Device, terminal management system, and program

Abstract

To restrict an increase in traffic between a cloud server and a device, and determine theft.SOLUTION: A device includes a communication unit (communication unit 14) that communicates with another device, a memory unit (memory unit 15) that stores condition information concerning a condition of the another device acquired via the communication unit, a determination unit (control unit 11) that determines whether the another device is turned offline, and an assessing unit (control unit 11) that, when the determination unit determines that the another device is turned offline, assesses based on the condition information stored in the memory unit whether the another device has been stolen.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a device, a terminal management system, and a program. [Background technology]

[0002] IoT (Internet of Things) systems have been known in the past, in which devices (terminal equipment) are connected to a cloud server and the cloud server is used to manage multiple devices in an integrated manner. In such IoT systems, it is common for devices to be managed in an integrated manner by the cloud server rather than by an on-premise management server.

[0003] Patent Document 1 describes the following theft prevention method for devices: First, each device equipped with a location sensor transmits location information to a management server. Next, the management server calculates the relative distance between devices, and if the relative distance exceeds a set value, it determines that the device has been stolen. The management server then generates an alert to notify the theft. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2019-028618 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] When the theft prevention method described in Patent Document 1 is applied to an IoT system, multiple devices will be constantly sending location information to a cloud server. As a result, the communication bandwidth will be overloaded, which may lead to system failures such as temporary disconnection of communication between the device and the cloud server or inability to send user data that was originally intended to be sent.

[0006] An object of the present invention is to determine theft while limiting the increase in communication volume between the cloud server and the device. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to solve the above problems, the device according to the present invention comprises: a communication unit for communicating with other devices; a storage unit that stores status information regarding the status of other devices acquired via the communication unit; a determination unit for determining whether the other device has gone offline; a determination unit that, when the determination unit determines that the other device has gone offline, determines whether the other device has been stolen based on the status information stored in the storage unit; It has.

[0008] In order to solve the above problem, the terminal management system according to the present invention comprises: The system includes the device and a cloud server that is communicatively connected to a plurality of the devices and manages the plurality of devices.

[0009] In order to solve the above problem, the program according to the present invention comprises: a communication unit for communicating with other devices; a storage unit that stores status information regarding the status of other devices acquired via the communication unit, a determination unit for determining whether the other device has gone offline; a determination unit that, when the determination unit determines that the other device has gone offline, determines whether the other device has been stolen based on the status information stored in the storage unit; Function as. [Effects of the Invention]

[0010] According to the present invention, it is possible to determine theft while limiting the increase in the amount of communication between the cloud server and the device. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an overall configuration of a terminal management system. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of a terminal device. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of a cloud server. [Figure 4] 10 is a flowchart showing a terminal management process. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0012] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings, but the scope of the invention is not limited to the illustrated examples.

[0013] <Configuration of the terminal management system 100> FIG. 1 shows the system configuration of a terminal management system 100. As shown in FIG. 1, in a terminal management system 100, a plurality of terminal devices 1 (devices) are connected to a cloud server 2. In addition, a management terminal device 3 is connected to the cloud server 2. The devices are connected to each other via a network such as a wired LAN (Local Area Network) or a wireless LAN so that data can be communicated between them. In order to stabilize communication, it is preferable to use a wired LAN connection between the terminal devices 1. In the following description, it is assumed that the terminal devices 1 are connected via a wired LAN, but this is not limiting.

[0014] The terminal device 1 is, for example, any of various information processing terminal devices such as a surveillance camera, a temperature control device, or an IoT home appliance. The terminal devices 1 transmit and receive information to each other to determine whether or not another terminal device 1 has been stolen. Furthermore, when the terminal device 1 determines that another device has been stolen, it transmits the determination result to the cloud server 2.

[0015] The cloud server 2 is a device that manages setting information such as the frequency of communication between the terminal devices 1 and the determination results of the terminal devices 1.

[0016] The management terminal device 3 is a device that allows an administrator to connect the management terminal device 3 to the cloud server 2 to input and check setting information and check the judgment results made by the terminal device 1.

[0017] <Configuration of Terminal Device 1> FIG. 2 shows the functional configuration of the terminal device 1. As shown in FIG. 2, the terminal device 1 comprises a control unit 11, an operation unit 12, a display unit 13, a communication unit 14, and a storage unit 15, and each unit is connected by a bus.

[0018] The control unit 11 is composed of a CPU (Central Processing Unit), RAM (Random Access Memory), ROM (Read Only Memory), etc., and controls the processing operations of each unit of the terminal device 1 in an integrated manner. Specifically, the CPU reads out various processing programs stored in the ROM or storage unit 15 in response to operation signals input from the operation unit 12 or instruction signals received by the communication unit 14. Then, the CPU expands the programs in a work area formed in the RAM and performs various processes in cooperation with the programs. The control unit 11 functions as a determination unit that determines whether the other terminal device 1 has gone offline. When the control unit 11 determines that the other terminal device 1 has gone offline, the control unit 11 functions as a judgment unit that determines whether the other terminal device 1 has been stolen based on status information regarding the status of the other terminal device 1 stored in the memory unit 15.

[0019] The operation unit 12 is configured with a keyboard equipped with cursor keys, numeric input keys, and various function keys, etc., and a pointing device such as a mouse, and outputs operation signals input by key operations on the keyboard or mouse operations to the control unit 11.

[0020] The display unit 13 is configured by an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), and displays various screens based on display data input from the control unit 11.

[0021] The communication unit 14 is an interface for transmitting and receiving data to and from external devices such as other terminal devices 1 and the cloud server 2. The communication unit 14 communicates with other terminal devices 1. The communication unit 14 functions as an external communication unit that connects to a cloud server.

[0022] The storage unit 15 is configured with a hard disk or the like, and stores various data. The storage unit 15 functions as a storage unit that stores information relating to the states of other terminal devices 1. Specifically, the memory unit 15 stores information regarding user login of other terminal devices 1, information regarding power status or NIC (network interface card) communication or wired LAN (Local Area Network) connection, and information regarding device resources as status information regarding the status of other terminal devices 1.

[0023] Here, the specific operation of the communication unit 14 will be described. The communication unit 14 periodically transmits and receives log data and metrics data (status information) of other terminal devices 1 based on a set communication frequency, for example, as follows, and accumulates the data in the storage unit 15. The data accumulated in the storage unit 15 is retained for a set data retention period. Wired LAN connection status with the communication target terminal device 1 Connection status between the communication target terminal device 1 and the cloud server 2 Login status to terminal device 1 (login or logout information, logged-in user information) Terminal device 1 resource information (CPU usage, memory usage, usage, NIC communication volume) Terminal device 1 power status

[0024] Furthermore, setting information regarding communication between terminal devices 1 is managed by the cloud server 2. Specifically, the administrator can use the management terminal device 3 to set setting information such as communication frequency, communication target terminal devices 1, maintenance user information, and data retention period from a management screen via the cloud server 2.

[0025] <Cloud Server 2 Configuration> FIG. 3 shows the functional configuration of the cloud server 2. As shown in FIG. 3, the cloud server 2 is configured to include a control unit 21, a communication unit 22, and a storage unit 23, and each unit is connected by a bus.

[0026] The control unit 21 is composed of a central processing unit (CPU), a random access memory (RAM), a read only memory (ROM), and the like, and controls the processing operations of each unit of the cloud server 2 in an integrated manner. Specifically, the CPU reads out various processing programs stored in the ROM or the storage unit 23 in response to an operation signal input from the operation unit 12 or an instruction signal received by the communication unit 22. Then, the CPU expands the programs in a work area formed in the RAM and performs various processes in cooperation with the programs. When a terminal device 1 determined to be stolen is reconnected to the cloud server 2, the control unit 21 functions as a communication control unit that allows only the minimum amount of data communication necessary to maintain the connection of the terminal device 1 and blocks all other data communication. The control unit 21 functions as a management unit that manages the content of communication between the communication units 14 of the terminal devices 1. Specifically, the control unit 21 manages the content of communication between the terminal devices 1 by centrally setting the above-mentioned setting information in each terminal device 1.

[0027] The communication unit 22 is an interface for transmitting and receiving data to and from other cloud servers 2 and external devices such as the cloud server 2.

[0028] The storage unit 23 is configured with a hard disk or the like, and stores various data. Specifically, the storage unit 23 stores setting information such as communication frequency, communication target terminal device 1, maintenance user information, and data retention period.

[0029] <Device management processing> The terminal management process executed in the terminal device 1 (terminal device 1A) will be described with reference to FIG. It is assumed that the cloud server 2 has set the above-mentioned setting information in each of the terminal devices 1 (terminal device 1A, terminal device 1B, terminal device 1C). Also, it is assumed that communication between the terminal device 1C and the cloud server 2 is disconnected. Also, it is assumed that the terminal devices 1 (terminal device 1A, terminal device 1B, terminal device 1C) are installed at the same installation site, as indicated by the dashed dotted line in FIG.

[0030] First, the control unit 11 of the terminal device 1A transmits and receives information to and receives information from other terminal devices (terminal device 1B, terminal device 1C) via the communication unit 14, and determines whether communication has been interrupted (step S1). Specifically, the control unit 11 periodically refers to the data stored in the storage unit 15 (log data and metrics data of terminal device 1B and terminal device 1C), and detects that the connection between one or more terminal devices 1 at the installation site and the cloud server 2 has been interrupted for a certain period of time. When the control unit 11 detects that the communication has been disconnected (step S1; YES), the control unit 11 advances the terminal management process to step S2. In this embodiment, the control unit 11 detects that the communication between the terminal device 1C and the cloud server 2 has been disconnected. If a communication disconnection has not been detected (step S1; NO), the control unit 11 advances the terminal management process to step S1.

[0031] Next, the control unit 11 determines whether or not a determination condition, which will be described later, is satisfied (step S2). If the determination condition is not met (step S2; NO), the control unit 11 advances the terminal management process to step S3. If the determination condition is met (step S2; YES), the control unit 11 advances the terminal management process to step S4.

[0032] Here, the determination conditions will be explained. The determination condition is a condition for determining that, when communication between the terminal device 1 and the cloud server 2 is cut off, the cut off is due to a cause other than theft. Specifically, the determination condition is whether the following conditions are met within a predetermined time range before communication with the terminal device 1 (terminal device 1C) is disconnected. If none of the following conditions is met, the control unit 11 determines that the theft has occurred. The login user of terminal device 1 (terminal device 1C) is a maintenance user who has been set up in advance. -Whether the power status of terminal device 1 (terminal device 1B, terminal device 1C), NIC communication, or wired LAN connection was simultaneously disconnected on multiple terminal devices 1 - Whether there was an abnormality in the device resource information of terminal device 1 (terminal device 1C) (the amount of change is larger than before and / or the value exceeds the specified range)

[0033] Next, the control unit 11 transmits the determination result that the terminal device 1 (here, the terminal device 1C) has been stolen to the cloud server 2 via the communication unit 14 (step S3). After transmitting the message, the control unit 11 ends the terminal management process.

[0034] Furthermore, the control unit 11 transmits (notifies) the determination result of the satisfied determination condition to the cloud server 2 via the communication unit 14 (step S3). After transmitting the result, the control unit 11 ends the terminal management process. Specifically, the determination result of the satisfied determination condition is as follows: If a maintenance user logs in, a notification will be sent stating that communication has been disconnected for maintenance (offline state due to maintenance). If the power status or NIC communication is disconnected for multiple devices at the same time, an error will be reported at the installation site. If there is an abnormality in the device resource information, a notification is sent that there is a possibility of a failure in the terminal device 1 (abnormality in the terminal device 1). If multiple conditions are met, the control unit 11 transmits multiple determination results.

[0035] The control unit 21 of the cloud server 2 acquires the determination result from the terminal device 1 via the communication unit 22. Thereafter, the control unit 21 transmits the determination result to the management terminal device 3 via the communication unit 22. The administrator can check the determination result using the management terminal device 3.

[0036] <Other> Although the terminal management process executed in the terminal device 1A has been described above, the terminal devices 1 (terminal device 1A, terminal device 1B, terminal device 1C) communicate with each other in the terminal management system 100. Therefore, the same terminal management process is also executed in the terminal device 1B. In this case, the same determination result as that of the terminal management process executed on the terminal device 1A will be sent to the cloud server 2. However, the control unit 21 of the cloud server 2 can combine the same determination results into one and send it to the management terminal device 3, thereby preventing duplication of determination results.

[0037] In addition, when a terminal device 1 determined to be stolen is reconnected to the cloud server 2, the control unit 21 of the cloud server 2 may allow only the minimum amount of data communication necessary to maintain the device connection, and block other data communication. The minimum data communication is, for example, data such as "device identification data" to confirm the connection between the device and the cloud. In addition, when the administrator sends information from the management terminal device 3 to the cloud server 2 approving the connection between the terminal device 1 determined to be stolen and the cloud server 2, the data communication that was blocked will be restored to normal.

[0038] <Effects> As described above, the device (terminal device 1) has a communication unit (communication unit 14) that communicates with other devices, a memory unit (memory unit 15) that stores status information regarding the status of other devices obtained through the device intercommunication unit, a judgment unit (control unit 11) that determines whether the other devices have gone offline, and a judgment unit (control unit 11) that, when the judgment unit determines that the other devices have gone offline, determines whether the other devices have been stolen based on the status information stored in the memory unit. This makes it possible to determine theft while limiting the increase in communication volume between the cloud server and the device.

[0039] Furthermore, the communication unit (communication unit 14) communicates with other devices using a wired LAN. This allows for stable communication and makes it possible to determine whether the device has been stolen.

[0040] The device (terminal device 1) also includes an external communication unit (communication unit 14) that connects to the cloud server 2, and the external communication unit notifies the cloud server 2 of the determination result by the determination unit. This allows the administrator to check the results of the judgment.

[0041] Furthermore, the terminal management system 100 is a terminal management system 100 that manages devices by connecting multiple devices (terminal devices 1) to a cloud server 2, and is equipped with a communication control unit (control unit 21) that, when a device (terminal device 1) that has been determined to be stolen is reconnected to the cloud server 2, allows only the minimum amount of data communication necessary to maintain the connection of the device (terminal device 1) and blocks all other data communication. This prevents the terminal device 1 from being misused.

[0042] The cloud server 2 of the terminal management system 100 also includes a management unit (control unit 21) that manages the content of communication by the communication unit (communication unit 14). The management unit (control unit 21) manages information such as the frequency of information transmission and reception between devices, communication target devices, maintenance user information, and data retention period. Therefore, a plurality of terminal devices 1 can be managed in an integrated manner.

[0043] The program also causes the computer of the device, which has a communication unit (communication unit 14) that communicates with other devices and a memory unit (memory unit 15) that stores status information regarding the status of the other devices acquired via the communication unit, to function as a judgment unit (control unit 11) that determines whether the other devices have gone offline, and as a judgment unit (control unit 11) that, when the judgment unit determines that the other devices have gone offline, determines whether the other devices have been stolen based on the status information stored in the memory unit. This makes it possible to determine theft while limiting the increase in communication volume between the cloud server and the device.

[0044] The description in the above embodiment is an example of the terminal management system 100 according to the present invention, and is not limited to this. The detailed configuration and detailed operation of each part constituting the terminal management system 100 can also be changed as appropriate within the scope that does not deviate from the spirit of the present invention.

[0045] In the above explanation, an example has been disclosed in which a ROM, hard disk, etc. is used as a computer-readable medium storing a program for executing each process, but this is not limiting. Other computer-readable media may also be used, such as non-volatile memory such as flash memory, or portable recording media such as CD-ROM. Furthermore, a carrier wave may also be used as a medium for providing program data via a communication line. [Explanation of symbols]

[0046] 100 Terminal Management System 1. Terminal equipment 11 Control unit (judgment unit, determination unit) 12 Control section 13 Display section 14. Communications Department (External Communications Department) 15 Storage section 2. Cloud Server 21 Control unit (communication control unit, management unit) 22 Communications Department 23 Memory section 3. Management terminal

Claims

1. a communication unit for communicating with other devices; a storage unit that stores status information regarding the status of other devices acquired via the communication unit; a determination unit for determining whether the other device has gone offline; a determination unit that, when the determination unit determines that the other device has gone offline, determines whether the other device has been stolen based on the status information stored in the storage unit; A device having

2. 2. The device according to claim 1, wherein the storage unit stores, as the state information, information about user logins of other devices, information about power states, NIC (network interface card) communication, or wired LAN (Local Area Network) connections, and information about device resources.

3. 3. The device according to claim 2, wherein the determination unit determines that the device has not been stolen when information relating to a login of a preset maintenance user is stored in the storage unit as the status information.

4. The device according to claim 2, characterized in that the determination unit determines that the device is not theft if abnormalities occur simultaneously in multiple other devices based on power supply status, NIC communication, or wired LAN connection connection information.

5. The device according to claim 2 , wherein the determination unit determines that the device has not been stolen when there is a change of a predetermined value or more based on device resource information of the other device.

6. The determination unit When information regarding the login of a preset maintenance user is stored in the storage unit as the status information, If multiple other devices are experiencing an abnormality at the same time based on the power status, NIC communication, or wired LAN connection information, If there is a change greater than the default value based on the device resource information of other devices, The device according to claim 2 , wherein if none of the above conditions is met, the device is determined to be stolen.

7. The device according to claim 1 , wherein the communication unit communicates with other devices using a wired LAN.

8. Equipped with an external communication unit that connects to a cloud server, The device according to claim 1 , wherein the external communication unit notifies the cloud server of the determination result by the determination unit.

9. A terminal management system comprising: the device according to claim 1 ; and a cloud server that is communicatively connected to a plurality of the devices and manages the plurality of devices.

10. The cloud server The terminal management system of claim 9, further comprising a communication control unit that, when a device determined to be stolen is reconnected to the cloud server, allows only the minimum amount of data communication necessary to maintain the device's connection and blocks all other data communication.

11. the cloud server includes a management unit that manages communication content of the communication unit; The terminal management system according to claim 9, wherein the management unit manages information on the frequency of information transmission and reception between devices, communication target devices, maintenance user information, and data retention period.

12. a communication unit for communicating with other devices; a storage unit that stores status information regarding the status of other devices acquired via the communication unit, a determination unit for determining whether the other device has gone offline; a determination unit that, when the determination unit determines that the other device has gone offline, determines whether the other device has been stolen based on the status information stored in the storage unit; A program that functions as a

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