Alarm device, computer program, and alarm method

Abstract

To appropriately output an alarm of a wastewater treatment device.SOLUTION: In a case where a control mode is an output mode and sensor results satisfy a failure condition, an alarm is outputted, and in a case where the control mode is a suppression mode, no alarm is outputted even when the sensor results satisfy the failure condition. In accordance with user instructions, the control mode is changed from the output mode to the suppression mode. In response to the passage of specific time since the change of the control mode according to the user instructions, the control mode is automatically changed from the suppression mode to the output mode. Information representing current sensor results is transmitted to a terminal device. In the case of receiving terminal instructions before the passage of specific time since the change of the control mode according to the user instructions, the control mode is changed from the suppression mode to the output mode without waiting for the passage of specific time.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present specification relates to a technique for outputting an alarm indicating a malfunction of a wastewater treatment device. [Background technology]

[0002] Various types of wastewater treatment devices have been used in the past. In addition, a technology for providing an alarm device to a wastewater treatment device has been proposed. For example, a water treatment device disclosed in Patent Document 1 includes a discharge pump tank which is a water storage area, a submersible pump attached to the discharge pump tank, and an alarm device. The alarm device has an alarm float that operates in response to fluctuations in the water level in the discharge pump tank. On the condition that a high water level state in which the water level in the discharge pump tank exceeds a preset specified water level and is maintained for a predetermined period of time, the alarm device issues notification information indicating that the operation of the submersible pump is abnormal. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2006-150227 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Various maintenance processes are performed to ensure proper operation of the wastewater treatment device. For example, water may be transferred from a water treatment tank included in the wastewater treatment device to the outside of the wastewater treatment device, or to another water treatment tank included in the wastewater treatment device. In addition, the operation of sensors such as float switches may be checked. In addition, the power to the control panel of the wastewater treatment device may be turned off. Due to maintenance processes of the wastewater treatment device, the alarm device may issue an alarm even though there is no malfunction in the wastewater treatment device. There is room for improvement in appropriately outputting an alarm from the wastewater treatment device.

[0005] This specification discloses a technique for appropriately outputting an alarm for a wastewater treatment device. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The technology disclosed in this specification can be realized in the following application examples.

[0007] [Application example 1] A computer program for a computer that outputs an alarm indicating a malfunction of a wastewater treatment device, A result acquisition function that acquires result information representing a sensor result, which is a detection result or a measurement result by a sensor provided in the wastewater treatment device; an alarm control function that outputs an alarm when the control mode is an output mode and the sensor result satisfies a malfunction condition, and does not output the alarm when the control mode is a suppression mode even if the sensor result satisfies the malfunction condition; a suppression change function that changes the control mode from the output mode to the suppression mode in accordance with a user instruction that is an instruction by a user; an automatic change function that automatically changes the control mode from the suppression mode to the output mode in response to a lapse of a specific time from the change of the control mode by the user instruction; a transmitting function for transmitting information representative of a current sensor result to a terminal device; an output change function that changes the control mode from the suppression mode to the output mode without waiting for the specific time to elapse when a terminal instruction that is an instruction from the terminal device is received before the specific time has elapsed since the change of the control mode by the user instruction; and A computer program that enables a computer to realize the above.

[0008] According to this configuration, the control mode is automatically changed from suppression mode to output mode as a specific time elapses since the control mode is changed by user instruction, and when a terminal instruction is received, the control mode is changed from suppression mode to output mode without waiting for a specific time to elapse, so that an alarm for the wastewater treatment device can be output appropriately.

[0009] [Application example 2] The computer program according to Application Example 1, The wastewater treatment device includes a water treatment tank and a flow path, The sensors include one or more types of sensors selected from a sensor that measures odor, a sensor that detects a water level in the water treatment tank that is equal to or higher than a predetermined height, a sensor that measures the water level in the water treatment tank, a sensor that measures the temperature of the water in the wastewater treatment device, a sensor that measures the pH of the water in the wastewater treatment device, a sensor that measures the electrical conductivity of the water in the wastewater treatment device, a sensor that measures the oxidation-reduction potential of the water in the wastewater treatment device, a sensor that measures the turbidity of the water in the wastewater treatment device, a sensor that measures the amount of dissolved oxygen in the water in the wastewater treatment device, a sensor that measures the residual chlorine concentration of the water in the wastewater treatment device, a sensor that measures the ammonia nitrogen concentration of the water in the wastewater treatment device, a sensor that measures the nitrate nitrogen concentration of the water in the wastewater treatment device, a sensor that measures the nitrite nitrogen concentration of the water in the wastewater treatment device, and a sensor that measures the flow rate of water per unit time in the flow path. Computer program.

[0010] With this configuration, an alarm can be appropriately output regarding any of odor, water level, water temperature, pH, electrical conductivity, redox potential, turbidity, dissolved oxygen amount, residual chlorine concentration, ammonia nitrogen concentration, nitrate nitrogen concentration, nitrite nitrogen concentration, and flow rate.

[0011] [Application example 3] The computer program according to application example 1 or 2, The wastewater treatment device comprises: A membrane separation device having a membrane for filtering water; a suction pump that draws water filtered by the membrane separation device from the membrane separation device; A connecting pipe connecting the membrane separation device and the suction pump; a power cable connected to the suction pump; Including, The sensor includes one or both of a sensor that measures a negative pressure in the connecting pipe and a sensor that measures a current supplied to the suction pump by the power cable. Computer program.

[0012] According to this configuration, an alarm regarding the negative pressure in the connecting pipe or the current supplied to the suction pump can be appropriately output.

[0013] [Application example 4] A computer program according to any one of application examples 1 to 3, The wastewater treatment device comprises: A water treatment tank; A blower for supplying air to the water treatment tank; a power cable connected to the blower; Including, The sensor includes one or more sensors selected from a sensor that measures a current supplied to the blower through the power cable and a sensor that measures a pressure of air discharged by the blower. Computer program.

[0014] According to this configuration, it is possible to appropriately output an alarm related to the current supplied to the blower or the pressure of the air discharged by the blower.

[0015] [Application example 5] The computer program according to any one of Application Examples 1 to 4, further comprising: A computer program that causes a computer to realize a time change function that changes the specific time in accordance with a time change instruction for changing the specific time.

[0016] According to this configuration, by changing the specific time to an appropriate time, the warning can be output more appropriately.

[0017] [Application Example 6] The computer program according to Application Example 5, the time change function changes the specific time in accordance with the time change instruction associated with a user identifier having a first authority that is an authority for changing the specific time; The computer program further comprises: causing a computer to realize an authority change function of changing the first authority of the target user identifier in accordance with an authority change instruction for changing the first authority of the target user identifier; Computer program.

[0018] According to this configuration, the specific time can be appropriately managed by changing the first authority.

[0019] [Application Example 7] A computer program according to any one of application examples 1 to 6, The wastewater treatment device is associated with a maintenance process, the maintenance process includes a maintenance change which is a change of the control mode in response to an instruction from the user, The maintenance process includes: the sensor result is changed to a result that satisfies the malfunction condition by the maintenance process, Upon completion of the maintenance procedure, the sensor results satisfy the fault condition; The sensor result changes to a result that does not satisfy the malfunction condition over time after completion of the maintenance process. It is configured as follows: the particular time is configured such that the sensor results do not satisfy the fault condition after the particular time has elapsed since the maintenance change. Computer program.

[0020] This arrangement reduces the likelihood of an inappropriate alarm after a certain time has passed.

[0021] [Application Example 8] A computer program according to any one of application examples 1 to 7, the sensor is connected to a communication device configured to transmit the user instruction to the computer in response to an operation by a user; The result acquisition function acquires the result information from the communication device, The computer program further causes the computer to realize an instruction acquisition function of acquiring the user instruction from the communication device. Computer program.

[0022] According to this configuration, it is possible to appropriately output a warning using the result information acquired from the communication device and a user instruction.

[0023] [Application Example 9] A computer program according to any one of application examples 1 to 8, outputting the alert includes outputting an electronic message representative of the alert. Computer program.

[0024] According to this configuration, since the output of the alarm includes the output of an electronic message, the degree of freedom of action of the user who receives the alarm can be improved.

[0025] [Example 10] A computer program according to any one of application examples 1 to 9, The wastewater treatment device includes a first wastewater treatment device and a second wastewater treatment device, The sensor includes a first sensor provided in the first wastewater treatment device and a second sensor provided in the second wastewater treatment device, the result acquisition function includes a first result acquisition function that acquires first result information representing a first sensor result of the first sensor, and a second result acquisition function that acquires second result information representing a second sensor result of the second sensor, The alarm control function includes: a first alarm control function that outputs a first alarm when a first control mode is the output mode and the first sensor result satisfies a first malfunction condition, and does not output the first alarm when the first control mode is the suppression mode even if the first sensor result satisfies the first malfunction condition; a second alarm control function that outputs a second alarm when the second control mode is the output mode and the second sensor result satisfies a second malfunction condition, and does not output the second alarm when the second control mode is the suppression mode even if the second sensor result satisfies the second malfunction condition; Including, The suppression change function is a first suppression change function that changes the first control mode from the output mode to the suppression mode in accordance with a first user instruction that is an instruction by a first user; a second suppression change function that changes the second control mode from the output mode to the suppression mode in accordance with a second user instruction that is an instruction by a second user; Including, The automatic change function a first automatic change function that automatically changes the first control mode from the suppression mode to the output mode in response to a lapse of a first specific time from a change of the first control mode by the first user instruction; a second automatic change function that automatically changes the second control mode from the suppression mode to the output mode in response to a lapse of a second specific time from the change of the second control mode by the second user instruction; and Including, The computer program further comprises: a first time change function that changes the first specific time independently of the second specific time in accordance with a first time change instruction for changing the first specific time; a second time change function that changes the second specific time independently of the first specific time in accordance with a second time change instruction for changing the second specific time; A computer program that enables a computer to realize the above.

[0026] According to this configuration, the second specific time for the second wastewater treatment device can be changed independently of the first specific time for the first wastewater treatment device, so that an alarm suitable for the first wastewater treatment device and an alarm suitable for the second wastewater treatment device can be output.

[0027] [Application Example 11] A computer program for a computer of a communication device, comprising: The communication device includes: a display configured to display information; An operation unit configured to be operated by a user; a device interface configured to connect a sensor provided in the wastewater treatment device; Equipped with The computer program comprises: A first transmission function that transmits result information representing a sensor result, which is a detection result or a measurement result by the sensor connected to the device interface, to an alarm device that outputs an alarm indicating a malfunction of the wastewater treatment device; a display control function for displaying on the display unit a control mode for controlling the alarm by the alarm device, the control mode being selected from a plurality of modes including an output mode for outputting an alarm when the sensor result satisfies a malfunction condition, and a suppression mode for not outputting the alarm even when the sensor result satisfies the malfunction condition; and a second transmission function that transmits a user instruction for changing the control mode to the alarm device in response to an operation of the operation unit; This is realized on a computer. The display control function includes: displaying the changed control mode on the display unit in response to a response from the alarm device to the user instruction; When the control mode is changed by the alarm device independently of the user instruction, the changed control mode is displayed on the display unit in response to a notification transmitted by the alarm device. Computer program.

[0028] With this configuration, the possibility that the control mode displayed by the display unit is inappropriate is reduced, and therefore the communication device can cause the alarm device to output an appropriate alarm.

[0029] [Application Example 12] 1. A system comprising: A sensor provided in the wastewater treatment device; A communication device; An alarm device that outputs an alarm indicating a malfunction of the wastewater treatment device; Equipped with The communication device includes: An operation unit configured to be operated by a user; a device interface to which the sensor is connected; a first transmission unit that transmits result information representing a sensor result, which is a detection result or a measurement result by the sensor connected to the device interface, to the alarm device; Equipped with The alarm device comprises: a result acquisition unit that acquires the result information representing the sensor result; an alarm control unit that outputs an alarm when the control mode is an output mode and the sensor result satisfies a malfunction condition, and does not output the alarm when the control mode is a suppression mode even if the sensor result satisfies the malfunction condition; Equipped with The communication device further comprises: a second transmission unit that transmits a user instruction for changing the control mode to the alarm device in response to an operation of the operation unit; The alarm device further comprises: a suppression change unit that changes the control mode from the output mode to the suppression mode in accordance with the user instruction; an automatic change unit that automatically changes the control mode from the suppression mode to the output mode in response to a lapse of a specific time from the change of the control mode in response to the user instruction; a transmitter for transmitting information representative of a current sensor result to a terminal device; an output change unit that changes the control mode from the suppression mode to the output mode without waiting for the specific time to elapse when a terminal instruction that is an instruction from the terminal device is received before the specific time has elapsed since the change of the control mode by the user instruction; Equipped with system.

[0030] According to this configuration, the control mode is automatically changed from suppression mode to output mode as a specific time elapses since the control mode is changed by user instruction, and when a terminal instruction is received, the control mode is changed from suppression mode to output mode without waiting for a specific time to elapse, so that an alarm for the wastewater treatment device can be output appropriately.

[0031] The technology disclosed in this specification can be realized in various forms, for example, as an alarm method and alarm device, a communication method and communication device, a system including a sensor, a communication device, and an alarm device, a system including a sensor and an alarm device, a computer program for realizing the functions of those methods or devices, a recording medium on which that computer program is recorded (e.g., a non-transitory recording medium), etc. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0032] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 illustrates a system according to an embodiment. [Diagram 2] FIG. 1A is a diagram showing an example of a first wastewater treatment device 500. FIGS. 1B-1E are diagrams showing the state of a nitrification tank 502. [Diagram 3] 13A to 13C are diagrams showing examples of tables D31, D32, and D33. [Figure 4] 13 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a monitoring process. [Diagram 5] FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a maintenance process. [Figure 6] FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of an instruction process. [Figure 7] FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a mode control process. [Figure 8] 4 is a sequence diagram showing an example of processing executed by the terminal device 200 and the alarm server 300. FIG. [Figure 9] (A) is a diagram showing an example of a menu page. (B) is a diagram showing an example of a graph page. (C) is a diagram showing an example of a setting page. (D) and (E) are diagrams showing examples of a change page. [Figure 10] FIG. 11 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of a process for controlling the authority of an administrator. [Figure 11] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of a management page. [Figure 12] FIG. 2 illustrates another embodiment of the system. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0033] A. First Example: A1. System configuration: FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a system as an embodiment. The system 1000 includes a first gateway 100A, a second gateway 100B, a terminal device 200, and an alarm server 300. The first gateway 100A is disposed at the installation site of a first wastewater treatment device 500. The first wastewater treatment device 500 has a first sensor 50. The first gateway 100A relays communication between the first sensor 50 and the alarm server 300. The second gateway 100B is disposed at the installation site of a second wastewater treatment device 600. The second wastewater treatment device 600 has a second sensor 60. The second gateway 100B relays communication between the second sensor 60 and the alarm server 300. The alarm server 300 executes a monitoring process for monitoring the wastewater treatment devices 500 and 600 using information acquired through the gateways 100A and 100B. If it is determined that the first wastewater treatment device 500 or the second wastewater treatment device 600 has a malfunction, the alarm server 300 issues an alarm. The terminal device 200 executes various processes related to the monitoring process (checking the status, changing settings, etc.) by communicating with the alarm server 300. Devices such as the gateways 100A and 100B that relay communication between the sensor and the server are also called IoT gateways. The gateways 100A and 100B and the alarm server 300 are provided by a service provider that provides a monitoring service for the wastewater treatment devices 500 and 600. The service provider may be a manufacturer of the wastewater treatment devices 500 and 600, or a management provider of the wastewater treatment devices 500 and 600.

[0034] In this embodiment, the terminal device 200 and the alarm server 300 are connected to the Internet IT. The terminal device 200 can communicate with the alarm server 300 via the Internet IT. The gateways 100A and 100B and the alarm server 300 are connected to a cellular network CN. The gateways 100A and 100B can communicate with the alarm server 300 via the cellular network CN.

[0035] In this embodiment, the gateways 100A and 100B have the same hardware configuration. Hereinafter, when there is no need to distinguish between the gateways 100A and 100B, the alphabetical letters at the end of the reference numerals will be omitted and the gateways will simply be referred to as the gateways 100.

[0036] The gateway 100 includes a processor 110, a storage device 115, a display unit 140, an operation unit 150, a device interface 160, and a communication interface 180. These elements are connected to each other via a bus (not shown).

[0037] The display unit 140 is a device configured to visually display information, such as a light-emitting diode (LED), a seven-segment display, a liquid crystal display, or an organic EL display. In this embodiment, the display unit 140 includes an LED 141. The operation unit 150 is a device configured to be operated by a user, such as a button, a lever, or a touch panel superimposed on the display unit 140. In this embodiment, the operation unit 150 includes a button 151.

[0038] The device interface 160 is an interface for connecting external devices such as the sensors 50 and 60. In this embodiment, the device interface 160 includes an analog input module and a digital input module. The analog input module has an analog input terminal for inputting an analog signal represented by a voltage or a current, and a converter for converting the signal input to the analog input terminal into digital data (for example, digital data representing the magnitude of the input signal in three or more stages). The digital input module has a digital input terminal for inputting a digital signal, and a converter for converting the signal input to the digital input terminal into digital data. The digital input module may include, for example, a contact input module for connecting an external contact such as a switch. The contact input module generates digital data representing the state (on or off) of the external contact. The input terminal of each input module is also called a channel. The device interface 160 may include other types of interfaces (for example, Universal Serial Bus (USB), General Purpose Interface Bus (GPIB), etc.).

[0039] The communication interface 180 is an interface for communicating with other devices. In this embodiment, the communication interface 180 has an interface for a cellular network (e.g., Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), Long Term Evolution (LTE), IMT-Advanced, IMT-2020, etc.). In this embodiment, the communication interface 180 includes an interface suitable for the cellular network CN and is connected to the cellular network CN. Note that the communication interface 180 may include other types of interfaces (e.g., IEEE802.3 wired LAN, IEEE802.11 wireless LAN, etc.).

[0040] The processor 110 is a device configured to process data. The processor 110 is, for example, a Central Processing Unit (CPU) or a System on a chip (SoC). The storage device 115 includes a volatile storage device 120 and a non-volatile storage device 130. The volatile storage device 120 is, for example, a DRAM, and the non-volatile storage device 130 is, for example, a flash memory.

[0041] The non-volatile storage device 130 stores data of programs P11 and P12. The first program P11 is a program for information transmission processing. The information transmission processing is processing for transmitting information obtained from a sensor connected to the device interface 160 to the alarm server 300 periodically (for example, every minute). For example, the processor 110 may periodically acquire a value from the analog input module and transmit data of the acquired value to the alarm server 300. Alternatively, the processor 110 may acquire a value from the analog input module at shorter intervals (for example, every 5 seconds). The processor 110 may transmit an average value of a plurality of values ​​(for example, the most recent three values) to the alarm server 300. Also, the processor 110 may periodically acquire a state of an external contact from the contact input module and transmit data of the acquired state to the alarm server 300. Alternatively, the processor 110 may acquire a state of an external contact from the contact input module at shorter intervals (for example, every 5 seconds). When the state of the external contact changes, the processor 110 may transmit data indicating the date and time of the change and the state to the alarm server 300.

[0042] The second program P12 is a program for processing to control the monitoring processing mode (called the control mode) (details will be described later).

[0043] A plurality of sensors may be connected to one gateway 100. The processor 110 transmits information from each of the plurality of sensors to the alarm server 300. The processor 110 also executes a process by the first program P11 and a process by the second program P12 in parallel.

[0044] The data of the programs P11 and P12 are stored in the non-volatile storage device 130 by the service provider when the gateway 100 is shipped. The programs P11 and P12 may be stored in the non-volatile storage device 130 of the gateway 100 from a server (not shown) via a network, or from a portable storage device (e.g., a USB flash drive) (not shown) connected to the gateway 100.

[0045] The alarm server 300 includes a processor 310, a storage device 315, and a communication interface 380. These elements are connected to each other via a bus (not shown). The communication interface 380 is an interface for communicating with other devices. In this embodiment, the communication interface 380 has an interface for a wired LAN of IEEE802.3. The communication interface 380 is connected to the Internet IT via a relay device (e.g., a router) (not shown). The communication interface 380 is also connected to a cellular network CN via a relay device (e.g., a router) (not shown). The processor 310 is a device configured to process data (e.g., a CPU or SoC). The storage device 315 includes a volatile storage device 320 and a non-volatile storage device 330, respectively. The volatile storage device 320 is, for example, a DRAM, and the non-volatile storage device 330 is, for example, a flash memory.

[0046] The non-volatile storage device 330 stores data of the programs P31, P32, P33, the alarm setting table D31, the gateway setting table D32, and the user setting table D33. The first program P31 is a program for a monitoring process. In this embodiment, the first wastewater treatment device 500 and the second wastewater treatment device 600 are monitored by the monitoring process. The second program P32 is a program for a mode control process that controls the mode of the monitoring process (i.e., the control mode). The monitoring process in this embodiment has an output mode that outputs an alarm in response to a malfunction, and an inspection mode that does not output an alarm. The inspection mode is used to avoid unintended output of an alarm, such as when performing maintenance processing of the wastewater treatment device. The third program P33 provides a user interface for checking the current state of the monitoring process and changing the settings. In this embodiment, the user interface is a web page. The third program P33 causes the processor 310 to realize the function of a web server that provides web pages. The processor 310 executes the processes of the programs P31, P32, and P33 in parallel. The programs P31, P32, and P33 and the tables D31, D32, and D33 will be described in detail later.

[0047] The terminal device 200 is a terminal device of an administrator of the wastewater treatment devices 500, 600, and is, for example, a personal computer, a tablet computer, or a smartphone. The administrator refers to information provided by the alarm server 300 using the terminal device 200. The terminal device 200 has a processor 210, a storage device 215, a display unit 240, an operation unit 250, and a communication interface 280. These elements are connected to each other via a bus (not shown).

[0048] The display unit 240 is a device configured to display an image, such as a liquid crystal display or an organic EL display. The operation unit 250 is a device configured to be operated by a user, such as a button, a lever, or a touch panel arranged overlaid on the display unit 240. In this embodiment, the operation unit 250 includes a touch panel arranged on the display unit 240. The communication interface 280 is an interface for communicating with other devices (e.g., includes one or more interfaces among an IEEE802.3 wired LAN, an IEEE802.11 wireless LAN, and a cellular network interface). In this embodiment, the communication interface 280 is connected to the Internet IT via a network (e.g., a local area network, a cellular network, etc.) not shown.

[0049] The processor 210 is a device configured to process data (e.g., a CPU or SoC). The storage device 215 includes a volatile storage device 220 and a non-volatile storage device 230. The volatile storage device 220 is, for example, a DRAM, and the non-volatile storage device 230 is, for example, a flash memory. The non-volatile storage device 230 stores data of a program P2. In this embodiment, the program P2 is a web browser program. The administrator can refer to a web page provided by the alarm server 300 through the web browser.

[0050] A2. Wastewater treatment equipment configuration: Fig. 2(A) is a diagram showing an example of a first wastewater treatment device 500. The diagram shows a schematic configuration of a portion of the wastewater treatment device 500 seen from the side. The first wastewater treatment device 500 is a device that treats wastewater from a facility (e.g., a home, a store, an office, etc.). The first wastewater treatment device 500 has a plurality of water treatment tanks. In this embodiment, the first wastewater treatment device 500 is provided with a plurality of water treatment tanks including a denitrification tank 501, a nitrification tank 502, and a treated water tank 503.

[0051] Wastewater flowing into the first wastewater treatment device 500 flows into a denitrification tank 501 through a pre-treatment unit (not shown) of the first wastewater treatment device 500 (the pre-treatment unit may include, for example, an aeration screen, a flow rate adjustment tank, a fine screen, and a metering adjustment device). Sludge is accommodated in the denitrification tank 501. In the denitrification tank 501, anaerobic treatment is performed by anaerobic microorganisms contained in the sludge. Water aerobically treated in the nitrification tank 502 (water containing nitrate ions (also called nitrification liquid)) is transferred to the denitrification tank 501 by a circulation pump (not shown). Nitrate ions are reduced by the action of denitrifying bacteria contained in the anaerobic microorganisms to generate nitrogen gas, and the generated nitrogen gas is released into the air (so-called denitrification). An agitation device (for example, an aeration device) for agitating the sludge may be provided in the denitrification tank 501. The water treated in the denitrification tank 501 flows into the nitrification tank 502 through an opening 592 provided in a partition wall 591 separating the denitrification tank 501 from the nitrification tank 502 .

[0052] A membrane separation device 510 is disposed in the nitrification tank 502. The membrane separation device 510 includes a plurality of membrane modules 510m for filtering water. An aeration device 530 is disposed below the membrane separation device 510. A blower 540 is connected to the aeration device 530. Electricity is supplied to the blower 540 through a power cable 545. The blower 540 supplies air to the aeration device 530. Activated sludge is also contained in the nitrification tank 502. The water (including the activated sludge) in the nitrification tank 502 is agitated by air from the aeration device 530. Aerobic microorganisms contained in the activated sludge perform aerobic treatment using oxygen contained in the air from the aeration device 530. A connection pipe 515 is connected to the membrane separation device 510 for sucking the water filtered by the membrane separation device 510 from the membrane separation device 510. A suction pump 520 is connected to the connection pipe 515. Electric power is supplied to the suction pump 520 through a power cable 525. The suction pump 520 transfers the water sucked from the membrane separation device 510 to the treated water tank 503.

[0053] The treated water tank 503 temporarily stores the treated water from the nitrification tank 502. The water stored in the nitrification tank 502 is disinfected in a disinfection tank (not shown), and the disinfected water is discharged outside the first wastewater treatment device 500.

[0054] Various maintenance processes for proper operation are associated with the wastewater treatment device. In this embodiment, the maintenance process for the first wastewater treatment device 500 includes cleaning of the membrane module 510m of the membrane separation device 510. In the figure, water levels WL1, WL2, and WL3 of the nitrification tank 502 are shown. The first water level WL1 is the water level during normal operation. For water cleaning of the membrane module 510m, the suction pump 520 is stopped. Then, the water level of the nitrification tank 502 is reduced from the first water level WL1 to a third water level WL3. The third water level WL3 is a water level lower than the first water level WL1 and slightly higher than the upper part of the membrane separation device 510. The water level reduction is performed, for example, by a sludge pump (not shown). The sludge pump transfers water (including activated sludge) from the nitrification tank 502 to a sludge storage tank (not shown). After the water level is reduced, the worker removes the membrane module 510m from the membrane separation apparatus 510 and washes the membrane module 510m with water. After washing, the worker attaches the membrane module 510m to the membrane separation apparatus 510. Then, the water level in the nitrification tank 502 rises from the third water level WL3 to the first water level WL1. The rise in the water level may be achieved, for example, by advection of water from the denitrification tank 501 to the nitrification tank 502.

[0055] When the suction pump 520 operates while the water level in the nitrification tank 502 is low, air above the water surface may be sucked into the suction pump 520 through the membrane separation device 510. If the suction pump 520 sucks in air, continuous water transfer by the suction pump 520 may be hindered. Therefore, in this embodiment, in order to detect a drop in the water level in the nitrification tank 502, a sensor 50 is provided in the nitrification tank 502 to detect a water level equal to or higher than the second water level WL2 (i.e., the sensor 50 outputs information indicating whether the water level is equal to or higher than the second water level WL2). The sensor 50 is, for example, a float switch. The second water level WL2 is lower than the first water level WL1 and higher than the third water level WL3. The suction pump 520 is configured to operate when the sensor 50 detects a water level equal to or higher than the second water level WL2. For example, an output signal from the sensor 50 is input to a control device (not shown) of the suction pump 520. The control device may drive the suction pump 520 when the sensor 50 detects a water level equal to or higher than the second water level WL2.

[0056] In this embodiment, the sensor 50 is connected to a contact input module of the device interface 160 of the first gateway 100A (FIG. 1). The first gateway 100A transmits result information representing the detection result by the sensor 50 to the alarm server 300. The alarm server 300 uses the result information to execute a monitoring process for the first wastewater treatment device 500. In this embodiment, the alarm server 300 outputs an alarm when the water level in the nitrification tank 502 is lower than the second water level WL2.

[0057] The drop in water level during maintenance work is not a malfunction. Therefore, the worker changes the control mode to inspection mode, which stops the output of the alarm, in order to perform the maintenance work. After the maintenance work is completed, the control mode is changed back to output mode (details will be described later).

[0058] Although not shown in the figures, the second wastewater treatment device 600 (FIG. 1) may have various configurations. The parameters detected or measured by the sensor 60 may be various parameters. The second wastewater treatment device 600 may have multiple water treatment tanks including an aerobic treatment tank. The sensor 60 may be a pH sensor that measures the pH of the water in the aerobic treatment tank. The alarm server 300 executes a monitoring process for the second wastewater treatment device 600 using result information that represents the result of the detection or measurement by the sensor 60. The alarm server 300 may output an alarm, for example, when the pH is outside the allowable range.

[0059] A3. Tables D31, D32, D33: 3(A) to 3(C) are diagrams showing examples of tables D31, D32, and D33 referenced in the monitoring process. The alarm server 300 executes the monitoring process using result information showing sensor results, which are detection results or measurement results by a sensor provided in the wastewater treatment device to be monitored (the result information is acquired through the gateway 100). The monitoring process includes a process of determining whether or not the wastewater treatment device has a malfunction using the result information, and a process of outputting an alarm when it is determined that the wastewater treatment device has a malfunction.

[0060] The alarm setting table D31 (FIG. 3(A)) represents information related to an alarm. Specifically, the alarm setting table D31 represents the correspondence between a gateway identifier GI, a sensor identifier SI, a malfunction condition CD, and an email address MA. The gateway identifier GI is an identifier that is assigned in advance to each gateway. The sensor identifier SI is an identifier that is assigned to a sensor connected to the gateway. The sensor identifier SI may be, for example, an identifier (e.g., a channel number) of a channel to which a sensor of the device interface 160 of the gateway 100 is connected. The malfunction condition CD is a condition for determining that there is a malfunction. The malfunction condition CD is determined using result information associated with the sensor identifier SI. The email address MA is the destination of an alarm (in this embodiment, an email) that is sent when the malfunction condition CD is satisfied.

[0061] Here, it is assumed that the following information is registered in the alarm setting table D31. The first gateway identifier GI1 indicates the first gateway 100A, and the first sensor identifier SI1 indicates the sensor 50. The first malfunction condition CD1 indicates that a water level equal to or higher than the second water level WL2 is not detected (i.e., the water level is lower than the second water level WL2). The second gateway identifier GI2 indicates the second gateway 100B, and the second sensor identifier SI2 indicates the sensor 60. The second malfunction condition CD2 indicates that the measurement value V by the sensor 60 is equal to or higher than the first threshold value TH1 and equal to or lower than the second threshold value TH2. The measurement value V may be, for example, the pH of the aerobic treatment tank. The first threshold value TH1 and the second threshold value TH2 indicate a preferable range of pH.

[0062] The gateway setting table D32 (FIG. 3(B)) represents information related to the gateway. Specifically, the gateway setting table D32 represents the correspondence relationship between the gateway identifier GI, the name GN, the network address AD, the current mode MD, and the release time TM. The gateway identifier GI is the same as the gateway identifier GI described in FIG. 3(A). The name GN is a name associated with the gateway (and thus the wastewater treatment device). The name GN may be set to any name that is easy to identify by the administrator (for example, the name of the installation site of the wastewater treatment device). The network address AD is an address on the network of the gateway. In this embodiment, the network address AD includes an IP address and a MAC address. The current mode MD is the current control mode. In this embodiment, the current mode MD is set to the "output mode" or the "inspection mode". The release time TM is the time from when the control mode is switched to the inspection mode to when it is automatically switched to the output mode (in hours).

[0063] The release time TM is set, for example, as follows. As described in FIG. 2(A), the malfunction condition CD may be satisfied due to the maintenance work, and then the malfunction condition CD may not be satisfied as time passes. For example, the water level of the nitrification tank 502 drops to the third water level WL3 due to the maintenance work of the first wastewater treatment device 500. This satisfies the first malfunction condition CD1 (FIG. 3(A)). After the maintenance work is completed, the water level rises due to the inflow of water into the nitrification tank 502. Then, the water level exceeds the second water level WL2, and the first malfunction condition CD1 is not satisfied. The release time TM is set to a time longer than the time until the malfunction condition CD is not satisfied after the control mode is switched to the inspection mode for the maintenance work. For example, the first release time TM1 for the first wastewater treatment device 500 is set to a time longer than the time until the water level returns to the second water level WL2 after the control mode is switched to the inspection mode. The release time TM may be set to a sufficiently long time (eg, 2 hours or more and 10 hours or less) so that an alarm is not erroneously output.

[0064] It is assumed that the gateway setting table D32 registers information GN1, AD1, MD1, and TM1 associated with the first gateway identifier GI1, and information GN2, AD2, MD2, and TM2 associated with the second gateway identifier GI2.

[0065] The user settings table D33 (Figure 3(C)) represents the authority of each administrator. Specifically, the user settings table D33 represents the correspondence between the account name AN, the mode change authority Aa, the time change authority Ab, and the user management authority Ac. The account name AN ​​is a name associated with the administrator. The mode change authority Aa indicates whether or not there is authority to change the current mode MD (Figure 3(B)). The time change authority Ab indicates whether or not there is authority to change the release time TM (Figure 3(B)). The user management authority Ac indicates whether or not there is authority to edit the user settings table D33 (e.g., to change the authorities Aa, Ab).

[0066] Various rules may be used to grant the authorities Aa, Ab, and Ac to each administrator. For example, the user management authority Ac may be granted only to special administrators. The mode change authority Aa and the time change authority Ab may be granted to normal administrators. Note that the time change authority Ab may be granted only to some administrators so that the release time TM is not changed by mistake.

[0067] A4. Monitoring process: Fig. 4 is a flow chart showing an example of the monitoring process. The monitoring process in Fig. 4 shows the monitoring process for one wastewater treatment device. The processor 310 of the alarm server 300 (Fig. 1) executes the monitoring process for each of the wastewater treatment devices to be monitored in parallel. Details will be described below using the monitoring process for the first wastewater treatment device 500 as an example.

[0068] The processor 310 of the alarm server 300 executes monitoring processing in accordance with the first program P31. In S110, the processor 310 acquires result information from the gateway 100A. In this embodiment, the processor 110 of the gateway 100A periodically transmits to the alarm server 300, in accordance with the program P11, data on result information indicating the detection result by the sensor 50, a time stamp, an identifier of the sensor 50, and an identifier of the transmission device of the result information (here, the gateway 100A). The identifier of the transmitting device may include, for example, one or both of the gateway identifier GI1 (Figure 3(B) and the network address AD1. The identifier of the sensor 50 is the same as the sensor identifier SI1 (Figure 3(A)). The result information associated with the sensor 50 represents the detection result of a water level equal to or higher than the second water level WL2 (Figure 2(A)) (here, on indicating detection, or off indicating non-detection). The processor 310 stores the data of the received information in the memory device 315 (here, non-volatile memory device 330). The result information may represent a voltage value or a current value acquired by the gateway 100. In this case, the processor 310 may calculate a measurement value of a physical quantity such as pH from the result information according to a predetermined conversion formula. The processor 310 may store the data of the calculated measurement value of the physical quantity in the memory device 315 (here, non-volatile memory device 330).

[0069] In S120, the processor 310 of the alarm server 300 refers to the gateway setting table D32 (FIG. 3B) and acquires the current mode MD associated with the identifier of the target gateway, which is the gateway that transmitted the result information. In this case, the target gateway is the gateway 100A, and the current mode MD1 associated with the gateway identifier GI1 of the gateway 100A is acquired.

[0070] If the current mode MD1 is the output mode, in S130, the processor 310 refers to the alarm setting table D31 (FIG. 3(A)) to acquire the gateway identifier GI of the target gateway, the sensor identifier SI associated with the result information, and the malfunction condition CD associated with the result information. The processor 310 judges whether the result information satisfies the malfunction condition CD. Here, it is judged whether the first malfunction condition CD1 associated with the first gateway identifier GI1 and the first sensor identifier SI1 is satisfied. Note that, if the identifier of the gateway 100A acquired in S110 does not include the gateway identifier GI1 but includes the network address AD1, the processor 310 may specify the gateway identifier GI1 by referring to the gateway setting table D32.

[0071] A plurality of sensors may be connected to the gateway 100. In this case, the processor 310 acquires a plurality of pieces of result information from the plurality of sensors in S110. For each piece of result information, the processor 310 determines whether or not the corresponding malfunction condition CD is satisfied.

[0072] If one or more pieces of result information satisfy the malfunction condition CD (S130: Yes), in S140, the processor 310 outputs an alarm. In this embodiment, the processor 310 refers to the alarm setting table D31 (FIG. 3(A)) and acquires an email address MA associated with the malfunction condition CD that is satisfied. The processor 310 sends an email indicating the alarm to the acquired email address MA. If the first malfunction condition CD1 is satisfied, the email address MA1 is acquired. The email addressed to the email address MA1 is to be received by the terminal device 200. The processor 310 sends the email to the terminal device 200. The email may be sent via a mail server (not shown). If multiple malfunction conditions CD are satisfied, the processor 310 may send an email for each malfunction condition CD that is satisfied. The administrator who receives the email indicating the alarm can take measures, such as inspecting the wastewater treatment device associated with the alarm. The alarm indicated by the email may include various information related to the wastewater treatment device to be monitored. The alert may include, for example, the name GN1 (FIG. 3(B)), the fault condition CD1 (FIG. 3(A)), and the current date and time. After S140, the processor 310 proceeds to S110.

[0073] If the result information does not satisfy the defect condition CD (S130: No), the processor 310 skips S140 and proceeds to S110.

[0074] If the current mode MD is the inspection mode, the processor 310 skips S130 and S140 and proceeds to S110.

[0075] The processor 310 repeatedly executes the above monitoring process for each wastewater treatment device. If the current mode MD is the output mode and the result information satisfies the malfunction condition CD (S130: Yes), the processor 310 outputs an alarm (S140). If the current mode MD is the inspection mode, the processor 310 does not output an alarm even if the result information satisfies the malfunction condition CD.

[0076] A5. Control process of control mode: 5, 6, and 7 are flowcharts showing an example of a control process of the control mode. FIG. 5 shows an example of a maintenance process executed by an operator. FIG. 6 shows an example of an instruction process executed by the gateway 100. FIG. 7 shows an example of a mode control process executed by the alarm server 300. FIG. 8 is a sequence diagram showing an example of a process executed by the terminal device 200 and the alarm server 300. In this embodiment, an operator can transmit an instruction (called a user instruction) for changing the control mode to the alarm server 300 through the gateway 100. Also, an administrator can transmit an instruction (called a terminal instruction) for changing the control mode to the alarm server 300 through the terminal device 200. The alarm server 300 changes the control mode according to these instructions and transmits a mode notification to the gateway 100. The mode notification is a notification of a change in the control mode and indicates the current control mode. Below, each process of FIG. 5, FIG. 6, FIG. 7, and FIG. 8 will be described in order.

[0077] A5-1.Maintenance process: The maintenance process by an operator will be described with reference to Fig. 5. Hereinafter, it is assumed that an operator performs the maintenance process of the first wastewater treatment device 500 (Fig. 2(A)). It is also assumed that the control mode is the output mode at the start of the maintenance process.

[0078] In S210, the operator inputs an instruction to the gateway 100A to change the control mode from the output mode to the inspection mode. An arbitrary method may be used to input the instruction (hereinafter, the operation to input the instruction in S210 is referred to as a first operation). In this embodiment, the first operation is a long press of the button 151 of the gateway 100A (FIG. 1) (for example, the operator continues to press the button 151 for three seconds or more). As will be described later, the processor 110 of the gateway 100A transmits an instruction to switch the control mode to the inspection mode (referred to as an inspection user instruction) to the alarm server 300 in accordance with the operator's instruction input to the gateway 100A. The processor 310 of the alarm server 300 changes the control mode to the inspection mode in response to the inspection user instruction.

[0079] In S220, an operator performs maintenance work on the wastewater treatment device. The maintenance work may be any work suitable for the wastewater treatment device. In this embodiment, the maintenance work for the first wastewater treatment device 500 (FIG. 2(A)) includes S222, S224, and S226. FIGS. 2(B), 2(C), and 2(D) are diagrams showing the states of the nitrification tank 502 at S222, S224, and S226, respectively.

[0080] In S222 (FIG. 2(B)), the operator stops the inflow of water into the nitrification tank 502. For example, the operator stops the pump that transfers water from the flow rate adjustment tank (not shown) to the denitrification tank 501. This stops the inflow of water from the denitrification tank 501 to the nitrification tank 502. The operator then transfers the water in the nitrification tank 502 to another water treatment tank. For example, the operator uses a sludge pump (not shown) to transfer the water in the nitrification tank 502 to a sludge storage tank (not shown). This causes the water level in the nitrification tank 502 to drop to the third water level WL3.

[0081] In S224 (FIG. 2(C)), the worker removes the membrane module 510m from the membrane separation apparatus 510, and washes the membrane module 510m with water. Then, the worker attaches the washed membrane module 510m to the membrane separation apparatus 510.

[0082] In S226 (FIG. 2(D)), the operator starts the flow of water into the nitrification tank 502. For example, the operator starts a pump that transfers water from the flow rate adjustment tank (not shown) to the denitrification tank 501. This causes water to flow from the denitrification tank 501 to the nitrification tank 502. The water level in the nitrification tank 502 then rises from the third water level WL3. This completes the maintenance work. With the maintenance work completed, the maintenance process also completes.

[0083] At the end of the maintenance process, the water level is less than the second water level WL2. Therefore, if the control mode is immediately changed to the output mode, the malfunction condition CD (here, the first malfunction condition CD1 (FIG. 3(A))) may be satisfied in S130 (FIG. 4). Then, an unintended alarm may be output (S140).

[0084] In this embodiment, the control mode is changed after a sufficient time has passed for the water level to be equal to or higher than the second water level WL2 (i.e., a sufficient time for the malfunction condition CD to no longer be satisfied). Such a change in the control mode may be made in various ways. For example, in a first method (FIG. 5), after the maintenance process is completed (here, after S220), the operator waits for time to pass in S230. FIG. 2(E) is a diagram showing the state of the nitrification tank 502 in S230. Here, it is assumed that a sufficiently long time has passed since the start of the maintenance process. The water level is equal to or higher than the second water level WL2.

[0085] In S240 (FIG. 5), the operator inputs an instruction to change the control mode from the inspection mode to the output mode to the gateway 100A. An arbitrary method of inputting the instruction may be used (hereinafter, the operation of inputting the instruction in S240 is referred to as the second operation). In this embodiment, the second operation is a long press of the button 151 of the gateway 100A (FIG. 1) (for example, the operator continues to press the button 151 for 3 seconds or more). As will be described later, the processor 110 of the gateway 100A transmits an instruction to switch the control mode to the output mode (referred to as an output user instruction) to the alarm server 300 according to the operator's instruction input to the gateway 100A. The processor 310 of the alarm server 300 changes the control mode to the output mode in response to the output user instruction. Note that the second operation may be an operation different from the first operation (for example, the second operation may be quickly pressing the button 151 three times).

[0086] In the second method, the alarm server 300 automatically changes the control mode to the output mode when the elapsed time ET from S210 is equal to or greater than the release time TM1 (FIG. 3(B)). The release time TM1 is determined in advance so that the water level is equal to or greater than the second water level WL2 when the elapsed time ET is equal to or greater than the release time TM1 (FIG. 2(E)). The second operation by the operator is omitted.

[0087] A5-2. Instruction processing: The instruction process by the gateway 100A (FIG. 1) will be described with reference to Fig. 6. The processor 110 of the gateway 100A executes the instruction process in accordance with the second program P12. The processor 110 transmits an instruction to change the control mode to the alarm server 300 in accordance with an instruction from an operator input to the gateway 100A.

[0088] In S310, the processor 110 determines whether or not a new mode notification is received from the alarm server 300 (FIG. 1). As described above, the mode notification is a notification indicating a change in the control mode, and indicates the current control mode. In this embodiment, the alarm server 300 changes the control mode in accordance with a user instruction from the gateway 100. The alarm server 300 also changes the control mode in accordance with a terminal instruction from the terminal device 200. A mode notification resulting from a user instruction is processed in S352, S354, S372, and S374, which will be described later. In S310, the processor 110 determines whether or not a mode notification resulting from a terminal instruction is received.

[0089] If a new mode notification is received (S310: Yes), in S320, the processor 110 sets the current control mode to the mode represented by the mode notification. The processor 110 may store data representing the current control mode in the storage device 115 (e.g., the non-volatile storage device 130). In S325, the processor 110 causes the display unit 140 to display the current control mode. In this embodiment, the blinking of the LED 141 (FIG. 1) indicates the inspection mode, and the off state of the LED 141 indicates the output mode. After S325, the processor 110 proceeds to S330.

[0090] If a new mode notification has not been received (S310: No), the processor 110 skips S320 and S325 and proceeds to S330.

[0091] In S330, processor 110 branches the process depending on the current control mode. If the current control mode is the output mode, in S340, processor 110 determines whether a first operation is to be newly performed. The first operation is an operation for changing the control mode from the output mode to the inspection mode, as described in S210 (FIG. 5).

[0092] If the first operation is newly performed (S340: Yes), in S350, the processor 110 transmits an inspection user instruction to switch the control mode to the inspection mode to the alarm server 300. In this embodiment, the inspection user instruction includes an identifier of the transmission device of the inspection user instruction (here, the gateway 100A). The identifier of the transmission device may include, for example, one or both of the gateway identifier GI and the network address AD. As will be described later, the processor 310 of the alarm server 300 changes the current control mode to the inspection mode according to the inspection user instruction. Then, the processor 310 transmits a mode notification to the gateway 100A, which is the transmission device of the inspection user instruction. In S352, the processor 110 of the gateway 100A receives the mode notification from the alarm server 300. S354 and S356 are the same as S320 and S325, respectively. In S354, the processor 110 sets the current control mode to the mode represented by the mode notification (here, the inspection mode). In S356, the processor 110 causes the current control mode to be displayed on the display unit 140. After S356, the processor 110 transitions to S310.

[0093] If the first operation is not newly performed (S340: No), processor 110 skips S350-S356 and proceeds to S310.

[0094] If the current control mode is the inspection mode in S330, the processor 110 determines whether or not a second operation is to be newly performed in S360. The second operation is an operation for changing the control mode from the inspection mode to the output mode, as described in S240 (FIG. 5).

[0095] If the second operation is newly performed (S360: Yes), in S370, the processor 110 transmits an output user instruction to switch the control mode to the output mode to the alarm server 300. The output user instruction includes an identifier of the transmission device of the output user instruction (here, the gateway 100A) as in the inspection user instruction (S350). As will be described later, the processor 310 of the alarm server 300 changes the current control mode to the output mode according to the output user instruction. Then, the processor 310 transmits a mode notification to the gateway 100A, which is the transmission device of the output user instruction. In S372, the processor 110 of the gateway 100A receives the mode notification from the alarm server 300. S374 and S376 are the same as S320 and S325, respectively. In S374, the processor 110 sets the current control mode to the mode represented by the mode notification (here, the output mode). In S376, the processor 110 causes the current control mode to be displayed on the display unit 140. After S376, the processor 110 transitions to S310.

[0096] If the second operation is not newly performed (S360: No), processor 110 skips S370-S376 and proceeds to S310.

[0097] The processor 110 repeatedly executes the above instruction process. This allows the operator to transmit a user instruction for changing the control mode to the alarm server 300 via the gateway 100. In addition, the operator can recognize the current control mode by observing the LED 141 (FIG. 1).

[0098] A5-3.Mode control processing: The mode control process by the alarm server 300 (FIG. 1) will be described with reference to FIG. 7. The mode control process in FIG. 7 controls the control mode of the monitoring process of one wastewater treatment device. The processor 310 of the alarm server 300 executes the mode control process of each of the wastewater treatment devices to be monitored in parallel. The mode control process will be described below using the mode control process for the first wastewater treatment device 500 as an example.

[0099] The processor 310 of the alarm server 300 executes a mode control process according to the second program P32. The processor 310 changes the control mode according to a user instruction acquired through the gateway 100 and a terminal instruction acquired through the terminal device 200. Hereinafter, it is assumed that the current control mode is the output mode.

[0100] In S410, the processor 310 determines whether a new user instruction or a new terminal instruction is received. In S410, these instructions are instructions to change the control mode to the inspection mode (referred to as an inspection instruction). If a new inspection instruction is not received (S410: No), the processor 310 repeats S410 until an inspection instruction is received.

[0101] When a new inspection instruction is received (S410: Yes), in S420, the processor 310 changes the control mode to the inspection mode. The processor 310 sets the current mode MD associated with the target gateway 100 among the current modes MD in the gateway setting table D32 (FIG. 3(B)) to the inspection mode (here, the current mode MD1 associated with the first gateway identifier GI1 is set to the inspection mode). The method of identifying the target gateway 100 may be any method. In this embodiment, the processor 310 adopts the gateway 100 associated with the inspection instruction (S410) as the target gateway 100. As described in S350 and S370 (FIG. 6), the user instruction includes an identifier of the transmitting device of the user instruction (for example, one or both of the gateway identifier GI1 and the network address AD1). In addition, as described later, the terminal instruction is associated with the target gateway 100. As will be described later, a terminal instruction is issued by operating a button on a web page that is associated with the gateway 100 to be processed.

[0102] In S430, the processor 310 transmits a mode notification to the processing target gateway 100 (here, the gateway 100A). The mode notification in S430 indicates that the current control mode is the inspection mode.

[0103] In S440, the processor 310 starts measuring the elapsed time using a timer (not shown).

[0104] In S450, the processor 310 judges whether a new user instruction or a new terminal instruction is received after the last S410. In S450, these instructions are instructions to change the control mode to the output mode (referred to as an output instruction).

[0105] If no new output instruction is received (S450: No), in S460, the processor 310 refers to the gateway setting table D32 (FIG. 3(B)) and acquires the release time TM associated with the gateway 100 to be processed (here, release time TM1). The processor 310 determines whether the elapsed time exceeds the acquired release time TM. If the elapsed time ET is less than or equal to the release time TM (S460: No), the processor 310 proceeds to S450. If the elapsed time ET exceeds the release time TM (S460: Yes), the processor 310 proceeds to S470.

[0106] If a new output instruction is received (S450: Yes), the processor 310 skips S460 and proceeds to S470.

[0107] S470 is the same as S420, except that the control mode after the change is the output mode. The processor 310 sets the current mode MD associated with the target gateway 100 in the gateway setting table D32 (FIG. 3(B)) to the output mode (here, the current mode MD1 associated with the first gateway identifier GI1 is set to the output mode).

[0108] In S480, the processor 310 transmits a mode notification to the processing target gateway 100 (here, the gateway 100A). The mode notification in S480 indicates that the current control mode is the output mode. Then, the processor 310 proceeds to S410.

[0109] The processor 310 repeatedly executes the above mode control process. This allows the processor 310 to change the control mode in accordance with user instructions and terminal instructions. The processor 310 can also transmit a mode notification indicating the current control mode to the gateway 100 to be processed.

[0110] A5-4. Processing by the terminal device 200 and the alarm server 300: With reference to FIG. 8, the processing by the terminal device 200 and the alarm server 300 will be described. The processor 310 of the alarm server 300 functions as a web server that provides a web page in accordance with a third program P33. Various steps of the alarm server 300 in the figure are executed by the processor 310 functioning as the web server. Hereinafter, the processor 310 will be referred to as the server processor 310. Also, the administrator starts a web browser by operating the operation unit 250 of the terminal device 200. The processor 210 of the terminal device 200 executes processing as a web browser in accordance with the program P2. Various steps of the terminal device 200 in the figure are executed by the processor 210 functioning as a browser. Hereinafter, the processor 210 will be referred to as the terminal processor 210.

[0111] In S510, the administrator operates the operation unit 250 of the terminal device 200 to input an instruction to access the Uniform Resource Locator (URL) of the web page of the alarm server 300. The terminal processor 210 accesses the web page according to the instruction. Although not shown in the figure, the server processor 310 transmits web page data representing a sign-in screen to the terminal device 200. The terminal processor 210 displays the sign-in screen on the display unit 240. The administrator operates the operation unit 250 to input authentication information (e.g., account name AN ​​(FIG. 3(C)) and password) to the terminal device 200, and proceeds with the sign-in process. Although not shown in the figure, the non-volatile storage device 330 of the alarm server 300 stores authentication information (e.g., a hash value of the password) used for sign-in in advance. Here, it is assumed that the sign-in is successful. If the sign-in fails, the server processor 310 prohibits access to the management web page.

[0112] If the sign-in is successful, in S520, the server processor 310 transmits data of the menu page to the terminal device 200. In S530, the terminal processor 210 displays the menu page on the display unit 240. FIG. 9(A) is a diagram showing an example of a menu page. In this embodiment, the menu page SC1 includes buttons B11, B12, and B13. The first button B11 is a button for displaying a graph page. The second button B12 is a button for displaying a setting page. The third button B13 is a button for displaying an administration page. Note that if the account name AN ​​used to access the web page does not have user administration authority Ac (FIG. 3(C)), the third button B13 is disabled.

[0113] The administrator can operate various elements (for example, the first button B11, etc.) displayed on the display unit 240 through the operation unit 250. Hereinafter, the operation of elements by the administrator through the operation unit 250 is also simply expressed as the administrator operating elements.

[0114] After S530 (FIG. 8), the administrator operates the first button B11. At S540, the terminal processor 210 transmits a notification of the operation of the first button B11 (i.e., a request for a graph page) to the alarm server 300. At S550, the server processor 310 transmits graph page data to the terminal device 200 in response to the request. At S560, the terminal processor 210 displays the graph page on the display unit 240.

[0115] FIG. 9(B) is a diagram showing an example of a graph page. The graph page SC2 includes a first button B21, a second button B22, a mode area MA2, and a graph area GA2. The first button B21 is a button for returning to the menu page SC1 (FIG. 9(A)). The second button B22 is a button for selecting the wastewater treatment device to be treated. Here, it is assumed that the first wastewater treatment device 500 has already been selected. The second button B22 may be configured to operate a pull-down menu for selecting the name GN (FIG. 3(B)) of the wastewater treatment device, for example. The wastewater treatment devices selectable via the second button B22 may be predetermined for each account name AN.

[0116] The graph area GA2 is an area that represents a graph showing the change over time of the result information obtained from the gateway. The server processor 310 generates the graph by referring to the result information already stored in the non-volatile storage device 230 in S110 (FIG. 4). In FIG. 9(B), the wastewater treatment device to be treated is the wastewater treatment device 500 (FIG. 2(A)). The graph in the graph area GA2 represents the change over time of the sensor result (on or off) from the sensor 50. The end CV2 of this graph represents the current sensor result (end CV2 is also called the current result CV2). When multiple sensors are connected to the gateway, the graph area GA2 may represent multiple graphs of multiple sensor results.

[0117] The mode area MA2 represents the current control mode. In this embodiment, when the current control mode is the inspection mode, the mode area MA2 displays a specific character string (here, the character string "Inspection" in red). When the current control mode is the output mode, the mode area MA2 is blank.

[0118] By observing the graph page SC2, the administrator can easily grasp the current state of the wastewater treatment device to be treated. For example, by observing the mode area MA2, the administrator can recognize the current control mode. Also, by observing the current result CV2 in the graph area GA2, the administrator can easily determine whether or not the current result CV2 satisfies the malfunction condition CD. The graph page SC2 may further indicate whether or not the malfunction condition CD is satisfied. After the maintenance process is completed, if the control mode is the inspection mode and the current result CV2 does not satisfy the malfunction condition CD, the administrator may change the control mode to the output mode (described below).

[0119] Here, the administrator returns to menu page SC1 (FIG. 9(A)) and operates the second button B12. At S570 (FIG. 8), the terminal processor 210 transmits a notification of the operation of the second button B12 (i.e., a request for the setting page) to the alarm server 300. At S580, the server processor 310 transmits data of the setting page to the terminal device 200 in response to the request. At S590, the terminal processor 210 displays the setting page on the display unit 240.

[0120] FIG. 9(C) is a diagram showing an example of a setting page. The setting page SC3 includes a first button B31, a table area TA3, and a plurality of change buttons B3c. The first button B31 is a button for returning to the menu page SC1 (FIG. 9(A)). The table area TA3 shows the name, current mode, and release time of each of the wastewater treatment devices to be monitored (the name, current mode, and release time correspond to the name GN, current mode MD, and release time TM in FIG. 3(B), respectively). By observing the setting page SC3, the administrator can easily grasp the current status of the gateway of each wastewater treatment device.

[0121] The change button B3c is a button for changing the control mode or the release time. A change button B3c is provided for each wastewater treatment device. That is, a wastewater treatment device is associated with each change button B3c. Here, the first change button B3c1 is associated with the first wastewater treatment device 500, and the second change button B3c2 is associated with the second wastewater treatment device 600. When the change button B3c is operated, the server processor 310 uses the wastewater treatment device associated with the change button B3c as the wastewater treatment device to be treated (hereinafter referred to as the target wastewater treatment device).

[0122] Here, it is assumed that the administrator operates the first change button B3c1. In S600 (FIG. 8), the terminal processor 210 transmits a notification of the operation of the first change button B3c1 (i.e., a request for a change page) to the alarm server 300. In S610, the server processor 310 generates data of a change page for the wastewater treatment device 500 associated with the first change button B3c1 in response to the request. The server processor 310 refers to the user setting table D33 (FIG. 3(C)), and acquires the authorities Aa and Ab associated with the account name AN ​​to be processed. The server processor 310 generates data of a change page representing changeable elements according to the acquired authorities Aa and Ab. In S620 (FIG. 8), the server processor 310 transmits the data of the change page to the terminal device 200. In S630, the terminal processor 210 displays the change page on the display unit 240.

[0123] 9(D) and 9(E) are diagrams showing examples of change pages. The change page SC4a in FIG. 9(D) is an example in the case where the administrator has both mode change authority Aa and time change authority Ab. The change page SC4a includes a name field NA4, a mode field MA4, a time field TF4, a first button B41, and a second button B42. The name field NA4 represents the name GN (FIG. 3(B)) of the target wastewater treatment device. The mode field MA4 represents the current mode MD of the target wastewater treatment device. The time field TF4 represents the release time TM of the target wastewater treatment device. The first button B41 is a button for changing the current control mode to another mode (here, the output mode). The second button B42 is a button for changing the release time TM.

[0124] Change page SC4b in FIG. 9(E) is an example of a case where the administrator has mode change authority Aa but does not have time change authority Ab. The only difference from change page SC4a (FIG. 9(D)) is that the second button B42 is omitted. In this way, the server processor 310 generates a change page that shows changeable elements (here, one or both of buttons B41 and B42) according to the administrator's authorities Aa and Ab. The server processor 310 can reduce the possibility of parameters being changed by an unauthorized administrator.

[0125] Here, it is assumed that the administrator has both the mode change authority Aa and the time change authority Ab. In this case, in S630 (FIG. 8), a change page SC4a (FIG. 9(D)) is displayed. Then, it is assumed that the administrator operates the first button B41. In S640, the terminal processor 210 transmits a notification of the operation of the first button B41 (i.e., a mode change instruction) to the alarm server 300. In S650, the server processor 310 changes the current mode MD associated with the target wastewater treatment device to the output mode according to the instruction. The server processor 310 sets the current mode MD associated with the target wastewater treatment device (and thus the gateway 100 to be treated) among the current modes MD in the gateway setting table D32 (FIG. 3(B)) to the output mode (here, the current mode MD1 associated with the first gateway identifier GI1 is set to the output mode).

[0126] In S660, the server processor 310 transmits a mode notification to the processing target gateway 100 (here, the gateway 100A). This mode notification indicates that the current control mode is the output mode. This mode notification is also processed in S310 (FIG. 6).

[0127] After S640 (FIG. 8), the administrator operates the second button B42 (FIG. 9(D)) to change the release time TM. The method of specifying the changed time may be any method. In this embodiment, the administrator inputs the changed time in the time field TF4. After that, the administrator operates the second button B42. In S670, the terminal processor 210 transmits a notification of the operation of the second button B42 (i.e., a time change instruction) to the alarm server 300. This notification includes data of the time (called the designated time) input in the time field TF4. In S680, the server processor 310 changes the release time TM associated with the target wastewater treatment device to the designated time according to the instruction. The server processor 310 sets the release time TM associated with the target wastewater treatment device (and thus the gateway 100 to be treated) among the release times TM in the gateway setting table D32 (FIG. 3(B)) to the designated time (here, the release time TM1 associated with the first gateway identifier GI1 is set to the designated time).

[0128] In this way, the administrator can input an instruction to change the control mode to the alarm server 300 through the terminal device 200. The administrator can also input an instruction to change the release time to the alarm server 300 through the terminal device 200.

[0129] A6. Permission Control Processing: Fig. 10 is a sequence diagram showing an example of a process for controlling the authority of an administrator. In this embodiment, an administrator having user management authority Ac (Fig. 3(C)) can change authorities Aa and Ab using the terminal device 200. Various steps of the alarm server 300 in the figure are executed by the server processor 310 functioning as a web server. Various steps of the terminal device 200 in the figure are executed by the terminal processor 210 functioning as a browser.

[0130] S710, S720, and S730 are respectively similar to S510, S520, and S530 in Fig. 8. In the process of Fig. 10, it is assumed that the account name AN ​​used to access the web page has user management authority Ac (Fig. 3(C)). In this case, the third button B13 (Fig. 9(A)) is valid.

[0131] Here, it is assumed that the administrator operates the third button B13. At S740, the terminal processor 210 transmits a notification of the operation of the third button B13 (i.e., a request for a management page) to the alarm server 300. At S750, the server processor 310 transmits data of the management page to the terminal device 200 in response to the request. At S760, the terminal processor 210 displays the management page on the display unit 240.

[0132] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a management page. The management page SC5 includes a first button B51, a table area TA5, and a plurality of change buttons B5c. The first button B51 is a button for returning to the menu page SC1. The table area TA5 shows the contents of the user setting table D33 (FIG. 3(C)). The change button B5c is provided for each of a plurality of authorities Aa, Ab of a plurality of account names AN. That is, each change button B5c is associated with a combination of an account name AN ​​and a type of authority (here, mode change authority Aa or time change authority Ab). For example, the first change button B5c1 is associated with the mode change authority Aa of user1.

[0133] Here, it is assumed that the administrator operates the change button B5c. In S770 (FIG. 10), the terminal processor 210 transmits a notification of the operation of the change button B5c (i.e., an instruction to make a change) to the alarm server 300. In S780, the server processor 310 edits the user setting table D33 (FIG. 3(C)) in response to the instruction. Specifically, the server processor 310 changes the authority of the account name AN ​​associated with the operated change button B5c. For example, when the first change button B5c1 is operated, the mode change authority Aa of user1 is changed.

[0134] In this way, the administrator can input an instruction to change the authority to the alarm server 300 via the terminal device 200.

[0135] As described above, in this embodiment, the alarm server 300 is an example of an alarm device that outputs an alarm indicating a malfunction of the wastewater treatment device. The processor 310 of the alarm server 300 executes the following processes according to the programs P31, P32, and P33. In S110 (FIG. 4), the processor 310 acquires result information representing a sensor result that is a detection result or a measurement result by a sensor provided in the wastewater treatment device (for example, the processor 310 acquires result information representing a detection result by a first sensor 50 provided in the wastewater treatment device 500 (FIG. 2(A))). In S120-S140, the processor 310 executes the following processes. If the control mode is the output mode and the sensor result satisfies the malfunction condition (S130: Yes), the processor 310 outputs an alarm in S140. For example, if the sensor result of the first sensor 50 satisfies the first malfunction condition CD1 (FIG. 3(A)), the processor 310 outputs an alarm. When the control mode is the check mode, the processor 310 does not output an alarm even if the sensor result satisfies a fault condition. The check mode is an example of a suppression mode that does not output an alarm.

[0136] In S410-S420 (FIG. 7), the processor 310 may change the control mode from the output mode to the inspection mode according to a user instruction, which is an instruction by a user (here, an operator). In S460-S470, the processor 310 automatically changes the control mode from the inspection mode to the output mode (S470) in response to a specific time (here, the release time TM) having elapsed (S460: Yes) since the change of the control mode by the user instruction (S420). In S550 (FIG. 8), the processor 310 transmits a graph page SC2 representing the current result CV2 to the terminal device 200. The current result CV2 is an example of a current sensor result, and the graph page SC2 is an example of information representing the current sensor result. The Internet IT is an example of a first network used for communication between the alarm server 300 and the terminal device 200. In S450 (FIG. 7), the processor 310 may receive a terminal instruction, which is an instruction from the terminal device 200, before the release time TM has elapsed since the change of the control mode by the user instruction (S420). In this case (S450: Yes), the processor 310 changes the control mode from the inspection mode to the output mode in S470 without waiting for the release time TM to elapse.

[0137] In this way, the processor 310 automatically changes the control mode from the inspection mode to the output mode in response to the elapse of the release time TM from the change of the control mode by the user instruction. Also, when the processor 310 receives a terminal instruction, it changes the control mode from the inspection mode to the output mode without waiting for the elapse of the release time TM. Therefore, the processor 310 can appropriately output an alarm for the wastewater treatment device.

[0138] Moreover, in this embodiment, the wastewater treatment device 500 (FIG. 2(A)) includes a nitrification tank 502. The sensor 50 detects a water level equal to or higher than a predetermined height (here, a water level equal to or higher than the second water level WL2) in the nitrification tank 502. Therefore, the processor 310 can appropriately output an alarm related to the water level.

[0139] In this embodiment, the processor 310 changes the release time TM in accordance with a time change instruction for changing the release time TM in S680 of FIG. 8. By changing the release time TM to an appropriate time, the processor 310 can more appropriately output an alarm. For example, the administrator may measure the time from the change of the control mode by a user instruction (S210) to the time when the malfunction condition CD is no longer satisfied in the maintenance process (for example, the process of FIG. 5). Then, the administrator may set the release time TM based on the measured time. For example, the release time TM may be set to a time obtained by multiplying the measured time by a coefficient greater than 1 (for example, 1.5). This reduces the possibility that the control mode will be changed to the output mode before the malfunction condition CD is no longer satisfied.

[0140] In this embodiment, as described in S630, S670, S680 (FIG. 8) and FIG. 9(D), the processor 310 changes the release time TM according to a time change instruction associated with the account name AN ​​having the time change authority Ab (S680). The time change authority Ab is an example of a first authority that is an authority for changing the release time TM. The account name AN ​​is an example of a user identifier. Furthermore, as described in S770, S780 (FIG. 10) and FIG. 11, the processor 310 changes the authority of the account name AN ​​associated with the operated change button B5c according to a notification of the operation of the change button B5c (S780). When the change button B5c associated with the time change authority Ab is operated, the processor 310 changes the time change authority Ab. The account name AN ​​associated with the operated change button B5c is an example of a target user identifier for the authority change. The notification of the operation of the change button B5c (FIG. 10: S770) is an example of an authority change instruction to change the time change authority Ab of the target user identifier. In this way, the processor 310 can properly manage the release time TM by changing the time change authority Ab. For example, granting the time change authority Ab to the account name AN ​​of the new administrator and deleting the time change authority Ab from the account name AN ​​of the old administrator can properly update the administrator configuration of the release time TM.

[0141] In addition, various maintenance processes are associated with the wastewater treatment device. In this embodiment, the first wastewater treatment device 500 (FIG. 2(A)) is associated with the maintenance process described in FIG. 5. In S210 included in the maintenance process, the control mode is changed to the inspection mode by a user instruction. The process of S210 is an example of a maintenance change that is a change of the control mode by a user instruction. As described in FIG. 2(B)-FIG. 2(E) and FIG. 5, the maintenance process is configured as follows. That is, the water level of the nitrification tank 502 drops to below the second water level WL2, and the sensor result of the first sensor 50 changes to a result that satisfies the first malfunction condition CD1. When the maintenance process is completed, the first malfunction condition CD1 is satisfied. As time passes after the completion of the maintenance process, the water level rises to or above the second water level WL2, and the sensor result of the first sensor 50 changes to a result that does not satisfy the first malfunction condition CD1. The release time TM1 is configured so that the water level is equal to or higher than the second water level WL2 (i.e., the sensor result of the sensor 50 does not satisfy the malfunction condition CD1) after the release time TM1 has elapsed since the change of the control mode in S210. As a result, the possibility of an inappropriate alarm after the release time TM1 has elapsed is reduced.

[0142] In this embodiment, the sensor 50 (FIG. 1) is connected to the gateway 100A. The gateway 100A includes an operation unit 150. As described in S340-S350 of FIG. 6, the gateway 100A is an example of a communication device configured to transmit a user instruction to the alarm server 300 in response to an operation by a user. In S110 (FIG. 4), the processor 310 acquires result information of the sensor 50 from the gateway 100A. The cellular network CN is an example of a second network used for communication between the alarm server 300 and the gateway 100A. In S410 (FIG. 7), the processor 310 further acquires a user instruction from the gateway 100A. The processor 310 can appropriately output an alarm using the result information acquired from the gateway 100A and the user instruction.

[0143] In this embodiment, as described in S140 (FIG. 4), the output of the alarm includes the output of an e-mail indicating the alarm. This improves the freedom of action of the user (e.g., the administrator) who receives the alarm. For example, the administrator can receive the alarm at any location by using the terminal device 200.

[0144] In this embodiment, targets of monitoring by the alarm server 300 include a first wastewater treatment device 500 (FIG. 1) and a second wastewater treatment device 600. The first wastewater treatment device 500 is provided with a first sensor 50, and the second wastewater treatment device 600 is provided with a second sensor 60. As described above, the alarm server 300 executes the same process for the second wastewater treatment device 600 as the process for the first wastewater treatment device 500.

[0145] Specifically, the processor 310 executes the following processes A1 to A4 for the first wastewater treatment device 500. (A1) In S110 (FIG. 4), the processor 310 obtains first result information representing the first sensor result of the first sensor 50. (A2) In the monitoring process of Fig. 4, when the first control mode is the output mode and the first sensor result satisfies the first malfunction condition CD1 (Fig. 4: S130: Yes), the processor 310 outputs a first alarm (S140), and when the first control mode is the inspection mode, the processor 310 does not output the first alarm even if the first sensor result satisfies the first malfunction condition CD1. Here, the first control mode is a control mode for the monitoring process of the first wastewater treatment device 500. The first alarm is an alarm indicating that the first malfunction condition CD1 is satisfied. (A3) In S410 and S420 (FIG. 7), the processor 310 changes the first control mode from the output mode to the inspection mode in accordance with a first user instruction that is an instruction by a first user. Here, the first user is, for example, an operator who performs maintenance processing of the first wastewater treatment device 500. (A4) In S460 and S470, processor 310 automatically changes the first control mode from the inspection mode to the output mode in response to the elapse of first release time TM1 from the change of the first control mode by first user instruction (S420) (S460: Yes).

[0146] Moreover, the processor 310 executes the following processes B1-B4 for the second wastewater treatment device 600. (B1) In S110 (FIG. 4), the processor 310 obtains second result information representing the second sensor result of the second sensor 60. (B2) In the monitoring process of Fig. 4, when the second control mode is the output mode and the second sensor result satisfies the second malfunction condition CD2 (Fig. 4: S130: Yes), the processor 310 outputs a second alarm (S140), and when the second control mode is the inspection mode, the processor 310 does not output a second alarm even if the second sensor result satisfies the second malfunction condition CD2. Here, the second control mode is a control mode for the monitoring process of the second wastewater treatment device 600. The second alarm is an alarm indicating that the second malfunction condition CD2 is satisfied. (B3) In S410 and S420 (FIG. 7), the processor 310 changes the second control mode from the output mode to the inspection mode in accordance with a second user instruction that is an instruction by a second user. Here, the second user is, for example, an operator who performs maintenance processing of the second wastewater treatment device 600. (B4) In S460 and S470, the processor 310 automatically changes the second control mode from the inspection mode to the output mode in response to the passage of the second release time TM2 from the change of the second control mode by the second user instruction (S420) (S460: Yes). The second release time TM2 is set to a time sufficient for the second malfunction condition CD2 to no longer be satisfied.

[0147] Here, the second release time TM2 may be different from the first release time TM1 (FIG. 3(B)). With this configuration, the processor 310 can output a first alarm suitable for the first wastewater treatment device 500 and a second alarm suitable for the second wastewater treatment device 600. For example, even if the configuration of the second wastewater treatment device 600 is different from the configuration of the first wastewater treatment device 500, the processor 310 can output an appropriate first alarm and an appropriate second alarm.

[0148] In addition, in S600 of FIG. 8, among the change buttons B3c provided for each wastewater treatment device, a wastewater treatment device to which the release time is to be changed can be operated. Then, in S670 and S680, the release time of the wastewater treatment device associated with the operated change button B3c is changed. In this manner, S670-S680 can be executed independently for each wastewater treatment device. That is, the processor 310 can execute a first time change process and a second time change process. The first time change process is a process of changing the first release time TM1 independently of the second release time TM2 according to a first time change instruction for changing the first release time TM1. The second time change process is a process of changing the second release time TM2 independently of the first release time TM1 according to a second time change instruction for changing the second release time TM2. According to this configuration, the processor 310 can change the second release time TM2 for the second wastewater treatment device 600 independently of the first release time TM1 for the first wastewater treatment device 500, and can therefore output an alarm suitable for the first wastewater treatment device 500 and an alarm suitable for the second wastewater treatment device 600. The second release time TM2 may be set to the same time as the first release time TM1, or may be set to a time different from the first release time TM1.

[0149] In this embodiment, the gateway 100A is an example of a communication device that transmits result information representing a sensor result to the alarm server 300. The gateway 100A includes a display unit 140, an operation unit 150, and a device interface 160. The gateway 100A further includes a processor 110, which is an example of a computer. The device interface 160 of the gateway 100A is connected to a sensor 50. The processor 110 executes the following processes according to the first programs P11 and P12. In S110 (FIG. 4), the processor 110 transmits result information representing a detection result by the sensor 50 to the alarm server 300. In S325, S356, and S376 of FIG. 6, the processor 110 causes the display unit 140 to display a control mode for controlling an alarm by the alarm server 300. As described in FIG. 4, the control mode is selected from a plurality of modes including an output mode in which an alarm is output when the sensor result satisfies a malfunction condition, and an inspection mode in which an alarm is not output even if the sensor result satisfies a malfunction condition. In S340-S350 and S360-S370, the processor 110 transmits a user instruction for changing the control mode to the alarm server 300 in response to the operation of the operation unit 150. In S352-S356 and S372-S376, the processor 110 causes the display unit 140 to display the changed control mode in response to a response from the alarm server 300 to the user instruction. In S310-S325, the processor 110 causes the display unit 140 to display the changed control mode in response to a notification transmitted by the alarm server 300 when the control mode is changed by the alarm server 300 independent of a user instruction.

[0150] As a result, the possibility that the control mode displayed by the display unit 140 is inappropriate is reduced. Therefore, the gateway 100A can cause the alarm server 300 to output an alarm appropriately. Specifically, the operator can appropriately proceed with the change of the control mode by observing the display unit 140. For example, while the operator is waiting for time to pass in S230 of FIG. 5, the control mode may be changed to the output mode by a terminal instruction. In this case, the operator can recognize that the control mode has been changed to the output mode by observing the display unit 140. The operator can easily avoid inputting an unnecessary instruction (for example, an instruction of S240) to change the control mode. If an instruction of S240 is input, the control mode may be changed from the output mode to the inspection mode. In this case, there is a possibility that an alarm that should be output is not output. In this embodiment, the possibility of such an unintended change is reduced.

[0151] In this embodiment, the system 1000 includes a sensor 50 provided in the wastewater treatment device 500, a gateway 100A, and an alarm server 300. The gateway 100A is an example of a communication device, and the alarm server 300 is an example of an alarm device. The gateway 100A includes an operation unit 150 and an apparatus interface 160. The sensor 50 is connected to the apparatus interface 160. The gateway 100A includes a processor 110, which is an example of a computer. The alarm server 300 includes a processor 310, which is an example of a computer. The gateway 100A and the alarm server 300 execute the following processes. In S110 (FIG. 4), the processor 110 of the gateway 100A transmits result information representing the detection result by the sensor 50 connected to the apparatus interface 160 to the alarm server 300. The processor 310 of the alarm server 300 acquires the result information. In S120-S140, the processor 310 of the alarm server 300 executes the following processes. If the control mode is the output mode and the sensor result satisfies the malfunction condition (S130: Yes), the processor 310 outputs an alarm in S140. If the control mode is the inspection mode, the processor 310 does not output an alarm even if the sensor result satisfies the malfunction condition. The inspection mode is an example of a suppression mode in which an alarm is not output. The processor 110 of the gateway 100A further transmits a user instruction to change the control mode to the alarm server 300 in response to the operation of the operation unit 150 in S340-S350 and S360-S370 of Fig. 6. The processor 310 of the alarm server 300 further changes the control mode from the output mode to the inspection mode in response to the user instruction in S410-S420 (Fig. 7). In S460-S470, the processor 310 automatically changes the control mode from the inspection mode to the output mode (S470) in response to the passage of a specific time (here, the release time TM) from the change of the control mode by the user instruction (S420) (S460: Yes). In S550 (FIG. 8), the processor 310 transmits a graph page SC2 representing the current result CV2 to the terminal device 200.In S450 (FIG. 7), the processor 310 may receive a terminal instruction, which is an instruction from the terminal device 200, before the release time TM has elapsed since the change of the control mode by the user instruction (S420). If a terminal instruction is received (S450: Yes), the processor 310 changes the control mode from the inspection mode to the output mode in S470 without waiting for the release time TM to elapse.

[0152] In this way, the processor 310 of the alarm server 300 automatically changes the control mode from the inspection mode to the output mode in response to the elapse of the release time TM from the change of the control mode by the user instruction. Also, when the processor 310 receives a terminal instruction, it changes the control mode from the inspection mode to the output mode without waiting for the elapse of the release time TM. Therefore, the processor 310 can appropriately output an alarm for the wastewater treatment device.

[0153] B. Second Example: Fig. 12 is a diagram showing another embodiment of the system. This system 1000B includes a terminal device 200 and an alarm device 300B. In this embodiment, the gateway 100 and the alarm server 300 (Fig. 1) are omitted, and instead, an alarm device 300B is placed at the installation site of the wastewater treatment device 500. The alarm device 300B is a processing device that processes data, and is, for example, a personal computer, a tablet computer, or a smartphone. The sensor 50 is connected to the alarm device 300B. The alarm device 300B executes the various processes described above in place of the gateway 100 and the alarm server 300 (described in detail later).

[0154] In this embodiment, the alarm device 300B is connected to a cellular network CN. The cellular network CN is connected to the Internet IT via a relay device (not shown). The terminal device 200 is connected to the Internet IT. The terminal device 200 and the alarm device 300B are capable of communicating with each other via the Internet IT and the cellular network CN. The entire combination of the Internet IT and the cellular network CN is an example of a first network used for communication between the alarm device 300B and the terminal device 200.

[0155] The alarm device 300B has a processor 310B, a storage device 315B, a display unit 340B, an operation unit 350B, a device interface 360B, and a communication interface 380B. These elements are connected to each other via a bus (not shown). The storage device 315B includes a volatile storage device 320B and a non-volatile storage device 330B. The configurations of the elements 310B, 320B, 330B, 340B, 350B, and 380B are similar to the configurations of the elements 210, 220, 230, 240, 250, and 280 of the terminal device 200, respectively. The configuration of the device interface 360B is similar to the configuration of the device interface 160 (FIG. 1).

[0156] The non-volatile storage device 330B stores data for the programs P31B, P32B, P33B, an alarm setting table D31B, a gateway setting table D32B, and a user setting table D33.

[0157] Alarm setting table D31B represents the correspondence between the information SI, CD, and MA described in FIG. 3(A) (the gateway identifier GI is omitted). Gateway setting table D32B represents the current mode MD and cancellation time TM of alarm device 300B (the information GI, GN, AD (FIG. 3(B)) and information of other alarm devices are omitted). User setting table D33 is the same as user setting table D33 in FIG. 3(C). Tables D31B and D32B are used in place of tables D31 and D32, respectively, in the first embodiment.

[0158] The first program P31B is a program for monitoring processing similar to the processing in Fig. 4. In S110, the processor 310B acquires result information through the device interface 360B. S120, S130, and S140 are respectively similar to S120, S130, and S140 in the first embodiment.

[0159] The second program P32B is a program for mode control processing similar to the processing in FIG. 7. In this embodiment, a user instruction is input by operating the operation unit 350B of the alarm device 300B. Any method may be used to input a user instruction. For example, the processor 310B may display a management screen (not shown) on the display unit 340B that shows an instruction element (e.g., a button) for inputting a user instruction and information indicating the current control mode (e.g., a character string indicating the control mode). The operator may input a user instruction by operating the instruction element through the operation unit 350B.

[0160] The mode control process of this embodiment is similar to the mode control process of the first embodiment (FIG. 7), except that the method of acquiring a user instruction is different, and the current control mode is displayed on the display unit 340B instead of transmitting a mode notification (S430, S480). In S410, the processor 310B judges whether a new user instruction or a new terminal instruction is received. In S420, the processor 310B sets the current mode MD of the gateway setting table D32B to the inspection mode. In S430, the processor 310B displays the current control mode on the display unit 340B (for example, the control mode represented by the management screen is updated). In S440, the processor 310B starts measuring the elapsed time. In S450, the processor 310B judges whether a new user instruction or a new terminal instruction is received after the last S410. In S460, the processor 310B judges whether the elapsed time exceeds the release time TM of the gateway setting table D32B. In S470, the processor 310B sets the current mode MD of the gateway setting table D32B to the output mode. In S480, the processor 310B displays the current control mode on the display unit 340B.

[0161] The third program P33B is a program for processing as a web server similar to the processing in Figs. 8 and 10. In this embodiment, unlike the embodiment in Fig. 9(B), the wastewater treatment device cannot be selected (the wastewater treatment device to be treated is fixed to the first wastewater treatment device 500). Also, unlike the setting page SC3 in Fig. 9(C), the setting page displayed in S590 (Fig. 8) displays only information on the first wastewater treatment device 500 (not shown). In S660 (Fig. 8), instead of sending a mode notification, the current control mode is displayed on the display unit 340B. The processing of the other steps is similar to the processing of the corresponding steps in the first embodiment.

[0162] As described above, a sensor (for example, the sensor 50) may be directly connected to the alarm device 300B that outputs an alarm, without going through a communication device such as the gateway 100. The alarm device 300B may then be configured to monitor one wastewater treatment device. The alarm device 300B executes the same processing as the alarm server 300. Thus, like the alarm server 300, the alarm device 300B can provide various advantages.

[0163] C. Variations: (1) The configuration of the wastewater treatment device is not limited to the configuration of FIG. 2(A), and may be various configurations including one or more water treatment tanks. The wastewater treatment device may have one or more water treatment tanks arbitrarily selected from a water treatment tank (impurity removal tank, etc.) for separating solids, a water treatment tank (flow rate adjustment tank, etc.) for temporarily storing water, a water treatment tank (impurity removal tank, anaerobic filter bed tank, etc.) for performing anaerobic treatment, and a water treatment tank (contact filter bed tank, carrier flow tank, etc.) for performing aerobic treatment. Sensors (also called target sensors) used in the monitoring process may be provided in various water treatment tanks. An alarm device (for example, alarm server 300 or alarm device 300B) may execute the monitoring process (FIG. 4) using result information representing sensor results, which are detection results or measurement results by various target sensors.

[0164] The wastewater treatment device 500 (FIG. 2(A)) may have the following sensor 50b. As described above, the wastewater treatment device 500 includes a membrane separation device 510 having a membrane (here, a membrane module 510m) for filtering water, a suction pump 520 for sucking water filtered by the membrane separation device 510 from the membrane separation device 510, a connecting pipe 515 for connecting the membrane separation device 510 and the suction pump 520, and a power cable 525 connected to the suction pump 520. The sensor 50b is a negative pressure sensor for measuring the negative pressure in the connecting pipe 515. The target sensor may include the negative pressure sensor 50b. The malfunction condition CD associated with the measurement result (here, negative pressure) of the negative pressure sensor 50b may be, for example, "the absolute value of the negative pressure is outside the allowable range." The allowable range may be a range between a lower limit and an upper limit. A negative pressure greater than the upper limit indicates the possibility of clogging of the membrane of the membrane separation device 510. A negative pressure below the lower limit indicates a possible malfunction, such as air entering the connecting tube 515 or a ruptured membrane.

[0165] The wastewater treatment device 500 may have a sensor 50c. The sensor 50c is a current sensor that measures the current supplied to the suction pump 520 by the power cable 525. The target sensor may include the current sensor 50c. A fault condition CD associated with the measurement result (here, the current) of the current sensor 50c may be "the current is equal to or greater than the pump current threshold." A current equal to or greater than the pump current threshold indicates an overload of the suction pump 520 (e.g., a possible blockage of the membrane of the membrane separation device 510).

[0166] The wastewater treatment device 500 (FIG. 2(A)) may have the following sensor 50d. As described above, the wastewater treatment device 500 includes the nitrification tank 502, which is an example of a water treatment tank, the blower 540 that supplies air to the nitrification tank 502, and the power cable 545 connected to the blower 540. The sensor 50d is a current sensor that measures the current supplied to the blower 540 by the power cable 545. The target sensor may include the current sensor 50d. The malfunction condition CD associated with the measurement result (current here) of the current sensor 50d may be "the current is equal to or greater than the blower current threshold." A current equal to or greater than the blower current threshold indicates an overload of the blower 540 (for example, a possible blockage of the air diffuser 530).

[0167] The target sensors may include sensors that detect or measure various target parameters associated with the wastewater treatment device. For example, the target sensors may include one or more sensors selected from the following sensors: (A) A sensor that detects the water level in a water treatment tank above a certain height (e.g., a float switch) (B) A sensor for measuring the water level in the water treatment tank (e.g., a radio wave water level gauge, a water pressure water level gauge) (C) A sensor that measures the temperature of the water in the wastewater treatment device (e.g., a thermocouple, thermistor, or radiation temperature sensor) (D) A sensor for measuring the pH of the water in the wastewater treatment device (e.g., a sensor having a glass electrode and a reference electrode) (E) A sensor that measures the electrical conductivity of water in a wastewater treatment device (e.g., a two-electrode sensor) (F) A sensor for measuring the oxidation-reduction potential of the water in the wastewater treatment device (e.g., a sensor having a platinum electrode and a reference electrode) (G) A sensor that measures the turbidity of water in a wastewater treatment device (e.g., a turbidity sensor using transmitted light) (H) Sensors that measure the amount of dissolved oxygen in the water in wastewater treatment equipment (e.g., diaphragm-type dissolved oxygen meter, optical dissolved oxygen meter) (I) A sensor that measures the residual chlorine concentration in the water in the wastewater treatment device (for example, a polarographic residual chlorine meter (2-electrode or 3-electrode type)) (J) A sensor for measuring the concentration of ammonia nitrogen in the water in a wastewater treatment device (e.g., an ion electrode method sensor) (K) A sensor that measures the nitrate nitrogen concentration in the water in the wastewater treatment device (e.g., an absorption photometer, an ion electrode method sensor) (L) A sensor that measures the nitrite nitrogen concentration in the water in the wastewater treatment device (e.g., an absorption photometer, an ion electrode method sensor) (M) A sensor that measures the flow rate of water per unit time in a specific flow path in a wastewater treatment device (e.g., an electromagnetic flow meter) (N) A sensor that measures odors in the space above the water surface in a water treatment tank or in the vicinity of a wastewater treatment device (for example, a tin oxide hot-wire sintered semiconductor sensor). (O) a pressure sensor that measures the pressure of the air blown by a blower (e.g., blower 540) (P) A sensor (e.g., an ammeter) that measures the current of the power supplied to a pump (e.g., the suction pump 520) that operates in conjunction with the float switch (Q) A sensor that measures the amount of light at each of a plurality of pixel positions to generate an image of a target area including the wall surface in a water treatment tank and the water surface in contact with the wall surface (e.g., an image sensor such as a charge-coupled device (CCD) or a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS)) The position of the water surface on the wall corresponds to the water level. The alarm device can obtain the position of the water surface on the wall, i.e., the water level, by analyzing the measurement results (i.e., two-dimensional images) obtained by the image sensor.

[0168] In either case, the target sensor may include a sensor that detects a specific state. The target sensor may include a sensor that measures a target parameter in three or more stages. The target sensor may include a sensor that measures a target parameter in two stages. Measuring a target parameter in two stages corresponds to detecting one of the two stages. In addition, when the target sensor measures water temperature or water quality, the water to be measured may be water in any water treatment tank included in the wastewater treatment device. Here, the water quality may be various parameters related to the water quality (for example, the measurement items (pH, etc.) shown in the above sensor type DL). When multiple target sensors that measure water temperature or water quality are used in the monitoring process, the water treatment tanks that contain the water to be measured may be different between the multiple target sensors. That is, the multiple target sensors may be provided in different water treatment tanks. Alternatively, the multiple target sensors may be provided in the same water treatment tank. When the target sensor measures a flow rate, the flow path to be measured may be any flow path included in the wastewater treatment device (for example, a flow path connected to the outlet of the suction pump 520 (FIG. 2(A))).

[0169] (2) The malfunction condition CD may be any condition that is satisfied when the wastewater treatment device to be monitored may have a malfunction. When the result information represents the detection result of a specific state, the malfunction condition CD may be that the specific state is detected, or that the specific state is not detected. For example, the malfunction condition CD may be that a water level above an upper limit is detected. Also, the malfunction condition CD may be that the time that a specific state is maintained is outside an appropriate range. For example, the malfunction condition CD may be that the daily operating time of the suction pump 520 (FIG. 2(A)) is below a threshold value.

[0170] Also, when the result information represents a measurement value measured in three or more stages, the malfunction condition CD may be that the measurement value is outside an appropriate range. The appropriate range may be various ranges such as "a range below the threshold", "a range above the threshold", "a range above the lower limit and below the upper limit". The appropriate range may be determined experimentally in advance. The appropriate range may be various ranges suitable for the type of measurement value (negative pressure, current, voltage, water temperature, pH, nitrate nitrogen concentration, flow rate per unit time, blower pressure, etc.).

[0171] Also, the fault condition CD may be configured to be determined using multiple result information of multiple sensors.

[0172] (3) The maintenance treatment may be a variety of treatments including work suitable for the wastewater treatment device. The maintenance work may include, for example, the withdrawal of water or sludge from the water treatment tank of the wastewater treatment device. The withdrawn water or sludge may be transferred to one or both of another water treatment tank of the wastewater treatment device and outside the wastewater treatment device (for example, a water treatment tank (such as a sludge storage tank) outside the wastewater treatment device).

[0173] Further, the release time TM may be set for each malfunction condition CD. For example, in S224 (FIG. 5) of the maintenance work of the wastewater treatment device 500 (FIG. 2(A)), the membrane module 510m may be cleaned using a chemical solution. In this case, when the chemical cleaning is completed, the pH of the water in the nitrification tank 502 may be out of the appropriate range due to the chemical solution. The maintenance work may further include a process of adding a neutralizing agent to the nitrification tank 502 after the chemical cleaning. After the maintenance process is completed, the pH of the water in the nitrification tank 502 gradually returns to the appropriate range due to neutralization by the neutralizing agent. Here, the target sensor may include a sensor that measures the pH of the water in the nitrification tank 502. The malfunction condition CD associated with the pH may be that the pH is out of the appropriate range. A temporary deviation of the pH from the appropriate range due to the maintenance process is not a malfunction. The release time TM associated with the pH may be set to a time sufficient for the pH to return to the appropriate range. In this way, the control mode control (for example, the mode control process in FIG. 7) may be performed for each defect condition CD. Here, the control mode setting process based on a user instruction or a terminal instruction (for example, S420 in FIG. 7 and S470 when S450: Yes) may set the control mode for all defect conditions CD. Alternatively, the control mode setting process may be performed for each defect condition CD.

[0174] Moreover, the target sensor may include the negative pressure sensor 50b (FIG. 2(A)). The maintenance process of the wastewater treatment device 500 may be performed in the same manner as in the embodiment of FIG. 7. Here, after the maintenance process is completed, the suction pump 520 does not start operating until the water level of the nitrification tank 502 returns to the second water level WL2, so the absolute value of the negative pressure may be outside the allowable range (for example, the absolute value of the negative pressure may be below the lower limit). Such a temporarily small negative pressure is not a malfunction. The release time TM associated with the negative pressure may be set to a time sufficient for the water level to rise to the second water level WL2.

[0175] The wastewater treatment device may have a flow rate adjustment tank and an aerobic treatment tank disposed downstream of the flow rate adjustment tank. The maintenance work may include stopping the transfer of water from the flow rate adjustment tank to the downstream side, transferring water from the aerobic treatment tank to the flow rate adjustment tank, and cleaning the aerobic treatment tank. In this case, the water level in the flow rate adjustment tank rises temporarily. After the maintenance process is completed, the water level in the flow rate adjustment tank gradually drops due to the start of the transfer of water from the flow rate adjustment tank to the downstream side. Here, the target sensor may include a sensor (e.g., a float switch) that detects a water level equal to or higher than the upper limit of the flow rate adjustment tank. The malfunction condition CD associated with this target sensor may be that a water level equal to or higher than the upper limit is detected. Here, a temporary rise in the water level due to the maintenance process is not a malfunction. The release time TM associated with this water level may be set to a time sufficient for the water level to drop below the upper limit.

[0176] The target sensor may include a sensor fixed at a position lower than the normal water level of the water treatment tank. The target sensor may be configured to measure a water-related parameter (e.g., any one of water temperature, pH, electrical conductivity, oxidation-reduction potential, turbidity, dissolved oxygen amount, residual chlorine concentration, and ammonia nitrogen concentration) in water. The malfunction condition CD associated with the target sensor may be that the measured value is outside the appropriate range. Here, the maintenance work may include drawing water from the target water treatment tank, which is the water treatment tank in which the target sensor is provided. The drawn water may be transferred to one or both of another water treatment tank in the wastewater treatment device and outside the wastewater treatment device. This drawing of water may cause the water level of the target water treatment tank to drop to a position lower than the position of the sensor. In this case, the measured value by the target sensor may be inappropriate until the water level rises to the position of the sensor after the maintenance process is completed. A temporary deviation of the measured value from the appropriate range due to the maintenance process is not a malfunction. The release time TM associated with this measured value may be set to a time sufficient for the water level to rise to the sensor position. After the maintenance process is completed, water may flow into the target water treatment tank from another water treatment tank in the wastewater treatment device (e.g., a water treatment tank upstream of the target water treatment tank). Water may also be supplied to the target water treatment tank from outside the wastewater treatment device (e.g., a storage tank outside the wastewater treatment device).

[0177] The maintenance process may be various processes. For example, the maintenance process may be configured to have the following configurations M1 to M3. (M1) A maintenance process causes a specific sensor result to change to a result that satisfies a failure condition. (M2) Upon completion of the maintenance process, a particular sensor result meets a fault condition. (M3) A particular sensor result changes over time after completion of a maintenance procedure to a result that does not satisfy a fault condition. Here, the release time TM associated with the specific sensor result may be configured so that the specific sensor result does not satisfy the malfunction condition after the release time TM has elapsed since the control mode was changed by the user (FIG. 5: S210). Such a release time TM may be experimentally determined in advance.

[0178] The maintenance process may be configured so that the sensor result does not satisfy the malfunction condition when the maintenance process is completed. Here, the worker may forget to change the control mode to the output mode after the maintenance process is completed. If the worker forgets to change the control mode, the alarm device (e.g., the alarm server 300 or the alarm device 300B) can automatically change the control mode to the output mode after the release time TM has elapsed.

[0179] (4) The time change authority Ab (FIG. 3(C)) may be a fixed authority that cannot be changed. The change of the time change authority Ab may be permitted for any account name AN ​​(i.e., any user identifier). The release time TM may be a fixed time that cannot be changed. For example, the change function of the release time TM (S670, S680 in FIG. 8) may be omitted from the alarm device. The release time TM may be set by a user instruction for changing the control mode to the inspection mode. For example, in S210 in FIG. 5, an operator may predict the time required for the maintenance work and input the release time TM suitable for the predicted time to the gateway 100. The processor 110 of the gateway 100 may transmit a user instruction including the input release time TM to the alarm server 300 in S350 in FIG. 6. The release time TM may be set by a user instruction for changing the control mode to the output mode.

[0180] (5) The method of outputting the alarm may be various methods. For example, the alarm device may output various electronic messages. The electronic messages may be various text messages, and may include one or more types of messages arbitrarily selected from, for example, emails, Short Message Service (SMS) messages, instant messaging messages, and messages of messaging systems for transmitting and receiving information among multiple users. The alarm device may display the alarm on a display unit (e.g., display unit 340B (FIG. 12)) of the alarm device by outputting alarm data to the display unit. The alarm device may output an alarm sound from a sound device (e.g., a device having an amplifier and a speaker) of the alarm device (not shown) by outputting alarm data to the sound device.

[0181] (6) The multiple candidate modes selectable as the control mode may include other modes in addition to the output mode and the inspection mode. Note that the suppression mode (e.g., the inspection mode), which is a mode in which an alarm is not output, can be used in various cases, not limited to when performing maintenance processing. For example, when the quality of the wastewater flowing into the wastewater treatment device changes significantly, the settings of the wastewater treatment device (e.g., the amount of water transferred from the flow rate adjustment tank, etc.) are adjusted. Here, the suppression mode may be used to make the adjustment.

[0182] (7) The process executed by the gateway 100 may be various other processes instead of the process of FIG. 6. For example, the processor 110 may execute S354 and S356 in response to receiving an acknowledgement response (also called ACKnowledgement (ACK)) of the user instruction from the alarm server 300 after transmitting the user instruction in S350. The same applies to S370, S374, and S376. The processor 310 of the alarm server 300 may change the control mode after transmitting the acknowledgement response. Furthermore, the display of the current control mode (S325, S356, S376) may be omitted. Furthermore, the user instruction transmitted by the gateway 100 may be an instruction to change the control mode from the current mode to another mode, regardless of the current control mode. Here, the control mode may be selected from an output mode and an inspection mode. Furthermore, the gateway 100 may transmit the user instruction to the alarm device in response to an operation by the user, without managing the current control mode. For example, the gateway 100 may repeat a process of determining whether or not a specific operation of the operation unit 150 (e.g., the button 151) is performed, and a process of transmitting a user instruction to an alarm device when the specific operation is performed.

[0183] (8) The configuration of the gateway 100 may be various other configurations instead of the configuration described in FIG. 1 etc. For example, an operation unit (e.g., button 151) for changing the control mode may be connected to the device interface 160. For example, the button 151 may be connected to a contact input module. Then, the processor 110 may periodically transmit result information representing the sensor result and button information representing the state of the button 151 to the alarm server 300 according to the first program P11.

[0184] (9) The second network used for communication between the gateway 100 (FIG. 1) and the alarm server 300 may include a cellular network CN and the Internet IT. For example, the cellular network CN may be connected to the Internet IT via a router (not shown). The alarm server 300 may be connected to the cellular network CN via the Internet IT. The gateway 100 may be connected to the Internet IT directly, or indirectly, via a relay device or the like, without going through the cellular network CN. In this way, the second network may include a portion common to the first network used for communication between the alarm server 300 and the terminal device 200. Alternatively, the second network may be a network independent of the first network. The alarm device 300B (FIG. 12) may be connected to the Internet IT directly, or indirectly, via a relay device or the like, without going through the cellular network CN. Furthermore, the first network used for communication between the terminal device 200 (FIGS. 1 and 12) and the alarm device (alarm server 300 (FIG. 1), alarm device 300B (FIG. 12), etc.) may include one or both of the cellular network CN and the Internet IT. The first network may be configured using a local area network without including the cellular network CN and the Internet IT.

[0185] (10) The total number of wastewater treatment devices to be monitored by one alarm device may be any number equal to or greater than 1. Here, the configuration of the wastewater treatment devices may differ for each wastewater treatment device.

[0186] (11) The result information acquired by an alarm device (e.g., the alarm server 300, the alarm device 300B) may be various information representing the sensor result, which is the detection result or measurement result by the target sensor. For example, the result information data may be binary data, or alternatively, text data.

[0187] (12) Information representing the current sensor result provided by an alarm device (e.g., alarm server 300, alarm device 300B) to a terminal device (e.g., terminal device 200) is not limited to a web page such as graph page SC2 (FIG. 9(B)), and may be various other information. For example, the alarm device may provide text data representing the current sensor result to the terminal device.

[0188] (13) The processing executed by an alarm device (e.g., alarm server 300, alarm device 300B) may be various other processing instead of the processing in Figures 4, 7, 8, and 10. For example, the mode notification to gateway 100 (Figure 7: S430, S480) may be omitted. The function of changing administrator authority (Figure 10) may be omitted.

[0189] (14) A number of devices (e.g., computers) capable of communicating with each other via a network may each take on some of the processing functions of the alarm device, and as a whole provide the processing functions of the alarm device (a system comprising these devices corresponds to an alarm device).

[0190] In each of the above embodiments, a part of the configuration realized by hardware may be replaced by software, and conversely, a part or all of the configuration realized by software may be replaced by hardware. For example, the process of FIG. 7 may be realized by a dedicated hardware circuit such as an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC). Furthermore, the programs P11 and P12 of the gateway 100 (FIG. 1) may be integrated into one program. The function of the gateway 100 may be realized by three or more programs. The programs P31, P32, and P33 of the alarm server 300 may be integrated into one or two programs. The function of the alarm server 300 may be realized by four or more programs. The same applies to the programs P31B, P32B, and P33B of the alarm device 300B.

[0191] Furthermore, when some or all of the functions of the present disclosure are realized by a computer program, the program can be provided in a form stored in a computer-readable recording medium (e.g., a non-transitory recording medium). The program can be used in a state stored in the same or a different recording medium (computer-readable recording medium) from when it was provided. The "computer-readable recording medium" is not limited to portable recording media such as memory cards and CD-ROMs, but may also include internal storage devices within a computer, such as various ROMs, and external storage devices connected to a computer, such as a hard disk drive.

[0192] The above-mentioned examples and modifications can be combined as appropriate. The above-mentioned examples and modifications are provided to facilitate understanding of the present disclosure, and do not limit the present invention. The present invention may be modified or improved without departing from the spirit of the present invention, and the present invention includes equivalents thereof. [Explanation of symbols]

[0193] 50...first sensor, 50b...negative pressure sensor, 50c...current sensor, 50d...current sensor, 60...second sensor, 100...gateway, 100A...first gateway, 100B...second gateway, 110...processor, 115...storage device, 120...volatile storage device, 130...non-volatile storage device, 140...display unit, 150...operation unit, 151...button, 160...device interface, 180...communication interface, P11...first program, P12...second program 2 program, 200... terminal device, 210... processor (terminal processor), 215... storage device, 220... volatile storage device, 230... non-volatile storage device, 240... display unit, 250... operation unit, 280... communication interface, P2... program, 300... alarm server, 310... processor (server processor), 315... storage device, 320... volatile storage device, 330... non-volatile storage device, 380... communication interface, P31... first program, P3 2...second program, P33...third program, D31...alarm setting table, D32...gateway setting table, D33...user setting table, 300B...alarm device, 310B...processor, 315B...storage device, 320B...volatile storage device, 330B...non-volatile storage device, 340B...display unit, 350B...operation unit, 360B...device interface, 380B...communication interface, P31B...first program, P32B...second program, P3 3B...third program, 500...first wastewater treatment device, 501...denitrification tank, 502...nitrification tank, 503...treated water tank, 510...membrane separation device, 510m...membrane module, 515...connecting pipe, 520...suction pump, 525...power cable, 530...aeration device, 540...blower, 545...power cable, 591...partition wall, 592...opening, 600...second wastewater treatment device, 1000...system, 1000B...system, CN...cellular network, IT...Internet

Claims

1. A computer program for a computer that outputs an alarm indicating a malfunction of a wastewater treatment device, A result acquisition function that acquires result information representing a sensor result, which is a detection result or a measurement result by a sensor provided in the wastewater treatment device; an alarm control function that outputs an alarm when the control mode is an output mode and the sensor result satisfies a malfunction condition, and does not output the alarm when the control mode is a suppression mode even if the sensor result satisfies the malfunction condition; a suppression change function that changes the control mode from the output mode to the suppression mode in accordance with a user instruction that is an instruction by a user; an automatic change function that automatically changes the control mode from the suppression mode to the output mode in response to a lapse of a specific time from the change of the control mode by the user instruction; a transmitting function for transmitting information representative of a current sensor result to a terminal device; an output change function that changes the control mode from the suppression mode to the output mode without waiting for the specific time to elapse when a terminal instruction that is an instruction from the terminal device is received before the specific time has elapsed since the change of the control mode by the user instruction; and A computer program that enables a computer to realize the above.

2. 2. A computer program according to claim 1, comprising: The wastewater treatment device includes a water treatment tank and a flow path, The sensors include one or more types of sensors selected from a sensor for measuring odor, a sensor for detecting a water level in the water treatment tank that is equal to or higher than a predetermined height, a sensor for measuring the water level in the water treatment tank, a sensor for measuring the temperature of the water in the wastewater treatment device, a sensor for measuring the pH of the water in the wastewater treatment device, a sensor for measuring the electrical conductivity of the water in the wastewater treatment device, a sensor for measuring the oxidation-reduction potential of the water in the wastewater treatment device, a sensor for measuring the turbidity of the water in the wastewater treatment device, a sensor for measuring the amount of dissolved oxygen in the water in the wastewater treatment device, a sensor for measuring the residual chlorine concentration of the water in the wastewater treatment device, a sensor for measuring the ammonia nitrogen concentration of the water in the wastewater treatment device, a sensor for measuring the nitrate nitrogen concentration of the water in the wastewater treatment device, a sensor for measuring the nitrite nitrogen concentration of the water in the wastewater treatment device, and a sensor for measuring the flow rate of water per unit time in the flow path. Computer program.

3. A computer program according to claim 1 or 2, The wastewater treatment device comprises: A membrane separation device having a membrane for filtering water; a suction pump that draws water filtered by the membrane separation device from the membrane separation device; A connecting pipe connecting the membrane separation device and the suction pump; a power cable connected to the suction pump; Including, The sensor includes one or both of a sensor that measures a negative pressure in the connecting pipe and a sensor that measures a current supplied to the suction pump by the power cable. Computer program.

4. A computer program according to claim 1 or 2, The wastewater treatment device comprises: A water treatment tank; A blower for supplying air to the water treatment tank; a power cable connected to the blower; Including, the sensor includes one or more sensors selected from a sensor that measures a current supplied to the blower through the power cable and a sensor that measures a pressure of air discharged by the blower; Computer program.

5. 3. A computer program according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising: A computer program that causes a computer to realize a time change function that changes the specific time in accordance with a time change instruction for changing the specific time.

6. 6. A computer program according to claim 5, comprising: the time change function changes the specific time in accordance with the time change instruction associated with a user identifier having a first authority that is an authority for changing the specific time; The computer program further comprises: causing a computer to realize an authority change function of changing the first authority of the target user identifier in accordance with an authority change instruction for changing the first authority of the target user identifier; Computer program.

7. A computer program according to claim 1 or 2, The wastewater treatment device is associated with a maintenance process, the maintenance process includes a maintenance change which is a change of the control mode in response to an instruction from the user, The maintenance process includes: the sensor result is changed to a result that satisfies the malfunction condition by the maintenance process, Upon completion of the maintenance procedure, the sensor results satisfy the fault condition; The sensor result changes to a result that does not satisfy the malfunction condition over time after completion of the maintenance process. It is configured as follows: the particular time is configured such that the sensor results do not satisfy the fault condition after the particular time has elapsed since the maintenance change. Computer program.

8. A computer program according to claim 1 or 2, the sensor is connected to a communication device configured to transmit the user instruction to the computer in response to an operation by a user; The result acquisition function acquires the result information from the communication device, The computer program further causes the computer to realize an instruction acquisition function of acquiring the user instruction from the communication device. Computer program.

9. A computer program according to claim 1 or 2, outputting the alert includes outputting an electronic message representative of the alert. Computer program.

10. A computer program according to claim 1 or 2, The wastewater treatment device includes a first wastewater treatment device and a second wastewater treatment device, The sensor includes a first sensor provided in the first wastewater treatment device and a second sensor provided in the second wastewater treatment device, the result acquisition function includes a first result acquisition function that acquires first result information representing a first sensor result of the first sensor, and a second result acquisition function that acquires second result information representing a second sensor result of the second sensor, The alarm control function includes: a first alarm control function that outputs a first alarm when a first control mode is the output mode and the first sensor result satisfies a first malfunction condition, and does not output the first alarm when the first control mode is the suppression mode even if the first sensor result satisfies the first malfunction condition; a second alarm control function that outputs a second alarm when the second control mode is the output mode and the second sensor result satisfies a second malfunction condition, and does not output the second alarm when the second control mode is the suppression mode even if the second sensor result satisfies the second malfunction condition; and Including, The suppression change function is a first suppression change function that changes the first control mode from the output mode to the suppression mode in accordance with a first user instruction that is an instruction by a first user; a second suppression change function that changes the second control mode from the output mode to the suppression mode in accordance with a second user instruction that is an instruction by a second user; Including, The automatic change function a first automatic change function that automatically changes the first control mode from the suppression mode to the output mode in response to a lapse of a first specific time from a change of the first control mode by the first user instruction; a second automatic change function that automatically changes the second control mode from the suppression mode to the output mode in response to a lapse of a second specific time from the change of the second control mode by the second user instruction; and Including, The computer program further comprises: a first time change function that changes the first specific time independently of the second specific time in accordance with a first time change instruction for changing the first specific time; a second time change function that changes the second specific time independently of the first specific time in accordance with a second time change instruction for changing the second specific time; A computer program that enables a computer to realize the above.

11. An alarm device that outputs an alarm indicating a malfunction of a wastewater treatment device, a result acquiring unit that acquires result information representing a sensor result, which is a detection result or a measurement result by a sensor provided in the wastewater treatment device; an alarm control unit that outputs an alarm when the control mode is an output mode and the sensor result satisfies a malfunction condition, and does not output the alarm when the control mode is a suppression mode even if the sensor result satisfies the malfunction condition; a suppression change unit that changes the control mode from the output mode to the suppression mode in accordance with a user instruction that is an instruction by a user; an automatic change unit that automatically changes the control mode from the suppression mode to the output mode in response to a lapse of a specific time from the change of the control mode in response to the user instruction; a transmitter for transmitting information representative of a current sensor result to a terminal device; an output change unit that changes the control mode from the suppression mode to the output mode without waiting for the specific time to elapse when a terminal instruction that is an instruction from the terminal device is received before the specific time has elapsed since the change of the control mode by the user instruction; An alarm device comprising:

12. An alarm method for outputting an alarm indicating a malfunction of a wastewater treatment device, comprising: A result acquisition step of acquiring result information representing a sensor result, which is a detection result or a measurement result by a sensor provided in the wastewater treatment device; an alarm control step of outputting an alarm when the control mode is an output mode and the sensor result satisfies a malfunction condition, and not outputting the alarm when the control mode is a suppression mode even if the sensor result satisfies the malfunction condition; a suppression change process of changing the control mode from the output mode to the suppression mode in accordance with a user instruction that is an instruction by a user; an automatic change process of automatically changing the control mode from the suppression mode to the output mode in response to a lapse of a specific time from the change of the control mode in response to the user instruction; a transmitting step of transmitting information representative of the current sensor result to a terminal device; an output changing step of changing the control mode from the suppression mode to the output mode without waiting for the specific time to elapse when a terminal instruction that is an instruction from the terminal device is received before the specific time has elapsed since the change of the control mode by the user instruction; The alarm method comprises:

13. A computer program for a computer of a communication device, comprising: The communication device includes: a display configured to display information; An operation unit configured to be operated by a user; a device interface configured to connect a sensor provided in the wastewater treatment device; Equipped with The computer program comprises: A first transmission function that transmits result information representing a sensor result, which is a detection result or a measurement result by the sensor connected to the device interface, to an alarm device that outputs an alarm indicating a malfunction of the wastewater treatment device; a display control function for displaying on the display unit a control mode for controlling the alarm by the alarm device, the control mode being selected from a plurality of modes including an output mode for outputting an alarm when the sensor result satisfies a malfunction condition, and a suppression mode for not outputting the alarm even when the sensor result satisfies the malfunction condition; and a second transmission function that transmits a user instruction for changing the control mode to the alarm device in response to an operation of the operation unit; This is realized on a computer. The display control function includes: displaying the changed control mode on the display unit in response to a response from the alarm device to the user instruction; When the control mode is changed by the alarm device independently of the user instruction, the changed control mode is displayed on the display unit in response to a notification transmitted by the alarm device. Computer program.

14. A communication device, comprising: a display configured to display information; An operation unit configured to be operated by a user; a device interface configured to connect a sensor provided in the wastewater treatment device; A first transmission unit that transmits result information representing a sensor result, which is a detection result or a measurement result by the sensor connected to the device interface, to an alarm device that outputs an alarm indicating a malfunction of the wastewater treatment device; a display control unit that causes the display unit to display a control mode for controlling the alarm by the alarm device, the control mode being selected from a plurality of modes including an output mode that outputs an alarm when the sensor result satisfies a malfunction condition, and a suppression mode that does not output the alarm even if the sensor result satisfies the malfunction condition; and a second transmission unit that transmits a user instruction for changing the control mode to the alarm device in response to an operation of the operation unit; Equipped with The display control unit is displaying the changed control mode on the display unit in response to a response from the alarm device to the user instruction; When the control mode is changed by the alarm device independently of the user instruction, the changed control mode is displayed on the display unit in response to a notification transmitted by the alarm device. Communications equipment.

15. 1. A system comprising: A sensor provided in the wastewater treatment device; A communication device; An alarm device that outputs an alarm indicating a malfunction of the wastewater treatment device; Equipped with The communication device includes: An operation unit configured to be operated by a user; a device interface to which the sensor is connected; a first transmission unit that transmits result information representing a sensor result, which is a detection result or a measurement result by the sensor connected to the device interface, to the alarm device; Equipped with The alarm device comprises: a result acquisition unit that acquires the result information representing the sensor result; an alarm control unit that outputs an alarm when the control mode is an output mode and the sensor result satisfies a malfunction condition, and does not output the alarm when the control mode is a suppression mode even if the sensor result satisfies the malfunction condition; Equipped with The communication device further comprises: a second transmission unit that transmits a user instruction for changing the control mode to the alarm device in response to an operation of the operation unit, The alarm device further comprises: a suppression change unit that changes the control mode from the output mode to the suppression mode in accordance with the user instruction; an automatic change unit that automatically changes the control mode from the suppression mode to the output mode in response to a lapse of a specific time from the change of the control mode in response to the user instruction; a transmitter for transmitting information representative of a current sensor result to a terminal device; an output change unit that changes the control mode from the suppression mode to the output mode without waiting for the specific time to elapse when a terminal instruction that is an instruction from the terminal device is received before the specific time has elapsed since the change of the control mode by the user instruction; Equipped with system.

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