary for identifying the cause of the abnormality such as the history of the monitoring information can be obtained. Therefore, the maintenance staff can take appropriate measures against the abnormality that has occurred. For example, if a temperature abnormality inside the housing occurs, by referring to the history of temperature changes inside the housing, it may be due to external factors such as solar radiation,
It is possible to judge whether or not the heat is generated from the component parts due to secular change or the like.

Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment,
The present invention can be implemented in various modes without departing from the scope of the present invention. For example, in the above embodiment, the Web server 16 is configured to provide the data converted into the HTML format, but the XML (Extensible) is used.
The data converted to the Markup Language) format may be provided. However, it is necessary to add a function of converting XML format data to the HTML format using a style sheet on the monitoring client side that browses the Web page.

In this case, by preparing a style sheet suitable for the maintenance terminal device Tj possessed by the person in charge of maintenance, an easy-to-see display suitable for the screen size and a purpose (for example, maintenance terminal device) even if the same data is displayed. Tj, which of the central management center C is used, etc.) can be displayed differently.

In the above embodiment, the function of the Web server is used to supply the monitoring information and control the monitoring target. However, for example, SNMP (Simple Network Manager) is used.
entProtocol), the monitoring device Ki is an SNMP agent, the central management center C and the maintenance terminal device Tj are SN
The monitoring / control of the monitoring device Ki may be performed by configuring a database provided in the MP manager and the monitoring device Ki as a management information base (MIB).

In this case, when the SNMP manager changes the MIB value, the monitoring target control unit 15 may execute the control corresponding to the changed MIB value. Further, the notification when the abnormality is detected may use the TRAP function that the SNMP agent can voluntarily send, instead of the electronic mail.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an overall configuration of a remote monitoring system according to an embodiment.

2A is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of a monitoring device and FIG. 2B is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of a maintenance terminal device.

[Explanation of symbols]

2 ... Monitoring interface (monitoring IF) unit 4, 22 ... Network interface (NIF) unit 6, 24 ... Data processing unit 10 ... Data collecting unit 1
1 ... Address storage unit 12 ... Mail creation unit 13 ... Mail server
14 ... Database 15 ... Monitoring target control unit 16 ... Web server 20 ... Human interface (HIF) unit 2
6 ... Email receiving unit 28 ... Web browser C ... Central management center G
i ... Gap filler Ki ... Monitoring device N ... Communication network T
j ... Maintenance terminal device

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Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A monitoring device which is provided for each monitoring target installed in a remote place and monitors the state of the monitoring target, and the monitoring result of each monitoring device is collected and centrally managed through a predetermined communication network. In a remote monitoring system including a management device, the monitoring device includes a state detection unit that detects a state of the monitoring target, and a maintenance person set in advance when an abnormality of the monitoring target is detected by the state detection unit. An abnormality notifying means for automatically transmitting a status notification indicating the status of the monitoring target by an electronic mail via the communication network to the destination as a destination. 2. The abnormality notifying means retransmits the status notification when there is no response from the destination within a preset time limit after the status notification is transmitted. 1. The remote monitoring system according to 1. 3. The remote monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein the abnormality notifying means transmits the status notification to different destinations according to the content of the status notification. 4. The monitoring device comprises: history information storage means for storing history information of the state of the monitoring target detected by the state detecting means; and operation means for controlling the operation of the monitoring target according to an external command. In response to a request from a terminal device that accesses the monitoring device via the communication network, provision of history information accumulated in the history information accumulating means and remote operation of the monitoring target via the operating means are performed. The remote monitoring system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising: a maintenance function providing means for performing. 5. The communication network is the Internet, the maintenance function providing means functions as a web server, and the terminal device uses a graphical user interface on a web browser to display information obtained from the monitoring device, 5. The remote monitoring system according to claim 4, wherein a command input operation is performed on the monitoring device. 6. The remote monitoring system according to claim 5, wherein in the status notification, the URL of the monitoring device that is the transmission source of the status notification is displayed by using a hyperlink. 7. The remote monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein the terminal device includes an informing unit for informing the reception of the status notification. 8. The remote monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein the terminal device is a mobile terminal.