Audio system, audio apparatus, wireless terminal, solution-providing server, program, and method for proposing solution to error in audio apparatus

Abstract

To provide a technology capable of proposing an appropriate solution to an error that causes a forced shutdown of an audio apparatus.SOLUTION: When wireless speakers 1-1 to 1-n detect an error causing a forced shutdown, they switch a power supply source from a main power supply to a backup power supply, and transmit an error report including error content of the detected error, model name, and version information of installed software to a wireless terminal 2, and shut down. The wireless terminal 2 transmits the error report received from wireless speakers 1-1 to 1-n to a solution providing server 4, and receives and presents a solution from the solution providing server 4. The solution providing server 4 detects a solution to the error content in the error report from a table associated with the model name and installed software version information included in the error report received from the wireless terminals 2, and transmits the detected solution to the wireless terminals 2.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a technique for proposing a solution to an error that accompanies a forced shutdown of an audio device such as a wireless speaker. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a wireless speaker system that plays audio data on two or more wireless speakers. In this wireless speaker system, one of multiple wireless speakers that belong to the same group acts as a master (group leader) and downloads audio data from a media server, plays it, and outputs it, and also transmits the played data to other wireless speakers (slaves) that belong to the same group and causes these speakers to output it as well. In this way, the same audio data is played from multiple wireless speakers that belong to the same group. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] U.S. Patent No. 7,987,294 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, audio devices such as wireless speakers may be forced to shut down due to a fatal error. In this case, the user cannot know the cause of the error. Without knowing the cause of the error, it is difficult to identify an appropriate solution by reading the instruction manual or searching the Internet based only on the symptom of a forced shutdown. For example, if the model of the audio device or the version of the software installed in the audio device is different, the cause of the forced shutdown error may differ, and the solution may also differ. For this reason, it is very complicated for the user to identify the solution on his or her own.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has as its object to provide a technique capable of proposing an appropriate solution to an error that accompanies a forced shutdown of an audio device. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to solve the above problem, the audio system of the present invention is configured to include an audio device such as a wireless speaker, a wireless terminal that functions as a remote controller for the audio device, and a solution providing server that provides solutions to errors in the audio device.

[0007] The audio device monitors for the occurrence of errors, and if it detects an error that could cause a forced shutdown, it switches its power source from the main power source (e.g., an external power source) to the backup power source, sends an error report to the wireless terminal including details of the detected error, the model name of the audio device, and version information of the installed software, and then shuts down.

[0008] When the wireless terminal receives the error report from the audio device, the wireless terminal transfers the received error report to the solution providing server, receives a solution from the solution providing server, and presents the received solution to the user.

[0009] When the solution providing server receives an error report from a wireless terminal, the server detects a solution to the error contained in the error report from a table linked to the model name and version information of the installed software contained in the error report, and transmits the detected solution to the wireless terminal.

[0010] For example, the present invention provides 1. An audio system comprising: an audio device; a wireless terminal that functions as a remote controller for the audio device; and a solution providing server that provides a solution to an error in the audio device, The audio device comprises: The main power supply; A backup power supply, an error monitoring means for monitoring an error that may cause a forced shutdown of the audio device; an error reporting means for, when an error is detected by said error monitoring means, transmitting an error report to said wireless terminal, said error report including details of the error, a model name of said audio device, and version information of installed software; The error monitoring means includes: when the error is detected, switching a power supply source of the audio device from the main power supply to the backup power supply, notifying the error reporting means of the error content of the error, and shutting down the audio device after the error reporting means has completed transmitting the error report; The wireless terminal comprises: an error report forwarding means for forwarding the error report to the solution providing server when the error report is received from the audio device; a solution presenting means for presenting a solution when the solution is received from the solution providing server; The solution providing server includes: a solution storage means for storing a table in which solutions to each of the expected error contents are stored for each model name of the audio device and each version information of the installed software; a solution detection means for detecting, when receiving the error report from the wireless terminal, the solution for the error content included in the error report from the table stored in the solution storage means in association with the model name and version information of the installed software included in the error report; and a solution transmitting means for transmitting the solutions detected by the solution detecting means to the wireless terminal. Effect of the Invention

[0011] In the present invention, when an audio device detects an error that may cause a forced shutdown, the audio device switches the power supply source from the main power source to the backup power source, transmits an error report including the details of the detected error, the model name of the audio device, and version information of the installed software to the wireless terminal, and then shuts down. When the wireless terminal receives the error report from the audio device, it transfers it to a solution providing server, receives a solution from the solution providing server, and presents it to the user. When the solution providing server receives the error report from the wireless terminal, it detects a solution for the error details included in the error report from a table linked to the model name and version information of the installed software included in the error report, and transmits it to the wireless terminal. Therefore, according to the present invention, for an error that may cause a forced shutdown of the audio device, an appropriate solution can be proposed to the user, taking into account the model name of the audio device and version information of the installed software. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an audio system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a sequence diagram for explaining an operation when an error occurs that accompanies a forced shutdown of the wireless speaker 1 of the audio system according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is a schematic functional configuration diagram of the wireless speaker 1. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a flow diagram illustrating the forced shutdown operation of the wireless speaker 1. [Diagram 5] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a schematic functional configuration of the wireless terminal 2. As shown in FIG. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a flow diagram for explaining the solution proposal operation of the wireless terminal 2. As shown in FIG. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a schematic functional configuration diagram of the solution providing server 4. As shown in FIG. [Figure 8]FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of registered contents in the solution storage unit 401. As shown in FIG. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of registered contents in the implementation result report storage unit 402. As shown in FIG. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a flow diagram for explaining the solution providing operation of the solution providing server 4. As shown in FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0013] An embodiment of the present invention will be described below.

[0014] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an audio system according to the present embodiment.

[0015] As shown in the figure, the audio system of this embodiment is configured to include a plurality of wireless speakers 1-1 to 1-n (hereinafter simply referred to as wireless speaker 1), a wireless terminal 2 that functions as a remote controller for the wireless speakers 1-1 to 1-n, a media server 3 that distributes audio data, a solution providing server 4 that provides solutions to errors in the wireless speaker 1, and a maintenance terminal 5 that performs maintenance and management of the solution providing server 4, including updating the solutions.

[0016] The wireless speakers 1-1 to 1-n and the wireless terminal 2 belong to a wireless network 8, and the wireless network 8 is connected to the Internet 7 via an access point 6. In addition, the media server 3, the solution providing server 4, and the maintenance terminal 5 are also connected to the Internet 7.

[0017] The wireless speaker 1 receives, plays, and outputs audio data distributed from the media server 3 via the wireless terminal 2. The wireless speaker 1 also monitors the occurrence of errors, and if it detects an error that could cause a forced shutdown, it switches the power supply source from the main power source to the backup power source, and transmits an error report to the wireless terminal 2 that includes the details of the detected error, the model name of the wireless speaker 1, and version information of the installed software, and then shuts down.

[0018] The wireless terminal 2 downloads audio data from the media server 3 and distributes it simultaneously to the wireless speakers 1-1 to 1-n. This causes the wireless speakers 1-1 to 1-n to play the audio data in a group. Furthermore, when the wireless terminal 2 receives an error report from the wireless speaker 1, it transfers the received error report to the solution providing server 4. Furthermore, when the wireless terminal 2 receives a solution from the solution providing server 4, it displays this. Then, when the implementation result of the displayed solution ("Resolved" or "Not resolved") is accepted from the user, it transmits an implementation result report including the implementation result of this solution to the solution providing server 4.

[0019] The solution providing server 4 stores a table in which one or more solutions for each expected error content are registered together with the application order (hereinafter, priority) for each model name of the wireless speaker 1 and version information of the installed software, and when it receives an error report from the wireless terminal 2, it detects a solution for the error content included in the error report according to the priority from the table linked to the model name of the wireless speaker 1 and the version information of the installed software included in the error report, and transmits the detected solution to the wireless terminal 2. Then, when it receives the implementation result of this solution from the wireless terminal 2, it registers the implementation result of this solution linked to the error content, the model name of the wireless speaker 1, and the version information of the installed software included in the error report, and when the implementation result of this solution is "not resolved", if a solution with the next highest priority after this solution is registered in the above-mentioned table as a solution for the error content, it transmits the solution with the next highest priority after this solution to the wireless terminal 2.

[0020] FIG. 2 is a sequence diagram for explaining the operation when an error occurs that accompanies a forced shutdown of the wireless speaker 1 of the audio system according to the present embodiment.

[0021] The wireless speaker 1 monitors for errors during operation. Assume that an error (hereinafter referred to as a fatal error) that accompanies a forced shutdown occurs, such as a failure of an internal circuit, thermal runaway, freezing due to a bug in the installed software (firmware, driver program, application program, etc.), or an overflow of audio data received from the media server 3 via the wireless terminal 2, and that the wireless speaker 1 detects the occurrence of this error (S100).

[0022] The wireless speaker 1 switches the power supply source from the main power source to the backup power source (S101), then transmits an error report including the details of the fatal error that occurred, the model name of the wireless speaker 1, and the version information of the installed software to the wireless terminal 2 (S102), and then shuts down the wireless speaker 1 (S103).

[0023] When the wireless terminal 2 receives the error report from the wireless speaker 1, it transfers it to the solution providing server 4 (S104).

[0024] When the solution providing server 4 receives an error report from the wireless terminal 2, it identifies one or more solutions to the error content included in the error report from a table that is stored in association with the model name of the wireless speaker 1 and the version information of the installed software included in the error report, and searches for the solution with the highest priority (priority 1) from among the identified solutions (S105).Then, it transmits the found solution (priority 1) to the wireless terminal 2 (S106).

[0025] In response to this, the wireless terminal 2 displays the solution (priority 1) received from the solution providing server 4 (S107) and prompts the user to implement the displayed solution (priority 1) for the forcibly shut down wireless speaker 1. Then, it waits for the user to input the implementation result of the solution (priority 1) ("Resolved" or "Not resolved").

[0026] Next, when the wireless terminal 2 accepts an input operation of the implementation result of the solution (priority 1) (S108), it transmits an implementation result report including the implementation result of this solution (priority 1) to the solution providing server 4 (S109). Here, it is assumed that the implementation result of the solution (priority 1) "not resolved" is input by the user, and an implementation result report including this implementation result "not resolved" is transmitted to the solution providing server 4.

[0027] Next, when the solution providing server 4 receives the implementation result report from the wireless terminal 2, it registers the implementation result of the solution (priority 1) included in this implementation result report by linking it to the information included in the error report received from the wireless terminal 2 (the model name of the wireless speaker 1, version information of the installed software, and the error content) and the solution (priority 1) sent to the wireless terminal 2 (S110).

[0028] The solution providing server 4 searches (S111) for a solution with the next highest priority (priority 2) from among the one or more solutions identified in S105 after the solution (priority 1) transmitted to the wireless terminal 2 in S106. Then, if a corresponding solution (priority 2) is found, the solution providing server 4 transmits this solution (priority 2) to the wireless terminal 2 (S112).

[0029] In response to this, the wireless terminal 2 displays the solution (priority 2) received from the solution providing server 4 (S113) and prompts the user to implement the displayed solution (priority 2) for the forcibly shut down wireless speaker 1. Then, it waits for the user to input the implementation result of the solution (priority 2) ("Resolved" or "Not resolved").

[0030] When the wireless terminal 2 accepts the input operation of the implementation result of the solution (priority 2) (S114), it transmits an implementation result report including the implementation result of this solution (priority 2) to the solution providing server 4 (S115). Here, it is assumed that the implementation result of the solution (priority 2) "resolved" is input by the user, and the implementation result report including this implementation result "resolved" is transmitted to the solution providing server 4.

[0031] When the solution providing server 4 receives the implementation result report from the wireless terminal 2, it registers the implementation result of the solution (priority 2) included in this implementation result report by linking it to the information included in the error report received from the wireless terminal 2 (the model name of the wireless speaker 1, version information of the installed software, and the error content) and the solution (priority 2) sent to the wireless terminal 2 (S116). After that, the solution providing server 4 ends the process.

[0032] Next, the wireless speaker 1, the wireless terminal 2, and the solution providing server 4 that constitute the audio system according to the present embodiment will be described in detail.

[0033] Note that a detailed description of the media server 3 is omitted since an existing media server that distributes audio data specified in a received distribution request to the sender of the distribution request can be used as the media server 3. Also, a detailed description of the maintenance terminal 5 is omitted since an existing maintenance terminal (network terminal) that can access the solution providing server 4 and view, register, and update various information registered in the solution providing server 4 can be used as the maintenance terminal 5.

[0034] First, the wireless speaker 1 will be described.

[0035] FIG. 3 is a schematic functional configuration diagram of the wireless speaker 1.

[0036] As shown in the figure, the wireless speaker 1 includes a main power supply unit 100, a backup power supply unit 101, a wireless interface unit 102, an audio receiving unit 103, a playback output unit 104, a speaker unit 105, an error monitoring unit 106, and an error reporting unit 107.

[0037] The main power supply unit 100 supplies power supplied from an external power supply to each of the units 101-106.

[0038] The backup power supply unit 101 is, for example, a storage battery, and supplies power to at least the wireless interface unit 102, the error monitoring unit 106, and the error reporting unit 107 when the power supply from the main power supply unit 100 is cut off.

[0039] The wireless interface unit 102 is an interface for connecting to the access point 6 .

[0040] The audio receiving unit 103 receives audio data distributed from the media server 3 via the wireless terminal 2 .

[0041] The playback output unit 104 plays back and outputs the audio data received by the audio receiving unit 103 .

[0042] The speaker unit 105 outputs the playback data output from the playback output unit 104 as audio.

[0043] The error monitoring unit 106 monitors for fatal errors in the wireless speaker 1. If a fatal error is detected, the error monitoring unit 106 switches the power supply source for the wireless speaker 1 from the main power supply unit 100 to the backup power supply unit 101, notifies the error reporting unit 107 of the error code of the detected fatal error, and shuts down the wireless speaker 1 after the error reporting unit 107 has completed reporting the error, as described below.

[0044] When an error code of a fatal error is notified by the error monitoring unit 106, the error reporting unit 107 transmits an error report including the error code, the model name of the wireless speaker 1 itself, and version information of the installed software to the wireless terminal 2.

[0045] The functional configuration of the wireless speaker 1 shown in Fig. 3 may be realized in hardware by an integrated logic IC such as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) or an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), or may be realized in software by a computer such as a DSP (Digital Signal Processor).Alternatively, it may be realized as a process by a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a general-purpose computer such as a PC (Personal Computer) including a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a memory, an auxiliary storage device such as a flash memory or a hard disk drive, and a wireless communication device such as a wireless LAN adapter, by the CPU loading a predetermined program from the auxiliary storage device into the memory and executing it.

[0046] FIG. 4 is a flow diagram illustrating the forced shutdown operation of the wireless speaker 1.

[0047] This flow starts when a fatal error occurs in the wireless speaker 1 and the error monitoring unit 106 detects this.

[0048] First, the error monitoring unit 106 switches the power supply source for the wireless speaker 1 from the main power supply unit 100 to the backup power supply unit 101 (S200). This allows at least the wireless interface unit 102, the error monitoring unit 106, and the error reporting unit 107 to continue operating without interruption.

[0049] Next, the error monitoring unit 106 identifies an error code according to the content of the detected fatal error (such as an internal circuit failure, thermal runaway, freezing due to a bug in the installed software, an overflow of audio data received from the media server 3 via the wireless terminal 2, etc.) (S201), and notifies the error reporting unit 107 of the identified error code.

[0050] In response to this, the error reporting unit 107 transmits an error report including the error code received from the error monitoring unit 106, the model name of the wireless speaker 1, and the version information of the installed software to the wireless terminal 2 via the wireless interface unit 102 (S202).

[0051] Next, when the error reporting unit 107 has completed reporting the error to the wireless terminal 2, the error monitoring unit 106 shuts down the wireless speaker 1 itself and stops the power supply from the standby power supply unit 101 (S203).

[0052] Next, the wireless terminal 2 will be described.

[0053] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a schematic functional configuration of the wireless terminal 2. As shown in FIG.

[0054] As shown in the figure, the wireless terminal 2 comprises a radio interface unit 200, a man-machine interface unit 201, a playback request unit 202, an audio data transfer unit 203, an error report transfer unit 204, a solution presentation unit 205, and an implementation result report unit 206.

[0055] The wireless interface unit 200 is an interface for connecting to the access point 6 .

[0056] The man-machine interface unit 201 is an interface for displaying information to a user and accepting various operations from the user, and has an input / output device such as a display with a touch sensor.

[0057] The reproduction request unit 202 transmits, in accordance with a song selection operation received from the user via the man-machine interface unit 201, a reproduction request accompanied by the designation of the song received in the song selection operation to the media server 3 via the wireless interface unit 200.

[0058] The audio data transfer unit 203 simultaneously transfers the audio data of the music received from the media server 3 via the wireless interface unit 200 to the wireless speakers 1-1 to 1-n.

[0059] When an error report is received from the wireless speaker 1 via the wireless interface unit 200 , the error report forwarding unit 204 forwards the error report to the solution providing server 4 via the wireless interface unit 200 .

[0060] When the solution presenting section 205 receives a solution from the solution providing server 4 via the wireless interface section 200 , the solution presenting section 205 displays the solution on the man-machine interface section 201 .

[0061] When the man-machine interface unit 201 receives implementation results from a user for a solution being displayed, the implementation result reporting unit 206 transmits an implementation result report including the implementation results to the solution providing server 4 via the wireless interface unit 200.

[0062] The functional configuration of the wireless terminal 2 shown in Fig. 5 may be realized in hardware by an integrated logic IC such as an ASIC or FPGA, or in software by a computer such as a DSP, like the functional configuration of the wireless speaker 1 shown in Fig. 3. Alternatively, it may be realized as a process by the CPU loading a predetermined program from the auxiliary storage device onto the memory and executing it in a portable computer such as a smartphone or tablet PC that includes a CPU, a memory, an auxiliary storage device such as a flash memory, and a wireless communication device such as a wireless LAN adapter.

[0063] FIG. 6 is a flow diagram for explaining the solution proposal operation of the wireless terminal 2. As shown in FIG.

[0064] This flow starts when the error report transfer unit 204 receives an error report from the wireless speaker 1 via the wireless interface unit 200 .

[0065] First, the error report transfer unit 204 transfers the error report received from the wireless speaker 1 to the solution providing server 4 via the wireless interface unit 200 (S300). Then, the solution presenting unit 205 waits for a solution to be sent from the solution providing server 4 via the wireless interface unit 200 (S301).

[0066] When the solution presenting unit 205 receives a solution from the solution providing server 4 via the wireless interface unit 200 (YES in S301), it displays this solution on the man-machine interface unit 201 (S302) and prompts the user to implement the solution. Here, the solution presenting unit 205 judges whether or not an implementation result request is added to the received solution (NO in S303). Then, if an implementation result request is not added (NO in S303), this flow ends.

[0067] On the other hand, if an implementation result request is added (YES in S303), the solution presenting unit 205 displays an implementation result selection screen (a selection dialog box for "solved" or "not resolved") on the man-machine interface unit 201 together with the solution being displayed (S304). Then, when the solution presenting unit 205 receives an input operation of the implementation result from the user via the implementation result selection screen being displayed on the man-machine interface unit 201 (YES in S305), it notifies the implementation result reporting unit 206 of the implementation result received by this input operation (either "solved" or "not resolved"). In response to this, the implementation result reporting unit 206 transmits an implementation result report including the implementation result to the solution providing server 4 via the wireless interface unit 200 (S306).

[0068] Next, if the implementation result accepted by the input operation is “not resolved” (NO in S307), the solution presenting unit 205 returns to S301 and waits for a new solution to be sent from the solution providing server 4, and if the implementation result is “resolved” (YES in S307), this flow ends.

[0069] Next, the solution providing server 4 will be explained.

[0070] FIG. 7 is a schematic functional configuration diagram of the solution providing server 4. As shown in FIG.

[0071] As shown in the figure, the solution providing server 4 includes a network interface unit 400, a solution memory unit 401, an implementation result report memory unit 402, a solution detection unit 403, a solution transmission unit 404, an implementation result report receiving unit 405, and a maintenance terminal connection unit 406.

[0072] The network interface unit 400 is an interface for connecting to the Internet 7 .

[0073] Solution storage unit 401 stores one or more solutions for each type of error that may occur for each model name of wireless speaker 1 and version of installed software.

[0074] FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of registered contents in the solution storage unit 401. As shown in FIG.

[0075] As shown in the figure, the solution storage unit 401 stores a table 4010 in which one or more solutions for each expected error content are registered for each model name of the wireless speaker 1 and the version of the installed software. The table 4010 stores a solution record 4011 for each expected error content. The solution record 4011 has a field 4012 in which an error code, which is identification information of the error content, is registered, a field 4013 in which a solution with priority 1 is registered, a field 4014 in which a solution with priority 2 following priority 1 is registered if there is a solution, a field 4015 in which a solution with priority 3 following priority 2 is registered if there is a solution, and a field 4016 in which a solution with priority 4 following priority 3 is registered if there is a solution. Note that, here, solutions with priorities up to 4 are assumed as solutions for the error content, but a field may be added to the solution record 4011 so that solutions with priorities 5 or higher can be registered.

[0076] The implementation result report storage unit 402 stores the implementation result report of the solution reported from the wireless speaker 1.

[0077] FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of registered contents in the implementation result report storage unit 402. As shown in FIG.

[0078] As shown in the figure, an implementation result report record 4020 for a solution is registered in implementation result report storage unit 402 for each implementation result report reported from wireless speaker 1. Implementation result report record 4020 has a field 4021 for registering the report date and time, a field 4022 for registering the model name of wireless speaker 1 and version information of the installed software, a field 4023 for registering an error code, a field 4024 for registering the priority of the solution, and a field 4025 for registering the implementation result of the solution.

[0079] When the solution detection unit 403 receives an error report from the wireless terminal 2 via the network interface unit 400, the solution detection unit 403 detects a solution included in a record 4011 including an error code included in the error report, according to priority, from a table 4010 stored in the solution storage unit 401 in association with the model name of the wireless speaker 1 and the version information of the installed software included in the error report. The solution detection unit 403 also judges whether the detected solution is the last solution (the solution with the lowest priority in the record 4011). If the detected solution is not the last solution, the solution detection unit 403 adds an implementation result request to the detected solution and notifies the solution transmission unit 404 of the solution. On the other hand, if the detected solution is the last solution, the solution transmission unit 404 is notified of the detected solution without adding an implementation result request.

[0080] Furthermore, when the solution detection unit 403 receives from the wireless terminal 2 an implementation result report including an implementation result of "not resolved" for a solution with an implementation result request notified to the solution transmission unit 404, the solution detection unit 403 detects a solution with the next highest priority from the record 4011 including this solution. The solution detection unit 403 also judges whether the detected solution is the last solution (the solution with the lowest priority in the record 4011). If it is not the last solution, the solution detection unit 403 adds an implementation result request to the detected solution and notifies the solution transmission unit 404 of this solution. On the other hand, if it is the last solution, the solution detection unit 403 notifies the solution transmission unit 404 of the detected solution without adding an implementation result request.

[0081] The solution transmitting unit 404 transmits the solution notified by the solution detecting unit 403 or the solution with the implementation result request to the wireless terminal 2 via the network interface unit 400 .

[0082] The implementation result report receiving unit 405 receives the implementation result of the solution with the implementation result request that the solution transmitting unit 404 transmits to the wireless terminal 2. Then, it adds a record 4020 of the implementation result report to the implementation result report storage unit 402, and registers the received implementation result in this record 4020 together with the reception date and time, the priority of the implemented solution, and information contained in the error report that the solution detecting unit 403 receives from the wireless terminal 2 (the model name of the wireless speaker 1, the version information of the installed software, and the error code).

[0083] The maintenance terminal connection unit 406 connects to the maintenance terminal 5 via the network interface unit 400. Then, in response to a request from the maintenance terminal 5, the maintenance terminal 5 is allowed to browse, and registers and updates the registered contents in the solution storage unit 401 and the implementation result report storage unit 402.

[0084] The functional configuration of the solution providing server 4 shown in Fig. 7 may be realized in hardware using an integrated logic IC such as an ASIC or FPGA, or in software using a computer such as a DSP, like the functional configuration of the wireless speaker 1 shown in Fig. 3. Alternatively, it may be realized as a process by the CPU loading a predetermined program from the auxiliary storage device into the memory and executing it in a general-purpose computer such as a PC equipped with a CPU, a memory, an auxiliary storage device such as a flash memory or a hard disk drive, and a communication device such as a NIC (Network Interface Card).

[0085] FIG. 10 is a flow diagram for explaining the solution providing operation of the solution providing server 4. As shown in FIG.

[0086] This flow begins when the solution detection unit 403 receives an error report from the wireless terminal 2 via the network interface unit 400 .

[0087] First, the solution detection unit 403 refers to the solution storage unit 401, and identifies a table 4010 linked to the model name of the wireless speaker 1 and the version information of the installed software contained in the error report received from the wireless terminal 2 (S400). Next, the solution detection unit 403 identifies, from the identified table 4010, a solution record 4011 in which the error code contained in the error report received from the wireless terminal 2 is registered (S401).

[0088] Next, the solution detection unit 403 sets a counter value N to "1" (S402).

[0089] Then, the solution detection unit 403 searches for a solution with priority N from the identified record 4011 (S403). Next, the solution detection unit 403 checks whether or not a solution with priority N+1 is registered in the identified record 4011 (S404). If a solution with priority N+1 is not registered (NO in S404), that is, if the solution with priority N is the last solution (the solution with the lowest priority among the solutions registered in the identified record 4011), "Contact the service center", the solution with priority N is notified to the solution transmission unit 404. In response to this, the solution transmission unit 404 transmits the solution with priority N to the wireless terminal 2 via the network interface unit 400 (S411), and ends this flow.

[0090] On the other hand, if a solution with priority N+1 is registered (YES in S404), that is, if the solution with priority N is not the last solution "please contact the service center", the solution detection unit 403 adds an implementation result request to this solution with priority N (S405). Then, the solution transmission unit 404 is notified of the solution with priority N to which the implementation result request has been added. In response to this, the solution transmission unit 404 transmits the solution with priority N with the implementation result request to the wireless terminal 2 via the network interface unit 400 (S406). Thereafter, the implementation result report reception unit 405 waits for an implementation result report to be sent from the wireless terminal 2 via the network interface unit 400 (S407).

[0091] Thereafter, when the implementation result report receiving unit 405 receives the implementation result report from the wireless terminal 2 via the network interface unit 400 (YES in S407), it newly registers a record 4020 of the implementation result report in the implementation result report storage unit 402. Then, in this record 4020 of the implementation result report, it registers the report date and time (received date and time) of the implementation result report, the implementation result included in this implementation result report ("resolved" or "not resolved"), the model name of the wireless speaker 1 and version information of the installed software linked to the table 4010 identified in S400, the error code registered in the record 4011 identified in S401, and the priority N of the solution transmitted to the wireless terminal 2 in S406 (S408).

[0092] Next, the implementation result report receiving unit 405 notifies the solution detection unit 403 of the implementation result included in the implementation result report. In response to this, if the implementation result included in this implementation result report is "resolved" (YES in S409), the solution detection unit 403 ends this flow. On the other hand, if the implementation result included in the implementation result report is "not resolved" (NO in S409), the solution detection unit 403 increments the counter value N by one (N=N+1) (S410) and returns to S403.

[0093] One embodiment of the present invention has been described above.

[0094] In this embodiment, when the wireless speaker 1 detects a fatal error that will cause a forced shutdown, it switches the power supply source from the main power supply unit 100 to the backup power supply unit 101, transmits an error report including the error code of the detected error, the model name of the wireless speaker 1, and the version information of the installed software to the wireless terminal 2, and then shuts down. When the wireless terminal 2 receives the error report from the wireless speaker 1, it transfers it to the solution providing server 4, and receives and displays a solution from the solution providing server 4. Then, when the solution providing server 4 receives the error report from the wireless terminal 2, it searches for a record 4011 in which the error code included in this error report is registered from a table 4010 stored in the solution storage unit 401 in association with the model name of the wireless speaker 1 and the version information of the installed software included in the error report, and transmits the solution registered in the record 4011 to the wireless terminal 2. Therefore, according to this embodiment, in the event of a fatal error involving a forced shutdown of the wireless speaker 1, an appropriate solution can be proposed to the user, taking into consideration the model name of the wireless speaker 1 and the version of the installed software.

[0095] In addition, in this embodiment, when an implementation result request is added to the solution received from the solution providing server 4, the wireless terminal 2 displays an implementation result selection screen together with the solution. Then, when the implementation result of the solution being displayed is accepted from the user via this implementation result selection screen, an implementation result report including this implementation result is transmitted to the solution providing server 4. Then, the solution providing server 4 stores the implementation result included in the implementation result report received from the wireless terminal 2 in the implementation result report storage unit 402 together with the solution corresponding to this implementation result, the error code, the model name of the wireless speaker 1, and the version information of the installed software. Therefore, according to this embodiment, the maintenance manager of the solution providing server 4 can check the effect of the solution for the error by referring to the implementation result report storage unit 402 of the solution providing server 4 using the maintenance terminal 5.

[0096] In this embodiment, the solution providing server 4 stores a record 4011 in which one or more solutions are registered together with their priority for each expected error for each table 4010 stored in the solution storage unit 401 in association with the model name of the wireless speaker 1 and the version information of the installed software. When the implementation result of a solution included in the implementation result report received from the wireless terminal 2 is "not solved", if a solution with the next highest priority exists in the record 4011 in which this solution was searched, the solution providing server 4 transmits the solution with the next highest priority to the wireless terminal 2. Therefore, according to this embodiment, one or more appropriate solutions can be proposed to the user in accordance with the priority until the implementation result is "solved" or until all solutions are exhausted, improving user convenience.

[0097] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the present invention.

[0098] For example, in the above embodiment, the wireless terminal 2 receives a solution from the solution providing server 4 and displays it on the man-machine interface unit 201, but the present invention is not limited to this. The solution received from the solution providing server 4 may be converted into voice data, or the voice data of the solution may be received from the solution providing server 4 and output as voice from the man-machine interface unit 201. Alternatively, the voice data of the solution may be simultaneously distributed to wireless speakers 1 other than the error report source, or may be distributed to any one wireless speaker 1 other than the error report source, and the solution may be output as voice from the wireless speaker 1 to which it is distributed.

[0099] In the above embodiment, the solution providing server 4 may be integrated with the media server 3 .

[0100] In addition, the above embodiment has been described using the example of wireless speaker 1 that transmits an error report to wireless terminal 2 when a fatal error that causes a forced shutdown is detected, but the present invention is widely applicable to audio devices that transmit an error report to wireless terminal 2 when a fatal error that causes a forced shutdown is detected.

[0101] In the above embodiment, the wireless speaker 1 connected to the Internet 7 via the access point 6 has been described as an example of an audio device that transmits an error report to the wireless terminal 2 when a fatal error that may cause a forced shutdown is detected. However, the present invention is not limited to this. The audio device may be any device that is wirelessly connected to the wireless terminal 2. [Explanation of symbols]

[0102] 1-1~1-n, 1: wireless speaker 2: wireless terminal 3: Media server 4: Solution providing server 5: Maintenance terminal 6: Access point 7: Internet 8: Wireless network 100: Main power supply 101: Standby power supply unit 102: Wireless interface unit 103: Audio receiving unit 104: Playback output unit 105: Speaker section 106: Error monitoring section 107: Error reporting unit 200: Wireless interface unit 201: Man-machine interface section 202: Reproduction request section 203: Audio data transfer unit 204: Error report transfer unit 205: Solution presentation section 206: Implementation result report section 400: Network interface section 401: Solution storage section 402: Implementation result report storage section 403: Solution detection unit 404: Solution sending unit 405: Implementation result report receiving unit 406: Maintenance terminal connection unit

Claims

1. 1. An audio system comprising: an audio device; a wireless terminal that functions as a remote controller for the audio device; and a solution providing server that provides a solution to an error in the audio device, The audio device comprises: The main power supply; A backup power supply, an error monitoring means for monitoring an error that may cause a forced shutdown of the audio device; an error reporting means for, when an error is detected by said error monitoring means, transmitting an error report to said wireless terminal, the error report including the details of the error, the model name of said audio device, and version information of the installed software; The error monitoring means includes: when the error is detected, switching a power supply source of the audio device from the main power supply to the backup power supply, notifying the error reporting means of the content of the error, and shutting down the audio device after the error reporting means has completed transmitting the error report; The wireless terminal comprises: an error report forwarding means for forwarding the error report to the solution providing server when the error report is received from the audio device; a solution presenting means for presenting a solution when the solution is received from the solution providing server; The solution providing server includes: a solution storage means for storing a table in which solutions to each of the expected error contents are stored for each model name of the audio device and each version of the installed software; a solution detection means for detecting, when receiving the error report from the wireless terminal, the solution for the error included in the error report from the table stored in the solution storage means in association with the model name and the version of the installed software included in the error report; a solution transmitting means for transmitting the solution detected by the solution detecting means to the wireless terminal. An audio system characterized by:

2. 2. An audio system according to claim 1, The wireless terminal comprises: The method further includes an implementation result reporting means for receiving from a user an implementation result of the solution presented by the solution presenting means, and transmitting an implementation result report including the implementation result to the solution providing server, The solution providing server includes: The wireless terminal further includes an implementation result report storage means for storing the implementation result report received from the wireless terminal. An audio system characterized by:

3. 3. An audio system according to claim 2, The table stores one or more solutions for each possible error content along with their priorities; The solution detection means includes: When the implementation result for the solution included in the implementation result report received from the wireless terminal is "not resolved", if there is a solution with the next highest priority next to the solution targeted by the implementation result, the solution is detected from the table that is linked to the model name and the version of the installed software included in the error report and stored in the solution storage means. An audio system characterized by:

4. 1. An audio device, comprising: The main power supply; A backup power supply, an error monitoring means for monitoring an error that may cause a forced shutdown of the audio device; an error reporting means for, when an error is detected by the error monitoring means, transmitting an error report including details of the error, the model name of the audio device, and version information of installed software to a wireless terminal functioning as a remote controller for the audio device itself; The error monitoring means includes: When the error is detected, the power supply source of the audio device is switched from the main power supply to the backup power supply, the error content of the error is notified to the error reporting means, and the audio device is shut down after the error reporting means has completed reporting the error.

1. An audio device comprising:

5. 1. A wireless terminal acting as a remote controller for an audio device, comprising: an error report forwarding means for, when receiving from the audio device an error report including details of an error that causes a forced shutdown of the audio device, a model name of the audio device, and version information of installed software, forwarding the error report to a solution providing server that provides a solution to the error of the audio device; a solution presenting means for presenting the solution when the solution is received from the solution providing server. A wireless terminal comprising:

6. A solution providing server that provides a solution to an error in an audio device, a solution storage means for storing a table in which solutions to each of the expected error contents are stored for each model name of the audio device and each version information of the installed software; a solution detection means for detecting, when an error report including an error content of an error causing a forced shutdown of the audio device, a model name of the audio device, and version information of installed software of the audio device, from a wireless terminal functioning as a remote controller for the audio device, a solution for the error content included in the error report from the table stored in the solution storage means in association with the model name and version information of the installed software included in the error report; a solution transmitting means for transmitting the solution detected by the solution detecting means to the wireless terminal. A solution providing server comprising:

7. A program for causing a computer to function as an audio device, comprising: The audio device comprises: Equipped with a main power supply and a standby power supply, The program is an error monitoring means for monitoring an error that may cause a forced shutdown of the audio device; and making the computer function as an error reporting means for, when an error is detected by the error monitoring means, transmitting an error report including the details of the error, the model name of the audio device, and version information of installed software to a wireless terminal functioning as a remote controller for the audio device itself; The error monitoring means includes: When the error is detected, the power supply source of the audio device is switched from the main power supply to the backup power supply, the error content of the error is notified to the error reporting means, and the audio device is shut down after the error reporting means has completed transmission of the error report. A program characterized by:

8. A program for causing a computer to function as a remote controller for an audio device, comprising: an error report transfer means for transferring, when receiving from the audio device an error report including details of an error that causes a forced shutdown of the audio device, a model name of the audio device, and version information of installed software, the error report to a solution providing server that provides a solution to the error of the audio device; When the solution is received from the solution providing server, the computer is caused to function as a solution presenting means for presenting the solution. A program characterized by:

9. A program for causing a computer to function as a solution providing server for providing a solution to an error in an audio device, comprising: a solution storage means for storing a table in which solutions to each of the expected error contents are stored for each model name of the audio device and version information of the installed software; a solution detection means for detecting, when an error report including an error content of an error causing a forced shutdown of the audio device, a model name of the audio device, and version information of installed software of the audio device is received from a wireless terminal functioning as a remote controller for the audio device, the solution detection means detecting the solution for the error content included in the error report from the table stored in the solution storage means in association with the model name and version information of installed software included in the error report; causing said computer to function as a solution transmitting means for transmitting said solution detected by said solution detecting means to said wireless terminal. A program characterized by:

10. A method for proposing a solution to an error in an audio device, comprising: The audio device comprises: Monitor for errors that could cause a forced shutdown of the audio device; when the error is detected, switch the power supply source of the audio device from a main power source to a backup power source, transmit an error report including the error content of the error, the model name of the audio device, and version information of the installed software to a wireless terminal functioning as a remote controller for the audio device, and then shut down the audio device; The wireless terminal comprises: when receiving the error report from the audio device, transferring the error report to a solution providing server that provides a solution for the error of the audio device, receiving the solution from the solution providing server, and presenting the received solution; The solution providing server includes: a table is stored in which solutions to each of the expected error contents are stored for each model name of the audio device and version information of the installed software; When the error report is received from the wireless terminal, the solution to the error content included in the error report is detected from the table stored in association with the model name and version information of the installed software included in the error report, and the detected solution is transmitted to the wireless terminal.

13. A method for proposing a solution to an error in an audio device, comprising:

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