JP4411933B2 - Terminal device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a terminal device connectable to a network.

  In recent years, a number of products in a category called “IP products” that can be connected to a network have been released by various companies. This IP product includes a residential gateway that connects the home and the Internet, and a network camera that can distribute images of, for example, a store or a construction site via a network and browse images from a remote personal computer. Recently, IP products that can manage information on connected network devices such as a residential gateway that can automatically configure multiple network cameras connected to the network have also appeared.

In a terminal device that manages various network devices such as this residential gateway, the network camera or sensor connected to the terminal device detects an abnormality such as an intruder, and the network camera image is displayed on the user's personal computer or There is a system that transmits to a mobile phone by e-mail (for example, see Non-Patent Document 1).
“Let's get ubiquitous smart life with an iBOX server”, Section 2 “Understanding Abnormal Situations While Being Remote”, [online], Nippon Computer Co., Ltd. (JCC), [September 2003 Search on the 24th], Internet <URL: http://www.jcc.co.jp/iboxserver/news/news-030304-4.html> JP 7-72923 A JP 2002-204317 A

  However, there has been no means for notifying the user when a network device such as a network camera connected to the terminal device itself is disconnected from the network due to theft, failure, or power failure. Conventionally, in order to know that a connection abnormality has occurred in a network device connected to a terminal device, the user can only determine by accessing the network device and confirming that it cannot be accessed. There was a problem that it was difficult to know immediately when it occurred.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a terminal device that allows a user to immediately know the occurrence of an abnormality when a connection abnormality occurs in a connected network device.

In order to solve this problem, a terminal device of the present invention is a terminal device to which a plurality of network devices can be connected, and includes information setting means for setting various types of information such as a notification destination , and the connected network devices. Information storage means for storing information and various information set by the information setting means, communication control means for controlling communication via the network, and connection for monitoring the connection status of the connected network device using the communication control means Notification that data is transmitted via the network using the communication control means to the notification destination stored in the information storage means when a connection abnormality of the network device is detected by the status monitoring means and the connection status monitoring means and a control unit, the connection state monitoring means, of the plurality network devices connected, one of the networks When detecting the disconnection of the click device, check the connection status of other network devices, in which a structure to be transmitted to the notification destination by the notification control means data indicative of the status of all devices detected and confirmed.

  According to the present invention, when an abnormality occurs in a network device connected to a terminal device, the user can immediately know the occurrence of the abnormality.

  The first invention of the present application is an information setting unit for setting various information such as a notification destination, an information storage unit for storing information of a connected network device and various information set by the information setting unit, and a network. A communication control means for controlling communication, a connection state monitoring means for monitoring a connection state of a connected network device using the communication control means, and when a connection abnormality of the network device is detected by the connection state monitoring means A terminal device including a notification control unit that transmits data via a network to a notification destination stored in an information storage unit using a communication control unit, and the network device connected to the terminal device is abnormal. When this occurs, the user can immediately know that an abnormality has occurred.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the terminal device according to the first aspect of the present invention, a plurality of network devices can be connected, and the disconnection of the plurality of connected network devices is detected. Notification can be made.

  According to a third aspect, in the terminal device according to the second aspect, the connection state monitoring means monitors the connection state only for the selected network device among the plurality of connected network devices. For example, if there is a network device with a very unstable connection state because it is connected wirelessly, it may be erroneously determined that a connection error has occurred and may be notified each time. However, by setting the user not to monitor the connection state of such a network device, it is possible to prevent notification due to erroneous determination.

  A fourth invention is a terminal device according to the first or second invention, wherein the notification control means is capable of transmitting data to a plurality of notification destinations. Since notification can be made to a plurality of notification destinations such as a telephone and a personal computer at work, the probability that the user notices disconnection of the network device increases.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the terminal device according to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the notification control means transmits data only to a selected notification destination among a plurality of notification destinations. It is possible to set so that data is not transmitted to a notification destination that does not require notification (for example, a mobile phone that requires a communication fee for receiving data).

  A sixth invention is the terminal device according to the first or second invention, wherein the notification control means transmits data including an identifier of the network device that detected the disconnection, and in particular, When a plurality of network devices are connected to the terminal device, the user can easily recognize which network device is disconnected.

  According to a seventh invention, in the terminal device according to the second invention, when the connection state monitoring means detects disconnection of any one of a plurality of connected network devices, all the networks The terminal device is characterized in that the data is immediately transmitted to the notification destination by the notification control means without confirming the connection state of the device, and the user can immediately notice the disconnection.

  According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the terminal device according to the second aspect of the present invention, even when the connection state monitoring means detects disconnection of any one of the plurality of connected network devices, all networks When a plurality of network devices are disconnected at the same time by a terminal device characterized by transmitting data indicating the status of all network devices to the notification destination by the notification control means after confirming the connection status of the devices. Since it is possible to notify a connection abnormality of a plurality of network devices by one notification, communication costs can be saved for a user who uses a mobile phone or the like that requires communication costs.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in the terminal device according to the first or second aspect, the connection state monitoring means transmits a TCP SYN packet to the network device whose connection state is to be monitored, and responds thereto. Is a terminal device that monitors the connection state by checking whether or not returns, and all network devices equipped with TCP can be targeted for connection state monitoring.

  According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, in the terminal device according to the first or second aspect of the invention, the connection state monitoring means transmits an ICMP PING to a network device whose connection state is to be monitored, and a response to the response is received. The terminal device is characterized in that the connection state is monitored by checking whether or not it is returned. All network devices equipped with ICMP (PING) can be set as connection state monitoring targets.

  According to an eleventh aspect of the present invention, in the terminal device according to the first or second aspect of the invention, the connection state monitoring means transmits an ARP request packet and checks whether a response to the ARP request packet is returned, thereby determining the connection state. It is a terminal device characterized by monitoring, and all network devices equipped with ARP can be set as connection state monitoring targets.

  According to a twelfth aspect, in the terminal device according to the first or second aspect, the connection state monitoring means monitors the connection state by checking whether data is transmitted from the network device at a constant cycle. It is possible to monitor the connection state without transmitting connection confirmation data from the terminal device side.

  A thirteenth aspect of the present invention is the terminal device according to any one of the first to second aspects of the invention, wherein the notification control means notifies the notification destination by e-mail, and indicates that a connection abnormality has been detected. By notifying the user by e-mail, it becomes possible to easily notify the connection abnormality to a personal computer or a mobile phone that can receive the e-mail, and to improve visibility by the user. It becomes possible.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram illustrating an example of a system configuration using a terminal device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  In FIG. 1, 1 is a terminal device according to an embodiment of the present invention, 2 is a network device connected to the terminal device 1 over a network, 3 is a network constituted by the Internet, an intranet, or the like, and 4 is a network 3. A data receiving terminal such as a personal computer or a mobile phone capable of receiving.

  When the network device 2 is powered off or disconnected (b), the terminal device 1 detects (b) the disconnection and transmits data to the notification destination registered in advance by e-mail or the like. ) The user can know that a connection abnormality has occurred in the network device 2 connected to the terminal device 1 by receiving the data transmitted from the terminal device 1 by the data receiving terminal 4 via the network 3. it can.

  FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram showing a functional configuration of the terminal device 1 of FIG.

As shown in FIG. 2, the terminal device 1 includes an information setting unit 5 for setting information such as a notification destination by the user, and information on the network device 2 connected to the terminal device 1 (for example, an identifier such as an IP address or a name). The information storage means 6 for storing various information set by the information setting means 5, the communication control means 7 for controlling communication over the network 3 and the connected network equipment 2, and the network equipment 2. A connection state monitoring unit 8 that monitors the connection state using the communication control unit 7 and a notification destination stored in the information storage unit 6 when the connection state monitoring unit 8 detects disconnection of the network device 2 And a notification control means 9 for transmitting data via the network 3 using the communication control means 7.

  Hereinafter, the operation of the terminal device 1 will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a procedure until the terminal device of FIG. 1 transmits data.

  In step S <b> 1, the connection state monitoring unit 8 reads information on the network device 2 connected to the terminal device 1 stored in the information storage unit 6. As information to be read, for example, the IP address of the network device 2 can be considered.

  In step S2, the connection state monitoring unit 8 uses the communication control unit 7 to check whether the network device 2 is connected according to the information read in step S1. As an example of this confirmation method, there is a method of transmitting confirmation data to the network device 2. In this method, if the confirmation data is transmitted and there is no response for a certain time, it can be determined that the network device 2 is disconnected from the network or turned off.

  In step S3, the connection state monitoring unit 8 determines whether disconnection of the network device 2 is detected in step S2. If it is determined that it is disconnected, the process returns to step S4, and if not, the process returns to step S1.

  In step S <b> 4, the notification control unit 9 reads setting information regarding the notification destination stored in the information storage unit 6. In step S5, the notification control unit 9 transmits data via the network to the notification destination read from the information storage unit 6 in step S4 using the communication control unit 7. The user can know that an abnormality has occurred in the network device 2 by receiving the data transmitted by such a processing procedure using the data receiving terminal 4.

  As described above, according to the terminal device 1 in the present embodiment, when an abnormality occurs in the network device 2 connected to the terminal device 1, the user can immediately know the occurrence of the abnormality. Is obtained.

  In addition, the network apparatus 2 connected to the terminal device 1 may be single or plural. In particular, by connecting a plurality of network devices 2, it is possible to obtain an advantageous effect that the disconnection of a plurality of connected network devices 2 can be detected and notified.

  When there are a plurality of network devices 2 connected to the terminal device 1, the connection state monitoring means 8 connects only the network device 2 selected by the user among the plurality of connected network devices 2. For example, when there is a network device 2 that is very unstable because it is connected wirelessly, it may be erroneously determined that a connection error has occurred and notified each time. However, if the user sets the network device 2 not to monitor the connection state of such a network device 2, an advantageous effect that notification due to misjudgment can be prevented can be obtained. Note that the information setting unit 5 selects the network device 2 by the user.

When there are a plurality of network devices 2 connected to the terminal device 1, the connection state monitoring unit 8 detects the disconnection of any one of the plurality of connected network devices 2. Thus, the data is immediately transmitted to the notification destination by the notification control means 9 without confirming the connection state of all the network devices 2. This provides an advantageous effect that the user can immediately notice the disconnection.

  Further, when there are a plurality of network devices 2 connected to the terminal device 1, the connection state monitoring unit 8 can detect a disconnection of any one of the plurality of connected network devices 2. After confirming the connection status of all the network devices 2, the notification control means 9 transmits data indicating the status of all the network devices 2 to the notification destination. As a result, when a plurality of network devices 2 are disconnected at the same time, it is possible to notify a connection abnormality of the plurality of network devices 2 with a single notification. The advantageous effect of saving costs is obtained.

  In addition, since the notification control unit 9 can transmit data to a plurality of notification destinations, for example, a notification can be made to a plurality of notification destinations such as a mobile phone and a personal computer at work. An advantageous effect is obtained that the probability of noticing the disconnection of the device 2 is increased. Further, the notification control means 9 transmits data only to a notification destination selected by the user from among a plurality of notification destinations, so that a notification destination that does not require notification (for example, a communication cost for receiving data). Mobile phone that needs to be set to not transmit data.

  Further, the notification control means 9 is configured to transmit data including the identifier (IP address, name assigned to the device, etc.) of the network device 2 that has detected the disconnection, so that a plurality of network devices 2 are particularly connected to the terminal device 1. When the is connected, it is possible to obtain an advantageous effect that the user can easily recognize which network device 2 has been disconnected.

  In the above-described step S2, the connection state monitoring unit 8 monitors the connection state of the network device 2 as a method of transmitting data from the terminal device 1 to the network device 2 and waiting for a response, and a network. There is a method for checking whether or not data is transmitted from the device 2 at a constant cycle, and either method can be used. In particular, the connection status monitoring unit 8 transmits the connection confirmation data from the terminal device 1 by configuring the connection status to be monitored by checking whether the data is transmitted from the network device 2 at a constant cycle. Thus, an advantageous effect that the connection state can be monitored can be obtained.

  In step S2, as a means for confirming whether or not the network device 2 is connected, the connection state monitoring unit 8 transmits a TCP SYN packet to the network device 2 whose connection state is to be monitored. By checking whether the connection status is monitored by checking whether or not a response is returned, an advantageous effect is obtained that all network devices equipped with TCP can be targeted for connection status monitoring.

  In step S2, as a means for confirming whether or not the network device 2 is connected, the connection state monitoring unit 8 transmits an ICMP PING to the network device 2 whose connection state is to be monitored. By configuring the connection state to be monitored by checking whether or not a response is returned, an advantageous effect is obtained that all network devices equipped with ICMP (PING) can be targeted for connection state monitoring. .

In step S2, as a means for confirming whether or not the network device 2 is connected, the connection state monitoring means 8 transmits an ARP request packet and checks whether or not a response to the ARP request packet is returned. By configuring to monitor
An advantageous effect is obtained that all network devices in which P is mounted can be monitored for connection status.

  When the disconnection is detected, the data transmitted by the communication control means is e-mail, command (XML (eXtensible Markup Language) data transmitted to the data receiving terminal 4, user-defined protocol data, HTML (HyperText Markup In addition to text information such as (Language) data, etc., it does not matter the type of voice or image. In particular, the notification control means 9 is configured to notify the notification destination by electronic mail. In this way, by notifying the user that a connection abnormality has been detected by e-mail, it becomes possible to easily notify the connection abnormality to a personal computer or mobile phone that can receive the e-mail, and the visibility by the user can be improved. An advantageous effect of being able to improve is obtained.

  In addition, although the terminal device in this Embodiment is set as the structure connected with the network terminal and the network, it does not ask | require wired or wireless about the connection form.

  In addition, the terminal device in the present embodiment is configured to be connected to a network terminal. However, the connection mode may be a direct connection to the terminal device by cable or wireless, or a network such as the Internet or an intranet. It may be connected via

  Furthermore, although the terminal device in this Embodiment is set as the structure which transmits data to a notification destination when notifying a connection abnormality of a network terminal, types, such as a voice and a text, are not ask | required about the data.

The terminal device of the present invention has an advantage that the user can immediately know the abnormality by detecting the disconnection or power-off of the network device connected to the terminal device and notifying the user. Furthermore, when a connection abnormality occurs in at least one, the connection status of the other device is confirmed and notified to the user at the same time, so the user not only knows the information of the device in which the connection abnormality has occurred, Since the connection status of other devices can be confirmed, it is possible to determine whether or not the network is normal, and the cause of the abnormality can be grasped more accurately. Therefore, it can be used for a residential gateway or a server device that manages various network devices such as network home appliances.

The system block diagram which shows an example of the system configuration using the terminal device in embodiment of this invention Functional block diagram showing a functional configuration of the terminal device of FIG. The flowchart which shows the procedure until the terminal device of FIG. 1 transmits data.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Terminal device 2 Network equipment 3 Network 4 Data receiving terminal 5 Information setting means 6 Information storage means 7 Communication control means 8 Connection state monitoring means 9 Notification control means

Claims (10)

A terminal device to which a plurality of network devices can be connected, and stores information setting means for setting various information such as a notification destination, information of connected network devices, and various information set by the information setting means Information storage means, communication control means for controlling communication via a network, connection status monitoring means for monitoring the connection status of the connected network device using the communication control means, and the connection status monitoring means A notification control means for transmitting data via the network to the notification destination stored in the information storage means when the network device connection abnormality is detected, using the communication control means ;
When the connection state monitoring unit detects disconnection of any one of the connected network devices, the connection state monitoring unit checks the connection state of the other network devices, and the state of all the devices detected and confirmed The terminal device is characterized in that the notification control means transmits the data indicating to the notification destination . 2. The terminal device according to claim 1 , wherein the connection state monitoring unit monitors a connection state only for a selected network device among a plurality of connected network devices. The terminal device according to claim 1 , wherein the notification control unit is capable of transmitting data to a plurality of notification destinations. The terminal device according to claim 3 , wherein the notification control unit transmits data only to a selected notification destination among the plurality of notification destinations. The terminal device according to claim 1 , wherein the notification control unit transmits data including an identifier of a network device that detects disconnection. 2. The terminal device according to claim 1 , wherein the connection state monitoring means transmits a TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) SYN packet to a network device whose connection state is to be monitored, and a response is returned. A terminal device characterized by monitoring a connection state by checking whether or not. 2. The terminal device according to claim 1 , wherein the connection state monitoring means transmits an Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) PING (Packet Internet Groper) to a network device whose connection state is to be monitored. A terminal device characterized by monitoring a connection state by checking whether a response is returned. 2. The terminal device according to claim 1 , wherein the connection state monitoring means transmits an ARP (Address Resolution Protocol) request packet and monitors the connection state by checking whether a response to the packet is returned. Characteristic terminal device. 2. The terminal device according to claim 1 , wherein the connection state monitoring unit monitors the connection state by checking whether data is transmitted from the network device at a constant period. 2. The terminal device according to claim 1 , wherein the notification control means notifies the notification destination by electronic mail.

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