Search support system

Abstract

To provide a technique capable of estimating a current location of a missing device without depending on user's memory or the like.SOLUTION: A search support system according to the present invention estimates a date and time when a power supply of a missing apparatus was in an ON state last time and a date when the apparatus was missing, searches an asset management database for an asset moved on the estimated date, and outputs an installation location of the asset obtained by the search as a candidate for a current location of the apparatus.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a technology for assisting in locating the current location of a device that has gone missing. [Background technology]

[0002] Assets such as computers owned by a company are managed by an asset management system. When an asset is found to be missing during an asset inventory, the means of locating the asset often relies on human means such as the user's memory. Therefore, it is not always possible to fully identify the current location of the asset, such as when the asset was lost or where it was moved, and it may take time to search for the asset, or it may not be possible to find it at all.

[0003] The following Patent Document 1 describes a technology under the theme that "The present invention relates to an asset management system for electronic devices such as printers connected to a network, wireless USB, etc., and in particular to an asset management system that automatically manages the assets of electronic devices and is capable of accurate asset management." The technology states that "an asset manager's personal computer (PC) requests asset management information transfer from asset management devices A to C in segment X and asset management device E in segment Y via router 1, and each asset management device returns information such as asset details and asset prices stored in its HDD to the asset manager's personal computer (PC). Based on the returned information, the asset manager automatically compiles and displays asset information for each segment or asset management device, allowing the asset manager to accurately grasp the asset status" (see abstract). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-287640 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] The asset management database manages the installation location of an asset, but if the asset does not exist at that installation location, the current location of the asset is not managed by the asset management database. Therefore, the current location of the asset must be estimated by some means. Conventional technologies such as those disclosed in Patent Document 1 manage assets, and in order to estimate the current location of an asset when it is lost, some other means must be taken.

[0006] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned problems, and aims to provide a technology that can estimate the current location of a missing device without relying on the user's memory, etc. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The search support system of the present invention estimates the date and time when the power of a missing device was last turned on and the date on which the device went missing, searches an asset management database for assets that were moved on the estimated date, and outputs the installation locations of the assets obtained by the search as candidates for the current location of the device. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] According to the search support system of the present invention, the current location of a missing device can be estimated without relying on the user's memory, etc. Other objects, configurations, advantages, etc. of the present invention will become clear from the description of the following embodiments. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] 1 is a configuration diagram of a search support system 1. FIG. [Figure 2] 10 is an example of a user interface provided by an agent 41 in a device 4. [Figure 3]An example of information that the agent 41 transmits to the asset management DB 11 is shown below. [Figure 4] FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram illustrating a use case in which the device 4 moves. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram illustrating a use case in which the device 4 moves. [Figure 6] 10 is an example of a record stored in the asset management DB 11. [Figure 7] 10 is an example of change history data describing the change history of the asset management DB 11. [Figure 8] An example of entry and exit record data 31 is shown. [Figure 9] An example of delivery record data 32 is shown below. [Figure 10] An example of mobile phone location information data 33 is shown below. [Figure 11] An example of surveillance camera video data 34 is shown. [Figure 12] 10 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the search support unit 12. [Figure 13] 10 is a flowchart illustrating details of step S1202. [Figure 14] 10 is a flowchart illustrating details of step S1302. [Figure 15] 10 is a flowchart illustrating details of step S1303. [Figure 16] 10 is a flowchart illustrating details of step S1304. [Figure 17] 10 is a flowchart illustrating details of step S1305. [Figure 18] 10 is an example of a user interface provided by the asset inventory system 2. [Figure 19] 10 is an example of a user interface provided by the search support unit 12. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a search support system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The search support system 1 is a system that supports searching for a device 4 when it goes missing. The device 4 is, for example, an asset such as a computer used by a user within an organization. The search support system 1 is connected to an asset inventory system 2, a monitoring system 3, and the device 4, each via a network.

[0011] The search support system 1 has an asset management database (DB) 11, a search support unit 12, and an operation terminal 13. The asset management database 11 is a database that manages the installation locations of assets (including equipment 4). The search support unit 12 supports the search by estimating the current location of equipment 4 when it goes missing. The operation terminal 13 is a terminal that allows the user to input instructions to the search support system 1 and display the processing results.

[0012] The asset inventory system 2 is a system that performs the process of inventorying assets (including equipment 4). The asset inventory system 2 includes an inventory display unit 21. The inventory display unit 21 references records stored in the asset management DB 11 to perform an inventory of assets owned by the organization and presents the results. The asset inventory system 2 may be configured integrally with the search support system 1. In this case, the asset inventory system 2 references the asset management DB 11 to obtain an asset list.

[0013] The monitoring system 3 is a system that monitors the entry and exit of people and things at a location where assets (including equipment 4) are installed. The monitoring system 3 holds entry and exit record data 31, delivery record data 32, mobile phone location information data 33, and monitoring camera video data 34. An example of the configuration of these data will be described later.

[0014] The device 4 executes an agent 41. The agent 41 is software that transmits information such as the installation location of the device 4 to the asset management DB 11. This allows the asset management DB 11 to centrally manage information such as the installation location of assets including the device 4.

[0015] 2 is an example of a user interface provided by the agent 41 in the device 4. The user inputs information such as the user name, department, installation location, and peripheral devices of the device 4 on the user interface of FIG.

[0016] 3 shows an example of information that the agent 41 transmits to the asset management DB 11. In addition to the information input by the user in the user interface of FIG. 2, the agent 41 transmits the following information: (a) information specifying the network segment to which the device 4 is connected, which can be described, for example, by a pair of an IP address and a subnet mask; (b) the date and time when the device 4 is powered on; and (c) the date and time when the device 4 is powered off. (b) and (c) may be transmitted each time the device is powered on / off, or, for example, a transmission interval may be set in advance, and the current power on / off state of the device 4 and the date and time may be transmitted at each transmission interval.

[0017] 4 and 5 are schematic diagrams illustrating a use case in which device 4 is moved. Here, we consider a case in which device 4 installed in a company building is moved from the old head office building to the new head office building. FIG. 4 shows a floor map of the old head office building. In the old head office building, the accounting department is located in section A on the 4th floor. FIG. 5 shows a floor map of the new head office building. The floor layout of the new head office building is the same as the old head office building, except that the accounting department has moved from section A to section X. For example, when the accounting department moves from section A to section X, the device installed in section B may be lost.

[0018] 6 shows an example of a record stored in the asset management DB 11. The asset management DB 11 has records that describe information received from the agent 41 for each asset. The records have fields for storing each piece of information received from the agent 41. The asset management DB 11 may create a new data table each time data is updated, or may separately store a change history for one data table, as will be described later. In the following, it is assumed that the change history is stored.

[0019] In the data example of Figure 6, the partition transfer described in Figures 4 and 5 was carried out on January 28th, during which time the devices in partitions AB were not powered on or off. On January 29th, the partition transfer was completed, and the devices were powered on or off.

[0020] 7 is an example of change history data that describes the change history of the asset management DB 11. The change history data can be stored in the asset management DB 11. The change history data is described by the date and time of the change, a key that identifies the changed record (in this example, the asset name), the changed item (data field), and the value before and after the change.

[0021] 8 shows an example of the entry / exit record data 31. The entry / exit record data 31 is data that describes the results of the monitoring system 3 recording entry and exit to and from the location where the asset (including the device 4) is installed. The entry / exit record data 31 describes the date and time when the entry / exit occurred, the location where the entry / exit occurred, and the person who entered and left the room. The person can be identified by an appropriate means, such as the ID of a security card used for entry and exit.

[0022] 9 shows an example of the delivery record data 32. The delivery record data 32 is data that describes the history of the movement of assets (including equipment 4). The delivery record data 32 describes the date and time when the movement occurred, the location from which the movement occurred, and the location to which the movement occurred.

[0023] FIG. 10 shows an example of mobile phone location information data 33. Mobile phone location information data 33 is data created by the monitoring system 3 acquiring and recording location information of a mobile phone carried by a user. The location of the mobile phone may be acquired, for example, via a location information system provided in the mobile phone, or may be acquired by the monitoring system 3 communicating with the mobile phone to identify its location. It may also be acquired by any other method. The location of the mobile phone may be acquired at the same granularity as the installation location of the asset (including equipment 4). Mobile phone location information data 33 further describes the owner of the mobile phone. This makes it possible to identify the owner's location. The owner of the mobile phone can be identified by the mobile phone's unique ID, or by any other method.

[0024] FIG. 11 shows an example of surveillance camera video data 34. The surveillance camera video data 34 is data describing the results of identifying people captured in video footage acquired by the surveillance camera by the surveillance system 3. By analyzing the surveillance camera video, the surveillance system 3 identifies the people captured in the video, their locations, and the date and time, for example, using any person identification technology. The location of the video can be identified from the coverage area of ​​the surveillance camera.

[0025] 12 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the search support unit 12. The user inputs the name of the missing asset (here, device 4) on the operation terminal 13, and the search support unit 12 receives the asset name (S1201). The search support unit 12 estimates candidates for the current location of the received asset name (S1202). Details of S1202 will be described later. The search support unit 12 displays the estimated candidates for the current location on the operation terminal 13 (S1203). Instead of or in parallel with the current location of device 4, it is also possible to similarly estimate candidates for a person who may have moved device 4 and display the results.

[0026] FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating the details of S1202.

[0027] S1301: The search support unit 12 searches the asset management DB 11 for the received asset name. The search support unit 12 acquires the most recent power-on date and time of the asset obtained by the search. The search support unit 12 estimates the date of loss of the asset based on the acquired power-on date and time. For example, the date of loss may be the same day or the day after the most recent power-on date and time. The date of loss does not necessarily need to be specified as a time, but it is sufficient to specify at least a date. Whether the date of loss is the same day or the day after may be set by an administrator, for example. Alternatively, the searcher may specify the date of loss in a user interface such as that shown in FIG. 18, which will be described later.

[0028] S1302: The search support unit 12 searches for other assets that were moved in the vicinity of the time the asset was lost. This step is intended to search for such other assets, taking into consideration the possibility that the missing asset was moved along with the other assets when they were moved. Details of this step will be described later.

[0029] S1303: The search support unit 12 searches the change history in the asset management DB 11 at the time the asset was lost. This step is intended to search the history, taking into consideration the possibility that the installation location of the asset may have been temporarily changed. For example, consider a situation in which the device 4 is temporarily moved to another section and connected to the company LAN in the new section, thereby temporarily changing the network segment to which it is connected. In other words, consider a situation in which the device is not recorded as having been moved in the asset management DB 11, but has actually been temporarily moved. Details of this step will be described later.

[0030] S1304: The search support unit 12 searches the delivery record data 32 for the delivery record at the time the asset was lost. This step is intended to search for the delivery record at that time, taking into consideration the possibility that the missing asset may have been mixed in with other assets when they were delivered. The difference is that S1301 searches for records of assets moved by employees themselves, while S1304 searches for records of assets moved by a delivery service.

[0031] S1305: The search support unit 12 searches for people who were near the asset at the time the asset was lost from the entry / exit record data 31 / mobile phone location information data 33, and surveillance camera video data 34. This step is intended to search for people who were near the asset at the time the asset was lost, taking into consideration the possibility that the person may have moved the asset.

[0032] S1306: The search support unit 12 presents the results obtained by the above search as candidates for the current location of the lost asset or candidates for the person who moved the asset, in order of closest to the date of loss. The candidates for the current location are presented in order of closest to the date of loss when the date on which the lost item is estimated to have been moved to that location. The candidates for the person are presented in order of closest to the date on which the person moved the lost item. The interval between the estimated date and the date of loss is calculated, for example, by the absolute difference between the dates.

[0033] FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating the details of S1302.

[0034] S1401: The search support unit 12 searches the asset management DB 11 using the asset name of the lost asset and the date of loss as keys to obtain the user / department / installation location / peripheral device / connected network segment of the lost asset.

[0035] S1402: The search support unit 12 searches the asset management DB 11 for a record whose user / department / installation location / peripheral device / connected network segment on the date of loss matches that of the lost asset, and obtains the asset name.

[0036] S1402: Supplement: Whether the installation locations match can be determined, for example, by whether the building names / floors / sections match. Whether the connected network segments match can be determined, for example, by whether they belong to the same subnet. The same applies to the flowcharts described below.

[0037] S1403: The search support unit 12 searches the change history data for records that match the asset name acquired in S1402. The search support unit 12 further extracts from the search results records whose change date and time is after the date of loss and whose changed item is the installation location. The search support unit 12 acquires the change date and time and the value after the change of the extracted record. By following the above procedure, it is possible to search for other assets that were moved close to the time the asset was lost.

[0038] FIG. 15 is a flowchart illustrating the details of S1303.

[0039] S1501: The search support unit 12 retrieves the records with the most recent modification date and time from the modification history data among the records of the asset names of the lost assets, for which the destination network segment has been changed (i.e., the modified item is the destination network segment). The retrieved records are sorted in order of the modification date and time closest to the date of loss.

[0040] S1502: The search support unit 12 acquires the change date and time of the record acquired in S1501 and the value after the change (that is, the destination network segment after the change).

[0041] S1503: The search support unit 12 searches the asset management DB 11 for records that match the changed values ​​acquired in S1502. This makes it possible to collect the names of other assets that belong to the network segment to which the lost asset was temporarily connected. The search support unit 12 considers the most frequently occurring installation location among the records acquired by the search as the installation location of the network segment to which the lost asset was temporarily connected.

[0042] S1503: Supplementary Note: The network segment to which the lost asset was temporarily connected can be obtained from the change history data. However, although this identifies the network segment to which the lost asset was temporarily connected, the installation location of that network segment must be identified separately. Therefore, in this step, the installation location of that network segment can be inferred by searching the asset management DB 11 for the name of another asset connected to that network segment. However, there may not be a one-to-one correspondence between network segments and installation locations. Therefore, in this step, the installation location is inferred by majority vote of the installation locations of the assets connected to that network segment.

[0043] FIG. 16 is a flowchart illustrating the details of S1304.

[0044] S1601: The search support unit 12 searches the asset management DB 11 using the asset name of the lost asset and the date of loss as keys to obtain the installation location of the lost asset.

[0045] S1602: The search support unit 12 searches the delivery record data 32 for a record whose installation location and delivery origin match the installation location and delivery date / time acquired in S1601 and whose delivery date / time matches the date of loss (if the dates match, it is considered a match). The search support unit 12 acquires the date / time and delivery destination of the record acquired by the search. By following the above procedure, it is possible to search for the delivery destination of another asset that was delivered from the same installation location at the time of the loss of the lost asset.

[0046] S1602: Supplementary Note: The delivery service may be a service provided in-house or may be a service provided by an external company. In other words, as long as the delivery origin and delivery destination are recorded as delivery record data 32, the entity providing the delivery service may be any.

[0047] FIG. 17 is a flowchart illustrating the details of S1305.

[0048] S1701: The search support unit 12 searches the asset management DB 11 using the asset name of the lost asset and the date of loss as keys to obtain the installation location of the lost asset.

[0049] S1702: The search support unit 12 uses the date of loss and the installation location as keys to search the following data for records whose dates and locations match these keys: (a) entry / exit record data 31; (b) mobile phone location information data 33; and (c) surveillance camera video data 34. From the entry / exit record data 31, it is possible to extract people who entered and left the location where the item was lost on the date it was lost. From the mobile phone location information data 33, it is possible to extract people who were at the location where the item was lost on the date it was lost. From the surveillance camera video data 34, it is possible to extract people who were at the location where the item was lost on the date it was lost.

[0050] FIG. 18 is an example of a user interface provided by the asset inventory system 2. The user can view a list of assets on this user interface. The user selects the lost asset from the asset list and clicks the search button. This causes the search support unit 12 to perform the procedure described above and estimate possible locations of the lost asset or possible people who moved the lost asset.

[0051] 19 is an example of a user interface provided by the search support unit 12. The search support unit 12 presents the candidates obtained by performing the procedure described above in order, for example, starting with the date closest to the date of loss. The user can search for the lost asset efficiently by searching for the lost asset in this order.

[0052] <Modifications of the present invention> In the above embodiment, the search support unit 12 can be configured by hardware such as a circuit device that implements its functions, or by software that implements its functions being executed by a processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit).The asset management DB 11 can be configured by storing data that describes records in a storage device.

[0053] In the above embodiment, the mobile phone location information data 33 has been described as an example of data used to acquire a person's location, but other means may be used if the person's location can be acquired by such means. For example, if the location of an item that an organization member always carries, such as an employee card or an entrance card, can be detected, data recording the location and date and time can be used as location information data representing the person's location and date and time, instead of or in addition to the mobile phone location information data 33.

[0054] In the above embodiment, the surveillance camera video data 34 may record the surveillance camera video itself. In this case, the ID or name of the person appearing in the video may be recorded together with the surveillance camera video, or the search support unit 12 may identify the person from the video and add the result to the data.

[0055] In the above embodiment, S1402 was described as searching for a record whose user / department / installation location / peripheral device / connected network segment on the date of loss matches that of the lost asset. Alternatively or in addition to this, a list of all assets on the date of loss may be searched and presented in order of closest physical distance between the asset and the lost asset. For example, in the example described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5, a department was moved from Section A to Section X, but the loss occurred in the neighboring Section B. In this case, the closer the physical distance to Section B, the more likely it is that the lost asset has been lost. This procedure is useful as a method for searching for potential search locations in such cases. [Explanation of symbols]

[0056] 1: Search support system 11: Asset management database 12: Search Support Department

Claims

1. A search support system that supports searching for the current location of a missing device, comprising: an asset management database that manages the installation locations of assets including the devices; a search support unit for estimating the current location of the device; Equipped with The asset management database records the date and time when the power of the device was ON, The search support unit estimates the date and time when the power of the device was last turned on and the date when the device went missing, the search support unit searches the asset management database for the asset that was moved on the estimated date; The search support unit outputs the installation location of the asset obtained by the search as a candidate for the current location of the device. A search support system characterized by:

2. The search support unit acquires the installation location of the device from the asset management database, the search support unit searches the asset management database for the asset whose installation location on the date matches that of the device; The search support unit outputs the current installation locations of the assets that have been searched for and whose installation locations have been changed since the date, as candidates for the current location of the device.

2. The search support system according to claim 1, wherein:

3. the asset management database manages information capable of identifying a network segment to which the asset is connected, The search support unit acquires a network segment to which the device is connected from the asset management database, The search support unit searches the asset management database for the asset whose connected network segment on the date matches that of the device; The search support unit outputs, among the assets found in the search, a currently connected network segment that has been changed since the date, as a candidate for the current location of the device.

2. The search support system according to claim 1, wherein:

4. the asset management database manages information capable of identifying a network segment to which the asset is connected, the asset management database manages a history of changes to items managed by the asset management database; the search support unit acquires the latest record indicating that the network segment has been changed from the change history of the device; the search support unit searches the asset management database for the asset connected to the same network segment as the latest record; The search support unit outputs the most common installation location of the asset among the searched installation locations as a candidate for the current location of the device.

2. The search support system according to claim 1, wherein:

5. The search support unit acquires delivery record data having a record describing the delivery origin, delivery destination, and delivery date and time of the asset, The search support unit acquires the installation location of the device from the asset management database, The search support unit searches the delivery record data for the record in which the delivery date and time match the date and the delivery origin matches the installation location of the device, The search support unit outputs the delivery destination of the searched record as a candidate for the current location of the device.

2. The search support system according to claim 1, wherein:

6. The search support unit acquires entry / exit record data having a record describing the date and time of entry and exit and the persons who entered and left the installation location of the device, The search support unit acquires the installation location of the device from the asset management database, The search support unit searches the entry / exit record data for the record whose entry / exit date and time matches the date, The search support unit outputs the person who left the room previously entered in the searched record as a candidate for a person who was near the device when the device went missing.

2. The search support system according to claim 1, wherein:

7. the search support unit acquires location information data having a record describing the location of the person together with a date and time; The search support unit acquires the installation location of the device from the asset management database, the search support unit searches the location information data for the record whose date and time match the date and whose location match the installation location of the device; The search support unit outputs the person in the searched record as a candidate for a person who was near the device when the device went missing.

2. The search support system according to claim 1, wherein:

8. The search support unit acquires video data having a record describing a person appearing in the video and the person's location together with a date and time; The search support unit acquires the installation location of the device from the asset management database, the search support unit searches the video data for the record whose date and time match the date and whose location match the installation location of the device; The search support unit outputs the person in the searched record as a candidate for a person who was near the device when the device went missing.

2. The search support system according to claim 1, wherein:

9. The search support system includes a user interface that presents the candidates.

2. The search support system according to claim 1, wherein:

10. The search support system includes a user interface that allows a user to specify the date instead of having the search support unit estimate the date.

2. The search support system according to claim 1, wherein:

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