Remote monitoring device

Abstract

To properly calculate the actual number of apparatuses to be monitored, even when a part of authority related to the use of a monitoring service related to apparatuses is transferred from an organization being a contract entity of the monitoring service to another organization.SOLUTION: A remote monitoring server 30 acquires a first number of apparatuses to be monitored that is the number of projectors 10 for which a first organization being a contract entity of a remote monitoring service has management authority, a second number of apparatuses to be monitored that is the number of projectors 10 for which the first organization has management authority and reference authority, and a number of apparatuses to be commonly monitored that is the number of projectors 10 for which both the first organization and another organization have the management authority, reference authority, or second monitoring authority. The remote monitoring server 30 subtracts the number of apparatuses to be commonly monitored from the total of the first number of apparatuses to be monitored and the second number of apparatuses to be monitored, to calculate the number of apparatuses to be monitored by the first organization.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a remote monitoring device. [Background technology]

[0002] There are known management devices that provide a monitoring service that monitors the operating status of multiple projectors connected via a network. For example, the management device disclosed in Patent Document 1 divides multiple projectors into groups based on their location information. The management device displays the installation locations of the projectors in groups on a map. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2012-15832 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The monitoring services provided by conventional management devices are generally contracted on an organizational basis, such as a company, etc. This contract often specifies an upper limit on the number of projectors that can be monitored. However, the organization that enters into the contract and receives the service may delegate some of its authority over the projector monitoring service to a separate organization, such as a subsidiary or agency, with which it has an alliance. When some of the authority over the monitoring service is delegated to a separate organization in this way, there is a possibility that the maximum number of units stipulated in the contract may be exceeded. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] A remote monitoring device according to one aspect of the present disclosure is a remote monitoring device that provides a service for viewing monitoring results of the status of one or more devices to an organization that is a contract subject of the service and an organization that the organization has approved to use the service, and includes a management unit that manages: contracted unit number information that associates organization identification information that identifies each of multiple organizations, including a first organization, that are contract subjects of the service with a contracted unit number, which is the number of devices to be monitored; authority information that associates, with the device identification information that identifies each of the one or more devices, a first organization identification information having a first authority that allows viewing information about the device identified by the device identification information, and a second organization identification information having a second authority that allows registration to or deletion from the service and viewing monitoring results via the service, or a third authority that does not allow registration to or deletion from the service but allows viewing monitoring results via the service; and related organization information that associates, with the second organization identification information, a third organization identification information that identifies the organization that granted the second authority or the third authority to the organization indicated by the second organization identification information. an output unit that outputs confirmation information regarding the result of confirming the number of devices to be monitored under a contract by the first organization, wherein the output unit executes the following operations: using the contract number information to obtain the contract number corresponding to organization identification information that identifies the first organization; using the related organization information to obtain second organization identification information associated with third organization identification information that indicates the first organization; obtaining, in the authority information, a first monitored number that is the number of device identification information associated with the organization identification information that identifies the first organization; a second monitored number that is the number of device identification information associated with the obtained second organization identification information; and a common monitored number that is the number of device identification information associated with the organization identification information that identifies the first organization and is also associated with the obtained second organization identification information; calculating the monitored number of the first organization by subtracting the common monitored number from the sum of the first monitored number and the second monitored number; and if the monitored number of the first organization exceeds the contracted number, including in the confirmation information a message regarding a contract violation. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0006] [Figure 1] 1 is a block diagram showing an example configuration of a remote monitoring system 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a remote monitoring server 30. [Figure 3] FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of an organization that receives a monitoring service. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the data structure of a contract table TBL1. [Figure 5A] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the data structure of an authority table TBL2. [Figure 5B] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing another example of the data structure of the authority table TBL2. [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the data structure of a related organization table TBL3. [Figure 7] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the data structure of a log table TBL4. [Figure 8] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the data structure of a viewing permission table TBL5. [Figure 9] 10 is a flowchart showing a process flow in a monitoring method executed by an output unit 323. [Figure 10] 10 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing in a management method according to Modification 2. [Figure 11] 13 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing in a management method according to Modification 3. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0007] Preferred embodiments of the present disclosure will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Note that the dimensions and scale of each part in the drawings may differ from the actual dimensions and are shown schematically to facilitate understanding. Furthermore, the scope of the present disclosure is not limited to these embodiments unless otherwise specified in the following description to the effect that the present disclosure is limited. 1. Embodiment 1-1. Overview of the remote monitoring system 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a remote monitoring system 100 according to an embodiment. The remote monitoring system 100 is a system that monitors the states of a plurality of projectors.

[0008] The remote monitoring system 100 includes multiple projectors 10[1], 10[2], ... 10[j], ... 10[n], multiple user terminals 20[1], 20[2], ..., and a remote monitoring server 30. Here, "n" is an integer of 2 or greater, and "j" is an arbitrary integer greater than or equal to 1 and less than n.

[0009] The remote monitoring server 30 communicates with multiple projectors 10[1], 10[2], ... 10[j], ... 10[n] and multiple user terminals 20[1], 20[2], ... via a communication network NW. The remote monitoring server 30 provides a monitoring service that monitors the status of the projectors. The remote monitoring server 30 is operated by a monitoring service provider. The provider provides the monitoring service to organizations such as corporations with which it has entered into a contract. The content of the monitoring service relates to the status of the projector, and may include, for example, the date and time the power was turned on or off, the operating time, and any malfunctions. The malfunctions may also include identifying the cause of a malfunction, such as a malfunction of the light source or LCD panel. The remote monitoring server 30 collects logs related to the operation of the projector 10[j] by communicating with the projector 10[j]. The remote monitoring server 30 is an example of a remote monitoring device. The projector 10[j] is an example of a device.

[0010] The user terminals 20[1], 20[2]... are terminals used by personnel in the organization receiving the monitoring service, and may be configured as personal computers, smartphones, tablet terminals, etc. The user terminals 20[1], 20[2]... can receive various notifications, such as monitoring reports, from the remote monitoring server 30. The user terminals 20[1], 20[2]... can access the remote monitoring server 30 to check the status of projectors operating within the organization.

[0011] The projector 10[j] includes an image processing circuit, a light source, a light modulation device, and a projection optical system. The image processing circuit controls the driving of the light modulation device based on input information. The light source includes, for example, a halogen lamp, a xenon lamp, an ultra-high pressure mercury lamp, an LED (Light Emitting Diode), or a laser light source, and emits red, green, and blue light, respectively. The light modulation device includes three light modulation elements corresponding to red, green, and blue. Each of the three light modulation elements is a display panel, such as a transmissive liquid crystal panel, a reflective liquid crystal panel, or a DMD (Digital Mirror Device). The three light modulation elements modulate the red, green, and blue light, respectively, based on a signal from the image processing circuit to generate image light of each color. These image light of each color is combined by a color combining optical system to generate full-color image light. The projection optical system is an optical system including a projection lens, etc., and projects the full-color image light onto a projection target.

[0012] 1-2.Remote monitoring server 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the remote monitoring server 30. The remote monitoring server 30 includes a storage device 31, a processing device 32, a communication device 33, a display device 34, and an input device 35. These are connected to each other so that they can communicate with each other.

[0013] The storage device 31 is a device that stores programs such as an operating system and application programs executed by the processing device 32, and data processed by the processing device 32. The storage device 31 includes, for example, a hard disk drive or a semiconductor memory. Note that part or all of the storage device 31 may be a storage device external to the remote monitoring server 30, or may be provided in an external device such as a server connected to the remote monitoring server 30 via a communication network such as the Internet.

[0014] The storage device 31 stores a control program P for executing the monitoring service, a contract table TBL1, an authority table TBL2, an associated organization table TBL3, a log table TBL4, and a viewing permission table TBL5.

[0015] The processing device 32 has the function of controlling each part of the remote monitoring server 30 and the function of processing various data. The processing device 32 includes, for example, a processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit). The processing device 32 may be configured with a single processor or multiple processors. Furthermore, some or all of the functions of the processing device 32 may be realized by hardware such as a DSP (Digital Signal Processor), ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), PLD (Programmable Logic Device), or FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array).

[0016] The communication device 33 is a device that can communicate with the projector 10[j], the user terminals 20[1], 20[2], . . .

[0017] The display device 34 displays various images under the control of the processing device 32. The display device 34 is a device including various display panels such as a liquid crystal display panel and an organic EL (electro-luminescence) display panel.

[0018] The input device 35 is an input device that accepts operations from a user. Note that the input device 35 is not limited to a touch panel, and may be, for example, a touch pad provided separately from the display device 34 or a pointing device such as a mouse.

[0019] The processing device 32 reads out the control program P stored in the storage device 31. The processing device 32 implements various functions by executing the read control program P. Specifically, by executing the control program P, the processing device 32 functions as an acquisition unit 321, a management unit 322, an output unit 323, and a notification unit 324.

[0020] The acquisition unit 321 controls the operation of the communication device 33 to acquire a log from the projector 10[j] connected to the remote monitoring server 30. The acquired log is stored in a log table TBL4 by the management unit 322.

[0021] The management unit 322 manages the contract table TBL1, the authority table TBL2, the related organization table TBL3, the log table TBL4, and the access permission table TBL5 stored in the storage device 31.

[0022] The monitoring service in this embodiment is provided to organizations that have entered into a free-of-charge contract with the provider, organizations that have entered into a paid contract with the provider, and organizations designated by the organizations that have entered into a paid contract with the provider and that have entered into a free-of-charge contract with the provider. In the first embodiment, it is assumed that the organizations receiving the monitoring service include the organizations shown in FIG. 3. The organizations shown in FIG. 3 are Company A, Branch α, which is a branch of Company A, Agency B, and Incorporated School C. Branch α and Agency B are organizations related to Company A. Incorporated School C is a customer of Company A. In this embodiment, one of the projectors 10[j] is delivered or rented by Company A to Incorporated School C. The provider providing the monitoring service has entered into a free-of-charge contract with Incorporated School C regarding the monitoring service. This free-of-charge contract does not include a contracted number, which is the number of projectors to be monitored. By entering into this free-of-charge contract with the provider, Incorporated School C is granted free authorization for the monitoring service. The provider providing the monitoring service has entered into a paid-for contract with Company A regarding the monitoring service. This paid-for contract includes a contracted number, which is the number of projectors to be monitored. By entering into this paid contract with the provider, Company A is granted paid authority to provide monitoring services.

[0023] The free rights regarding the monitoring service include a first registration right to register and delete projectors managed by an organization that can use the monitoring service, and a first monitoring right to allow the organization to view first information regarding projectors registered by the organization that can use the monitoring service. The paid rights for the monitoring service include the above-mentioned free rights, a second registration right to register and delete subordinate organizations managed by an organization that can use the monitoring service, a third registration right to register and delete projectors managed by subordinate organizations by an organization that can use the monitoring service, a second monitoring right to allow an organization that can use the monitoring service to view second information about projectors registered by the organization, a right to allow an organization that can use the monitoring service to view second information about projectors managed by subordinate organizations by the organization that can use the monitoring service, and a reference right to allow an organization that can use the monitoring service to reference second information about projectors managed by organizations designated by the organization that can use the monitoring service. The second information about the projector is a different type of information from the first information about the projector. For example, the first information about the projector is information about the operating status of the projector, and the second information about the projector is information about technical service for the projector. The second information about the projector may be more detailed information than the first information about the projector. For example, the first information about the projector is the name or identification code of an abnormality that occurred in the projector, and the second information about the projector is the history of the light source current or the measurement history of the sensor when the abnormality occurred in the projector. In the following description, the authority having registration authority and use authority will be referred to as management authority. Management authority is an example of the first authority. Second monitoring authority is an example of the second authority. Reference authority is an example of the third authority.

[0024] Company A is the subject of a paid contract for the monitoring service and has paid authority. Company A registers Branch α and Agency B as subordinate organizations as organizations managed by Company A. Company A also grants Branch α and Agency B second monitoring authority regarding the projectors managed by each of them, and Company A has third registration authority to register and delete projectors managed by Branch α and Agency B, and authority to view second information regarding the projectors managed by Branch α and Agency B. Therefore, Branch α and Agency B are organizations that Company A, the subject of a paid contract for the monitoring service, has authorized to view second information regarding the projectors managed by Branch α and Agency B. Company A is an example of a first organization that is the subject of a paid contract. Branch α and Agency B are examples of organizations that have authorized to view second information regarding the projectors managed by Branch α and Agency B. For example, if the organization is a branch office, the upper organization (also called the parent organization) is the company to which the branch office belongs, and the lower organization is the branch office. For example, if the organization is a research and development department, the parent organization is the company to which the research and development department belongs, and the lower organization is the research and development department. For example, if the organization is an organization to which work is outsourced, the parent organization is the organization that outsources the work, and the lower organization is the organization to which the work is outsourced. Furthermore, Company A grants School Corporation C second monitoring authority over the projector managed by School Corporation C, and Company A has the right to view the second information about the projector managed by School Corporation C. School Corporation C is also an example of an organization that allows the first organization to view the second information about the projector managed by School Corporation C.

[0025] In this way, with the monitoring service, the second information can be viewed not only by the organization that is the subject of the paid contract, but also by organizations that the organization that is the subject of the paid contract has authorized to use the second monitoring authority. In the following explanation, information that identifies each of multiple organizations, including the first organization that is the subject of the paid contract, will be referred to as organization identification information.

[0026] FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the data structure of contract table TBL1. Contract table TBL1 associates the name of the contracting organization that is the subject of a paid contract with a vendor, the organization identification information of that organization, and the contracted number, which is the number of projectors to be monitored. In the example shown in FIG. 4, the contracting organization name [Company A], organization identification information [C001], and contracted number

[1000] are associated. Therefore, by referring to contract table TBL1, it can be seen that Company A can receive monitoring services up to a maximum of 1000 units. Contract table TBL1 is an example of contracted number information. In this embodiment, branch office α, agency B, and school corporation C are not the subject organizations of paid contracts with vendors, so contract table TBL1 does not include information about branch office α, agency B, and school corporation C.

[0027] 5A is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the data structure of the authority table TBL2. The authority table TBL2 associates device identification information, organization identification information of an organization having second monitoring authority or management authority, and organization identification information of an organization having reference authority. The organization identification information of an organization having management authority is an example of first organization identification information. The organization identification information of an organization having second monitoring authority or reference authority is an example of second organization identification information.

[0028] The device identification information is information that uniquely identifies one or more projectors 10[1], 10[2], ..., 10[j], ..., 10[n] that are the monitoring targets of the monitoring service. The device identification information may be, for example, a serial number.

[0029] In the example shown in Figure 5A, device identification information [PE3022] is associated with organization identification information [C001] with management authority and organization identification information [C001α] with second monitoring authority. [C001] is organization identification information corresponding to Company A, and [C001α] is organization identification information corresponding to Branch α. Therefore, this information means that with respect to the projector corresponding to device identification information [PE3022], Company A has management authority and Branch α has second monitoring authority, and therefore Company A and Branch α can view the second information regarding the projector.

[0030] Furthermore, device identification information [PW1100] is associated with organization identification information [C001] with management authority and organization identification information [C002] with second monitoring authority. [C002] is organization identification information corresponding to agency B. Therefore, this information means that for the projector corresponding to device identification information [PW1100], company A has management authority and agency B has second monitoring authority, and therefore company A and agency B can view the second information about the projector.

[0031] Furthermore, device identification information [PW0099] is associated with organization identification information [C003] with second monitoring authority and organization identification information [C001] with reference authority. [C003] is organization identification information corresponding to School Corporation C. Therefore, this information means that with respect to the projector corresponding to device identification information [PW0099], School Corporation C has second monitoring authority and can therefore view the second information regarding that projector. Furthermore, this information means that with respect to the projector corresponding to device identification information [PW0099], Company A has reference authority and therefore cannot delete the projector from the monitoring service, but can view the second information regarding that projector.

[0032] Fig. 5B is an explanatory diagram showing another example of the data structure of the authority table TBL2. The authority table TBL2 shown in Fig. 5B includes an authority table TBL2a that associates device identification information with organization identification information having second monitoring authority or management authority, and an authority table TBL2b that associates device identification information with organization identification information having reference authority. Furthermore, each record constituting the authority table TBL2a and the authority table TBL2b associates device identification information with organization identification information on a one-to-one basis.

[0033] 6 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the data structure of the related organization table TBL3. The related organization table TBL3 associates the organization identification information of an organization having second monitoring authority or management authority, the organization identification information of the organization that has the authority, and the organization identification information of the organization that has reference authority (reference source organization). The organization identification information of the organization having second monitoring authority or management authority is an example of second organization identification information. The organization identification information of the organization that has the authority or the organization having reference authority is an example of third organization identification information.

[0034] In the example shown in FIG. 6, the organization identification information of the parent organization that granted the second monitoring authority to the organization identification information [C001α] is [C001]. This means that the parent organization of Branch α, whose organization identification information is [C001α], is Company A, whose organization identification information is [C001]. Furthermore, the organization identification information of the outsourcing party corresponding to organization identification information [C002] is [C001]. This means that the outsourcing party of Agency B, whose organization identification information is [C002], is Company A, whose organization identification information is [C001]. Furthermore, the organization identification information of the organization that granted the reference authority corresponding to organization identification information [C003] is [C001]. This means that the reference party of School Corporation C, whose organization identification information is [C003], is Company A, whose organization identification information is [C001].

[0035] Here, among the multiple records recorded in the related organization table TBL3, a record that does not have organization identification information of a parent organization, organization identification information of a client, and no reference source indicates the organization that is the subject of a paid contract with a vendor. Furthermore, other records in which the organization identification information of the organization with management authority recorded in that record is recorded as the organization identification information of a parent organization or the organization identification information of a client indicate organizations that have been authorized by the organization that is the subject of a paid contract to view the second information. Therefore, the related organization table TBL3 is an example of related organization information that associates organization identification information that identifies the organization that is the subject of a paid contract with organization identification information that identifies the organization that has been authorized by the organization that is the subject of a paid contract to view the second information.

[0036] FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the data structure of log table TBL4. Log table TBL4 associates device identification information, date and time, and status. The status indicates the state of the projector specified by the device identification information. In the example shown in FIG. 7, the projector corresponding to device identification information [PX0001] was turned on at 15:00 on March 15, 2024, and was turned off at 16:00 on March 15, 2024. The state of the projector to be monitored can be recognized by referring to log table TBL4. The date and time and status are examples of usage information that indicate the usage status of the projector. Log table TBL4 is an example of monitoring information.

[0037] FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the data structure of the viewing permission table TBL5. The viewing permission table TBL5 associates device identification information with flag information. Flag information of "1" indicates that the monitoring results of logs, etc. are viewable, and flag information of "0" indicates that the monitoring results are not viewable. By referring to the viewing permission table TBL5, it is possible to know whether the monitoring results of the projector are viewable or not. The viewing permission table TBL5 is an example of viewing permission information.

[0038] 2 executes a monitoring method emphasizing the features of the present disclosure, thereby outputting confirmation information regarding the results of checking the number of devices to be monitored under the contract for each organization. This confirmation information includes a message regarding a contract violation when a contract violation occurs in which the number of devices to be monitored exceeds the contracted number. Details of the monitoring method executed by the output unit 323 will be made clear later.

[0039] 2 notifies the user terminal 20 used by the system administrator of the organization where the breach of contract occurred, in which the number of devices to be monitored exceeded the contracted number, by sending a message regarding the breach of contract via the communication network NW, such as by email. The system administrator who views the message using the user terminal 20 can understand that the breach of contract occurred, in which the number of devices to be monitored exceeded the contracted number.

[0040] FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing in the monitoring method executed by the output unit 323. In the following explanation, the processing for determining confirmation information related to the first organization will be explained as an example. The first organization can be selected arbitrarily, but in this example, Company A will be assumed. As shown in FIG. 9, this monitoring method includes a first acquisition process SA110, a second acquisition process SA120, a third acquisition process SA130, a calculation process SA140, and an output process SA150. The processing contents of each of the first acquisition process SA110, the second acquisition process SA120, the third acquisition process SA130, the calculation process SA140, and the output process SA150 are as follows.

[0041] In the first acquisition process SA110, the output unit 323 acquires the contracted number T corresponding to the organization identification information indicating the first organization by using the contract table TBL1. In this embodiment, the output unit 323 acquires "1000", which is the contracted number T corresponding to the organization identification information [C001] whose contracted organization name is Company A, by referring to the contract table TBL1 shown in Fig. 4.

[0042] In the second acquisition process SA120 subsequent to the first acquisition process SA110, the output unit 323 uses the related organization table TBL3 to acquire the organization identification information of the organization for which the first organization has set the second monitoring authority (the second organization identification information described above) and the organization identification information of the organization for which the first organization has the reference authority (the second organization identification information described above). Specifically, the output unit 323 uses the related organization table TBL3 to acquire the organization identification information associated with the third organization identification information indicating the first organization. In this example, the organization identification information of the first organization is [C001]. In the related organization table TBL3 shown in FIG. 6, [C001] is stored as the organization identification information of the parent organization corresponding to the organization identification information [C001α], and [C001] is stored as the organization identification information of the parent organization corresponding to the organization identification information [C002]. 6, the organization identification information of the record in which the organization identification information [C001] of the first organization is stored as the organization identification information of the organization with reference authority is [C003]. Therefore, in the second acquisition process SA120 in this embodiment, the output unit 323 acquires [C001α], [C002], and [C003] as the second organization identification information.

[0043] In a third acquisition process SA130 subsequent to the second acquisition process SA120, the output unit 323 acquires a first monitored number X, a second monitored number Y, and a commonly monitored number Z by referring to the authority table TBL2. The first monitored number X is the number of pieces of device identification information associated with organization identification information that identifies the first organization in the authority table TBL2. The second monitored number Y is the number of pieces of device identification information associated with the second organization identification information acquired in the second acquisition process SA120 in the authority table TBL2. The commonly monitored number Z is the number of pieces of device identification information associated with the organization identification information that identifies the first organization in the authority table TBL2 and also associated with the second organization identification information acquired in the second acquisition process SA120.

[0044] As shown in FIG. 5A, in the authorization table TBL2, the device identification information associated with the organization identification information [C001] of the first organization is [PX0001], [PX0002], [PE3022], and [PW1100]. Therefore, in this embodiment, in the third acquisition process SA130, the output unit 323 acquires "4" as the first number of monitored devices X. As described above, in the second acquisition process SA120 in this embodiment, [C001α], [C002], and [C003] are acquired as the second identification information. As shown in FIG. 5A, in the authorization table TBL2, the device identification information associated with the organization identification information [C001α] is [PE3022]. Furthermore, in the authorization table TBL2, the device identification information associated with the organization identification information [C002] is [PW1100]. In the authorization table TBL2, the device identification information associated with the organization identification information [C003] is [PW0099]. Therefore, in this embodiment, in the third acquisition process SA130, the output unit 323 acquires "3" as the second number of monitored devices Y. As shown in FIG. 5A, in the authorization table TBL2, the device identification information [PE3022] is associated with the organization identification information [C001] and the organization identification information [C001α]. Furthermore, in the authorization table TBL2, the device identification information [PW1100] is associated with the organization identification information [C001] and the organization identification information [C002]. Therefore, in this embodiment, in the third acquisition process SA130, the output unit 323 acquires "2" as the number of commonly monitored devices Z.

[0045] In calculation processing SA140 subsequent to the third acquisition processing SA130, the output unit 323 calculates the number of monitored devices W of the first organization by subtracting the common monitored device number Z from the sum of the first monitored device number X and the second monitored device number Y. As described above, in this embodiment, in the third acquisition processing SA130, "4" is acquired as the first monitored device number X, "3" is acquired as the second monitored device number Y, and "2" is acquired as the common monitored device number Z. Therefore, in calculation processing SA140 of this embodiment, 4 + 3 - 2 = 5 is calculated as the number of monitored devices W of the first organization. By subtracting the common monitored device number Z from the sum of the first monitored device number X and the second monitored device number Y, it is possible to avoid duplicate counting of the number of monitored devices by organizations authorized to use the monitoring service by the first organization.

[0046] In output processing SA150 subsequent to calculation processing SA140, the output unit 323 outputs confirmation information regarding the results of confirming the number of devices to be monitored under the contract for each organization to the display device 34. In output processing SA150, if the number of monitored devices W for the first organization exceeds the contracted number of devices T, the output unit 323 includes a message regarding a contract violation in the confirmation information. This message may be, for example, "The number of monitored devices exceeds the contracted number." The output of this message allows the administrative user using the remote monitoring server 30 to understand that a contract violation has occurred.

[0047] In this embodiment, the contracted number T of Company A, whose organization identification information is [C001], is 1000, and the number of projectors to be monitored W calculated by calculation process SA140 is 5. Therefore, no breach of contract occurs for Company A, and the above message is not output. In contrast, if the contracted number of projectors for Company A were 4, a breach of contract would occur. What should be noted here is that in authority table TBL2, the device identification information associated with the organization identification information [C001] of the first organization as the organization identification information of the organization having second monitoring authority or management authority is [PX0001], [PX0002], [PE3022], and [PW1100], and therefore, from the perspective of the number of projectors for which Company A has second monitoring authority or management authority, it appears that no breach of contract has occurred. In this embodiment, Company A has reference authority for the projector whose device identification information is [PW0099], so the number of projectors that Company A can actually monitor is 5, and a breach of contract occurs. This breach of contract cannot be discovered by simply counting the number of second monitoring rights or management rights held by company A, but this embodiment makes it possible to discover this breach of contract.

[0048] As described above, according to this embodiment, even if a first organization, which is a contracting entity for the monitoring service, grants second monitoring authority to another organization and allows that other organization to use the monitoring service, it is possible to calculate the exact number of projectors being monitored by the first organization and the organization authorized by the first organization to use the monitoring service. Because it is possible to calculate the exact number of projectors being monitored by the first organization and the organization authorized by the first organization to use the monitoring service, the administrative user can accurately and quickly identify contract violations in which the actual number of monitored units exceeds the contracted number. Furthermore, according to this embodiment, a message regarding the contract violation is notified to the system administrator of the organization in which a contract violation has occurred in which the number of monitored units exceeds the contracted number, so the system administrator can also understand that a contract violation in which the number of monitored units exceeds the contracted number has occurred.

[0049] 2. Transformation The above embodiment can be modified as follows. 2-1: Variation 1 The message regarding the contract violation that the output unit 323 includes in the confirmation information may be a message indicating the excess number, which is the difference between the number of monitored units of the first organization and the contracted number. For example, a specific example of the message when the excess number is 1 is the message "The number of monitored units exceeds the contracted number by 1." According to this aspect, the administrative user can quickly grasp the number of projectors whose statuses are actually being monitored by the first organization, in other words, the contracted number at the time of contract renewal.

[0050] 2-2: Variation 2 When the output unit 323 confirms that the number of monitored vehicles W of the first organization exceeds the contracted number of vehicles T, the management unit 322 may execute the management method of this modified example before the output unit 323 outputs the confirmation information. Fig. 10 is a flowchart showing the processing flow of this management method. As shown in Fig. 10, this management method includes a fourth acquisition process SA141, a fifth acquisition process SA142, a specification process SA143, and an update process SA144.

[0051] In the fourth acquisition process SA141, the management unit 322 acquires device identification information associated in the authority table TBL2 with at least one of the organization identification information identifying the first organization and the second organization identification information acquired in the second acquisition process SA120 as the organization identification information of an organization having management authority or second monitoring authority. In the fifth acquisition process SA142 subsequent to the fourth acquisition process SA141, the management unit 322 acquires usage information corresponding to the device identification information acquired in the fourth acquisition process SA141 by using the log table TBL4.

[0052] In identification processing SA143 subsequent to the fifth acquisition processing SA142, the management unit 322 generates list information in which the number of device identification information corresponding to the difference between the contracted number T and the monitored number W is arranged in ascending order of use frequency based on the usage information acquired in the fifth acquisition processing SA142, thereby identifying projectors that are used less frequently. More specifically, the management unit 322 generates the list information by reading out the number of device identification information corresponding to the difference between the contracted number T and the monitored number W from the log table TBL4 in ascending order of last operation date and time (date and time when the power was most recently turned off). For example, assuming that the contracted number T of Company A is 4 and the monitored number W of Company A is 5, in this case, the management unit 322 generates list information including one piece of device identification information. As shown in FIG. 7, the device identification information of the projector with the oldest date and time when the power was most recently turned off is [PX0002], so the management unit 322 generates list information including only one piece of device identification information [PX0002].

[0053] In an update process SA144 subsequent to the identification process SA143, the management unit 322 deletes, from the authorization table TBL2, records that include the device identification information listed in the list information generated in the identification process SA143, from among records that include the organization identification information of the first organization or the second organization identification information acquired in the second acquisition process SA120 as the organization identification information of the organization with management authority or second monitoring authority. This resolves the breach of contract. For example, if the device identification information included in the list information is [PX0002], records that include any of [C001], [C001α], [C002], and [C003] as the organization identification information of the organization with management authority or second monitoring authority and whose device identification information is [PX0002] are deleted from the authorization table TBL2. When the management method of this modification is executed, the output unit 323 may include a message regarding the contract violation, in the confirmation information, indicating that the infrequently used device has been removed from the monitoring targets, and the notification unit 324 may notify the system administrator of the organization where the contract violation occurred of the message. According to this aspect, by removing the infrequently used device from the monitoring targets, the excess of the number of monitored devices over the contracted number is resolved, so that the first organization can continue to use the monitoring service without renewing the contract.

[0054] 2-3: Variation 3 When the output unit 323 confirms that the number of monitored devices W of the first organization exceeds the contracted number of devices T, the management unit 322 may execute a management method of this modified example before the output unit 323 outputs the confirmation information. FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing in this management method. In FIG. 11, the same processes as those in FIG. 10 are assigned the same reference numerals. As is clear from comparing FIG. 11 with FIG. 10, the management method of this modified example differs from the management method of Modification Example 2 in that an update process SB144 is provided instead of the update process SA144. In the update process SB144, the management unit 322 updates the flag information stored in the access permission table TBL5 associated with the device identification information included in the list information generated in the specification process SA143 from access permitted to access prohibited, thereby maintaining the number of monitored devices equal to or less than the contracted number of devices. When the management method of this modified example is executed, the output unit 323 may include in the confirmation information a message regarding the contract violation, indicating that the monitoring results of infrequently used devices have been updated to be unavailable for viewing, and the notification unit 324 may notify the system administrator of the organization where the contract violation occurred of this message. As with the modified example 2, this aspect also resolves the situation where the number of monitored devices W exceeds the contracted number of devices T, making it possible to continue using the monitoring service without renewing the contract. Furthermore, compared to the modified example 2, when the contracted number is increased and the contract is renewed, there is no need to re-register the projectors to be monitored, which reduces the workload of users who use the system.

[0055] 2-4: Variation 4 In the above embodiment, the monitored device is a projector. However, in the present disclosure, the monitored device is not limited to a projector and may be a printer, scanner, electronic whiteboard, or digital signage. Furthermore, the control program P may be manufactured as a standalone program or provided free of charge or for a fee. Specific examples of providing the control program P include providing the control program P by writing it to a computer-readable recording medium such as a flash ROM, or providing the control program P by downloading it via a telecommunications line such as the Internet.

[0056] 3. Notes The present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiments and modifications, and can be realized in various forms without departing from the spirit thereof. For example, the present disclosure can also be realized in the following forms. The technical features in the above embodiments corresponding to the technical features in each form described below can be replaced or combined as appropriate to solve some or all of the problems of the present disclosure or to achieve some or all of the effects of the present disclosure. Furthermore, if a technical feature is not described as essential in this specification, it can be deleted as appropriate. A summary of this disclosure is provided below.

[0057] (Appendix 1) One aspect of the remote monitoring device of the present disclosure is a remote monitoring device that provides a service for viewing monitoring results of the status of one or more devices to an organization that is the subject of a contract for the service and an organization that the organization has approved to use the service, the remote monitoring device including: a management unit that manages: contracted unit number information that associates organization identification information that identifies each of a plurality of organizations, including a first organization, that are subject to the contract for the service with a contracted unit number that is the number of devices to be monitored; authority information that associates, with the device identification information that identifies each of the one or more devices, a first organization identification information having a first authority that allows viewing information about the device identified by the device identification information; a second organization identification information having a second authority that allows registration to or deletion from the service and viewing monitoring results by the service; and related organization information that associates, with the second organization identification information, a third organization identification information that identifies the organization that granted the second authority or the third authority to the organization indicated by the second organization identification information; and an output unit that outputs confirmation information regarding the result of confirming the number of devices to be monitored under a contract by the first organization, wherein the output unit executes the following operations: acquiring a contract number corresponding to organization identification information that identifies the first organization by using the contract number information; acquiring second organization identification information associated with third organization identification information that indicates the first organization by using the related organization information; acquiring, in the authority information, a first monitored number that is the number of device identification information associated with the organization identification information that identifies the first organization; a second monitored number that is the number of device identification information associated with the acquired second organization identification information; and a common monitored number that is the number of device identification information associated with the organization identification information that identifies the first organization and is also associated with the acquired second organization identification information; calculating the monitored number of the first organization by subtracting the common monitored number from the sum of the first monitored number and the second monitored number; and if the monitored number of the first organization exceeds the contracted number, including in the confirmation information a message regarding a contract violation.According to the aspect of (Supplementary Note 1), it is possible to calculate the exact number of projectors whose status is being monitored by the first organization and the organization authorized by the first organization to use the monitoring service.

[0058] (Appendix 2) In a more preferred embodiment of the remote monitoring device, when the number of monitored devices of the first organization exceeds the contracted number, the output unit outputs the message indicating that the number of monitored devices of the first organization exceeds the contracted number. According to the embodiment of (Supplementary Note 2), the user can understand that a breach of contract has occurred through the message.

[0059] (Appendix 3) In another preferred aspect of the remote monitoring device, the management unit further manages monitoring information that associates usage information indicating the usage status of each of the one or more devices with the device identification information; when the output unit confirms that the number of monitored devices of the first organization exceeds the contracted number, acquires, in the authority information, the device identification information that is associated with at least one of organization identification information that identifies the first organization and the acquired second organization identification information; acquires, by using the monitoring information, usage information corresponding to the acquired device identification information; identifies the device identification information in order of least frequently used based on the acquired usage information; and resolves the contract violation by deleting the association of the device identification information in order of least frequently used from the association in the authority information between the organization identification information of the first organization or the acquired second organization identification information and the device identification information; and the output unit includes, in the confirmation information, a message regarding the contract violation, indicating that a less frequently used device has been removed from the list of devices to be monitored. According to the aspect of (Supplementary Note 3), the first organization can continue to use the service without renewing the contract.

[0060] (Appendix 4) In another preferred aspect of the remote monitoring device, the management unit further manages viewing availability information that associates the device identification information with flag information indicating whether the monitoring results can be viewed, and manages monitoring information that associates the device identification information with usage information indicating the usage status for each of the one or more devices. When the output unit confirms that the number of monitored devices of the first organization exceeds the contracted number, the management unit acquires, in the authority information, the device identification information associated with organization identification information that identifies the first organization or the acquired second organization identification information, and uses the monitoring information to acquire usage information corresponding to the acquired device identification information. Based on the acquired usage information, the management unit identifies the device identification information in order of least frequently used, and updates the flag information paired with the device identification information identified in order of least frequently used from viewable to not viewable in the viewing availability information, thereby resolving the contract violation. The output unit includes, in the confirmation information, a message regarding the contract violation, indicating that the monitoring results of the least frequently used devices have been updated to not viewable. According to the aspect of (Supplementary Note 4), compared to the aspect of (Supplementary Note 3), there is no need to re-register the device later, and the workload of the user who uses the remote monitoring device can be reduced.

[0061] (Appendix 5) A further preferred embodiment of the remote monitoring device is the remote monitoring device described in (Supplementary Note 3) or (Supplementary Note 4), wherein the usage information indicates at least the last operation date and time for each of the one or more devices, and the management unit, specifying the device identification information in descending order of frequency of use based on the acquired usage information, specifies the device identification information in ascending order of the last operation date and time. According to the embodiment of (Supplementary Note 5), it is possible to specify the device identification information in descending order of the last operation date and time.

[0062] (Appendix 6) In a more preferred embodiment of the remote monitoring device, the output unit includes, in the confirmation information, a message regarding the breach of contract, indicating an excess number, which is the difference between the number of monitored units of the first organization and the contracted number. According to the embodiment of (Supplementary Note 6), a user of the remote monitoring device can quickly grasp the excess number. [Explanation of symbols]

[0063] 10...Projector, 20...User terminal, 30...Remote monitoring server, 31...Storage device, 32...Processing device, 33...Communication device, 34...Display device, 35...Input device, 100...Remote monitoring system, 321...Acquisition unit, 322...Management unit, 323...Output unit, 324...Notification unit, TBL1...Contract table, TBL2...Authority table, TBL3...Related organization table, TBL4...Log table, TBL5...Viewability table, P...Control program.

Claims

1. A remote monitoring device that provides a service for viewing monitoring results of the status of one or more devices to an organization that is a contract subject of the service and an organization that the organization has approved to use the service, contracted number information associating organization identification information identifying each of a plurality of organizations, including the first organization, that are contracting parties for the service with the contracted number of devices, which is the number of devices to be monitored; authority information that associates, with device identification information that identifies each of the one or more devices, first organization identification information having a first authority that allows the user to view information about the device identified by the device identification information, and second organization identification information having a second authority that allows the user to register with or delete from the service and view monitoring results obtained by the service, or a third authority that does not allow the user to register with or delete from the service but allows the user to view monitoring results obtained by the service; related organization information that associates the second organization identification information with third organization identification information that identifies an organization that has granted the second authority or the third authority to the organization indicated by the second organization identification information; and a management department that manages the an output unit that outputs confirmation information regarding the result of confirming the number of devices to be monitored that are under contract with the first organization; The output unit acquiring a contracted number of units corresponding to organization identification information that identifies the first organization by using the contracted number information; acquiring second organization identification information associated with third organization identification information indicating the first organization by using the related organization information; acquiring, from the authority information, a first monitored number which is the number of device identification information associated with organization identification information that identifies the first organization, a second monitored number which is the number of device identification information associated with the acquired second organization identification information, and a common monitored number which is the number of device identification information associated with the organization identification information that identifies the first organization and also associated with the acquired second organization identification information; calculating the number of monitored devices of the first organization by subtracting the common monitored device number from the sum of the first monitored device number and the second monitored device number; If the number of monitored devices of the first organization exceeds the contracted number, a message regarding a breach of contract is included in the confirmation information. Remote monitoring equipment.

2. The output unit If the number of monitored devices of the first organization exceeds the contracted number, the message indicates that the number of monitored devices of the first organization exceeds the contracted number. The remote monitoring device of claim 1 .

3. The management unit further managing monitoring information that associates usage information indicating a usage status with the device identification information for each of the one or more devices; when it is confirmed by the output unit that the number of monitored devices of the first organization exceeds the contracted number, acquiring the device identification information in which at least one of organization identification information identifying the first organization and the acquired second organization identification information is associated with the authority information; acquiring usage information corresponding to the acquired device identification information by using the monitoring information; Identifying device identification information in descending order of frequency of use based on the acquired usage information; resolving the breach of contract by deleting the association of the device identification information in the order of least frequent use from the association of the organization identification information of the first organization or the acquired third organization identification information with the device identification information in the authority information; The output unit The confirmation information includes, as a message regarding the contract violation, a message indicating that an infrequently used device has been deleted from the monitoring targets. The remote monitoring device of claim 1 .

4. The management unit further managing access permission information that associates the device identification information with flag information indicating whether the monitoring results can be accessed; managing monitoring information that associates usage information indicating a usage status with the device identification information for each of the one or more devices; when it is confirmed by the output unit that the number of monitored devices of the first organization exceeds the contracted number, acquiring, from the authority information, organization identification information that identifies the first organization or the device identification information associated with the acquired second organization identification information; acquiring usage information corresponding to the acquired device identification information by using the monitoring information; Identifying device identification information in descending order of frequency of use based on the acquired usage information; resolving the breach of contract by updating the flag information associated with the device identification information identified in the order of least frequent use in the accessibility information from accessible to access unaccessible; The output unit The confirmation information includes, as a message regarding the contract violation, a message indicating that the monitoring results of infrequently used devices have been updated to be unavailable for viewing. The remote monitoring device of claim 1 .

5. the usage information indicates at least the last operating date and time for each of the one or more devices; The management unit Identifying the device identification information in descending order of frequency of use based on the acquired usage information means identifying the device identification information in ascending order of last operation date and time.

5. The remote monitoring device according to claim 3 or 4.

6. The output unit a message indicating an excess number, which is the difference between the number of monitored units of the first organization and the contract number, is included in the confirmation information as a message regarding the breach of contract; The remote monitoring device of claim 1 .

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