Status Notification Unit

Abstract

The first state report unit according to the present invention uses a light emission unit and a sound unit to report the state of a monitored device which generates first event information including light emission data relating to light emission and second event information including text data corresponding to a sound to be reproduced, and comprises: a reception unit that receives the first event information and the second event information from the monitored device; a light emission control unit that controls light emission of the light emission unit on the basis of the first event information received by the event information reception unit; a sound data generation unit that generates sound data to be reproduced by the sound unit on the basis of the second event information received by the event information reception unit; and a sound control unit that controls a sound to be reproduced by the sound unit on the basis of the sound data.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a status notification unit, a status notification method, a status notification program, and a status notification device. [Background technology]

[0002] 2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there have been proposed alarm devices that notify by voice when a state changes, such as when an abnormality occurs in a monitored device (for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2010-108027 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, the alarm device of Patent Document 1 has the problem that it takes time to generate the voice data because it is necessary to prepare voice data indicating the status in advance. Furthermore, because the volume of voice data is large, it is difficult to generate a wide variety of voice data. This problem is not limited to alarm devices, but can occur in all devices that notify of status changes. The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and aims to provide a status notification unit, status notification method, status notification program, and status notification device that are capable of easily generating a variety of sounds to notify of a status. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] The first status notification unit of the present invention is a status notification unit that generates first event information including light emission data related to light emission and second event information including text data corresponding to the sound to be played, and notifies the status of a monitored device using a light emission unit and an audio unit, and is equipped with a receiving unit for receiving the first event information and the second event information from the monitored device, a light emission control unit that controls the light emission of the light emission unit based on the first event information received by the event information receiving unit, an audio data generation unit that generates audio data to be played by the audio unit based on the second event information received by the event information receiving unit, and an audio control unit that controls the audio to be played by the audio unit based on the audio data.

[0006] In the first status notification unit of the present invention, the light emission control section can be configured to change a method of light emission in the light emitting unit based on the second event information.

[0007] In the first status notification unit of the present invention, the audio data generation unit can generate the audio data so as to change at least one of the volume, pitch, tone, and playback speed of the played back audio depending on the content of the text data included in the second event information.

[0008] In the first status notification unit of the present invention, the voice control unit can control the voice unit to change at least one of the volume, pitch, tone, and playback speed of the played back voice depending on the content of the text data included in the second event information.

[0009] The first status notification unit of the present invention may further include a memory unit that stores the generated voice data, and the voice control unit may be configured to control the voice played by the voice unit based on the voice data stored in the memory unit when it receives text data that is the same as text data contained in the second event information previously received.

[0010] In the first status notification unit of the present invention, the audio data generation unit can generate the audio data so as to include at least one of the times when the first and second event information were received and information for identifying the monitored device.

[0011] In the first status notification unit of the present invention, the unit further includes a playback command receiving unit that receives a command to play the audio, and the audio control unit can control the audio unit to play the audio when the playback command receiving unit receives the playback command.

[0012] A first status notification device of the present invention includes a light emitting unit that emits light, a sound unit that emits sound, and any one of the information notification units described above.

[0013] The second status notification device of the present invention comprises a light-emitting unit that emits light, a sound unit that emits sound, a play switch, and a status notification unit having the above-mentioned play command receiving section, and the play command receiving section is configured to receive the play command by the play switch.

[0014] A first status notification method of the present invention is a status notification method for notifying the status of a monitored device by a light-emitting unit and an audio unit, which generates first event information including light-emitting data related to light emission and second event information including text data corresponding to a sound to be played, and includes the steps of receiving the first event information and the second event information from the monitored device, generating audio data to be played by the audio unit based on the received second event information, controlling the sound to be played by the audio unit based on the audio data, and controlling the light-emitting of the light-emitting unit based on the received first event information. Note that the step of controlling the light emission may be performed before the step of generating the audio data or the step of controlling the audio.

[0015] A first status notification program of the present invention is a status notification program for generating first event information including light emission data related to light emission and second event information including text data corresponding to a sound to be played, and for notifying a status of a monitored device by a light-emitting unit and an audio unit, the program causing a computer to execute the steps of receiving the first event information and the second event information from the monitored device, generating audio data to be played by the audio unit based on the received second event information, controlling the audio to be played by the audio unit based on the audio data, and controlling the light emission of the light-emitting unit based on the received first event information. Note that the step of controlling the light emission may be performed before the step of generating the audio data or the step of controlling the audio.

[0016] The second status notification unit of the present invention comprises: A status notification unit that notifies the status of the monitored device by a light emitting unit and a sound unit, an event information generating unit that monitors a state of the monitoring target device and generates, based on the monitored event, first event information including light emission data related to light emission and second event information including text data corresponding to the sound to be reproduced; a light emission control unit that controls light emission of the light emitting unit based on the first event information; a sound data generating unit that generates sound data to be reproduced by the sound unit based on the second event information; a sound control unit that controls the sound reproduced by the sound unit based on the sound data; It is equipped with:

[0017] In the second status notification unit of the present invention, the light emission control section can be configured to change a method of light emission in the light emitting unit based on the second event information.

[0018] In the second status notification unit of the present invention, the audio data generation unit can generate the audio data so as to change at least one of the volume, pitch, tone, and playback speed of the played back audio depending on the content of the text data included in the second event information.

[0019] In the second status notification unit of the present invention, the voice control unit can control the voice unit to change at least one of the volume, pitch, tone, and playback speed of the played voice depending on the content of the text data included in the second event information.

[0020] The second status notification unit of the present invention may further include a memory unit that stores the generated voice data, and the voice control unit may be configured to control the voice played by the voice unit based on the voice data stored in the memory unit when it receives text data that is the same as text data contained in the second event information previously received.

[0021] In the second status notification unit of the present invention, the event information generation unit can generate the second event information so as to include in the text data at least one of the time when the event was monitored and information for identifying the monitored device.

[0022] In the second status notification unit of the present invention, the unit further includes a playback command receiving unit that receives a command to play the audio, and the audio control unit can control the audio unit to play the audio when the playback command receiving unit receives the playback command.

[0023] The third status notification device of the present invention is A light-emitting unit that emits light; a speech unit for producing speech; Any of the second status notification units described above; It is equipped with:

[0024] A fourth status notification device of the present invention is A light-emitting unit that emits light; a sound unit for emitting sound; a playback switch; The second status notification unit having a playback command receiving unit; Equipped with The regeneration command receiving unit is configured to receive the regeneration command by the regeneration switch.

[0025] A second status notification method of the present invention is a status notification method for notifying a status of a monitored device by a light emitting unit and an audio unit, comprising: monitoring a state of the monitored device, and generating first event information including light emission data related to light emission and second event information including text data corresponding to a sound to be played based on the monitored event; generating audio data to be played by the audio units based on the second event information; controlling the sound reproduced by the sound unit based on the sound data; controlling light emission of the light-emitting unit based on the first event information; It is equipped with: The step of controlling light emission may be performed before the step of generating audio data or the step of controlling audio.

[0026] A second status notification program of the present invention is a status notification program that notifies a status of a monitored device by a light emitting unit and an audio unit, On the computer, monitoring a state of the monitored device, and generating first event information including light emission data related to light emission and second event information including text data corresponding to a sound to be played based on the monitored event; generating audio data to be played by the audio units based on the second event information; controlling the sound reproduced by the sound unit based on the sound data; controlling light emission of the light-emitting unit based on the first event information; Execute the command. The step of controlling light emission may be performed before the step of generating audio data or the step of controlling audio. Effect of the Invention

[0027] According to the present invention, various sounds for notifying a state can be easily generated. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0028] [Figure 1] 1 is a configuration example of an embodiment of a system including a status notification device of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of the production facility. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a data structure of an internal memory of a PLC of a production facility. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a structure of transmission data. [Diagram 5] FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a structure of transmission data. [Figure 6] FIG. [Figure 7] FIG. [Figure 8] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of the status notification device. [Figure 9] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a software configuration of the status notification device. [Figure 10] 10 is a flowchart showing a state notification by the state notification device when the playback switch is in the first setting. [Figure 11] 10 is a flowchart showing a state notification by the state notification device when the playback switch is in the second setting. [Figure 12] FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing the software configuration of a status notification device according to a second embodiment. [Figure 13] It is a diagram showing an example of notification data.

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0029] <A. First Embodiment> Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the state notification device according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Hereinafter, a state notification device that notifies the state of production equipment as an example of a monitoring target device will be described. FIG. 1 is a configuration example of a system including this state notification device, and includes a state notification device 1 and a plurality of production facilities 3 connected to the state notification device 1 via a network 7. The state notification device 1 of the present embodiment is configured to notify the state of the production facility 3 by light emission and voice. Hereinafter, each configuration will be described in detail.

[0030] <1. Hardware Configuration> <1-1. Production Equipment> FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of the production equipment. As shown in FIG. 2, each production facility 3 is provided with a PLC (Programmable Logic Controller) 31 and a communication interface 32, and controls a motor 35 and an actuator 36 based on inputs from a sensor 33 and a switch 34 to the PLC 31. The state of the production facility 3 is sequentially written into an internal memory 311 provided in the PLC 31. Then, the information written in the internal memory 311 is transmitted to the state notification device 1 by the communication interface 32.

[0031] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of the internal memory. As shown in FIG. 3, the internal memory 311 stores memory addresses, event numbers, states, lights, and text data for voice messages. The event number is a number assigned in ascending order each time an event occurs, and the state indicates the state of the production facility 3. In this example, six states of "stopped", "working", "waiting for operator", "out of materials", and "temperature anomaly" are defined, but various other states can be defined.

[0032] The light is information indicating the color of the light emitted by the status notification device 1, the lighting state, etc., and is defined corresponding to each of the above-mentioned states. In the example of FIG. 3, only the color of the light is specified, but in addition to this, the lighting pattern of the blinking light can also be defined. Similarly, the text data is also defined corresponding to each of the above-mentioned states. These can be set appropriately by the user depending on the structure and usage mode of the target production equipment 3.

[0033] The PLC 31 generates transmission data 2 in a format compatible with the status notification device 1 from the information written in the internal memory 311. The transmission data 2 is composed of text data having a light information section (first event information) 21 and a voice message section (second event information) 22, for example, as shown in Fig. 4. The light information section 21 is composed of text data such as "light, red on," "light, yellow on," "light, yellow flashing 1," and "light, yellow flashing 2," and includes the color of the light and the lighting pattern. The lighting pattern can be specified by characters such as light, flashing 1, flashing 2, etc., which indicate a constant lighting state and two different flashing patterns.

[0034] The voice message section 22 is an extracted text data written in the internal memory 311, and is composed of text data such as "Sound has stopped." Transmission data 2 including the light information section 21 and the voice message section 22 as text data is generated every time the internal memory 311 is rewritten, and is transmitted to the status notification device 1 by the communication interface 32.

[0035] The format of the transmission data 2 is not limited to the above, and various formats are possible according to the status notification device 1. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, the light information section 21 can be a command indicating the color and lighting state of the light, instead of text data. The command can be written in various formats, and can be expressed, for example, by numbers, letters, symbols, etc. that are defined so as to be readable by the status notification device 1. The voice message section 22 generated together with this command is as described above. In this case, since the light information section 21 and the voice message section 22 have different formats, the communication interface 32 transmits the transmission data 2 in two separate transmissions. For example, the command of the light information section 21 can be transmitted the first time, and the text data of the voice message section 22 can be transmitted the second time. The order of these transmissions can also be reversed.

[0036] The communication interface 32 is, for example, a wired LAN (Local Area Network) module, a wireless LAN module, etc., and is an interface for performing wired or wireless communication. That is, the communication interface 32 is configured to transmit the transmission data 2 to the status notification device 1 via the wired or wireless network 7 in accordance with a predetermined communication protocol.

[0037] <1-2. Status notification device> Next, an example of the hardware configuration of the status notification device 1 according to this embodiment will be described. Fig. 6 is a front view of the status notification device, Fig. 7 is a rear view of the status notification device, and Fig. 8 shows an example of the hardware configuration of the status notification device.

[0038] 5 to 7, the status notification device 1 has a base 11, an LED unit (light-emitting unit) 12 extending from the upper part of the base 11, and a body 13. A speaker (audio unit) 112 and various operation buttons 113 are provided on the outer surface of the base 11. Also, a control unit 114, a storage unit 115, a communication interface 116, and an external interface 117 are built into the base 11. In FIG. 8, the communication interface 116 is referred to as the "communication I / F" and the external interface 117 is referred to as the "external I / F."

[0039] The base 11 is formed in a rectangular shape in a plan view, and functions as a housing that houses the control unit 114 and the like. The LED unit 12 is formed in a cylindrical shape, and three light emitting units, i.e., first, second, and third light emitting units 121-123 arranged from top to bottom, are provided on the upper part. Each of the light emitting units 121-123 is formed in a cylindrical shape, and an LED is built in so as to emit red, yellow, and green light, respectively. These light emitting units 121-123 emit light according to the state of the production equipment 3 described above.

[0040] 6, the above-mentioned speaker 112 is provided at the bottom of the front surface of the base 11, and as described below, a sound indicating the state of the production facility 3 is output from this speaker 112. Although not shown in the figure, a volume switch for adjusting the volume of the sound is also provided. In addition, on the front surface of the base 11, various operation buttons 113 are provided above the speaker 112. The operation buttons 113 include, for example, a reset switch (not shown) for resetting an operation, an audio playback switch 118, and the like.

[0041] The playback switch 118 is a switch for playing back audio, and in this embodiment, two types of settings can be made for audio playback. In the first setting, the status of the production facility 3 is output from the speaker 112 without pressing the playback switch 118. On the other hand, in the second setting, the status of the production facility 3 is output from the speaker 112 only when the playback switch 118 is pressed. The uses of these settings will be described later. In addition, the operation button 113 can be provided with buttons, switches, etc. having various functions as necessary.

[0042] As shown in FIG. 7, the rear surface of the base 11 is provided with connectors for the above-mentioned communication interface 116 and external interface 117.

[0043] Next, the control unit 114 will be described. As shown in Fig. 8, the control unit 114 includes a CPU, RAM, ROM, etc., and is configured to execute various information processing based on programs and data. The storage unit 115 is configured, for example, as an auxiliary storage device such as an HDD or SDD, and stores a status notification program 151, transmission data 2, voice data 4, and various data 5 for driving the status notification device 1. The status notification program 151 is a program for causing the status notification device 1 to notify the status of the production equipment 3. The control unit 114 is configured to interpret and execute this status notification program 151, thereby executing the processing of each step described below.

[0044] The external interface 117 is an interface for connecting to an external device, and is configured appropriately according to the external device to be connected. For example, an input device such as a keyboard and an output device such as a display can be connected to the external interface 117 as appropriate.

[0045] The communication interface 116 is similar to that provided in the production facility 3, and therefore a description thereof will be omitted.

[0046] Regarding the specific hardware configuration of the status notification device 1, components can be omitted, replaced, or added as appropriate depending on the embodiment. For example, the control unit 114 may include multiple processors. The control unit 114 may also be configured with an FPGA. The storage unit 115 may be configured with a RAM and a ROM included in the control unit 114.

[0047] <2. Software configuration of the status notification device> Next, a description will be given of the software configuration of the status notification device 1. Fig. 9 is a block diagram showing the software configuration of the status notification device. As shown in Fig. 9, when the control unit 114 of the status notification device 1 loads the status notification program 151 stored in the storage unit 115 into the RAM, the control unit 114 interprets and executes the status notification program 151 by the CPU, and functions as a computer equipped with a receiving unit (receiving unit) 61, a data determining unit (receiving unit) 62, a light emission control unit 63, a sound data generating unit 64, and a sound control unit 65.

[0048] The receiving unit (accepting unit) 61 receives the transmission data 2 transmitted from the production facility 3. The received transmission data 2 is stored in the storage unit 115 or the RAM.

[0049] The data discrimination unit (reception unit) 62 extracts the light information unit 21 and the voice message unit 22 from the transmission data 2 received by the reception unit (reception unit) 61, and transmits them to the light emission control unit 63 and the voice data generation unit 64 described below. For example, if the format of the transmission data 2 is text data, text data such as "Light, red light on" is extracted as data to be transmitted to the light emission control unit 63, and text data such as "Sound, stopped" is extracted as data to be transmitted to the voice data generation unit 64. The reception unit (reception unit) 61 and the data discrimination unit (reception unit) 62 constitute the reception unit of the present invention.

[0050] On the other hand, when the transmission data 2 is composed of two pieces of data transmitted separately, the command in the received optical information section 21 is transmitted to the light emission control section 63, and the text data in the voice message section 22 is transmitted to the voice data generation section 64.

[0051] The light emission control unit 63 has a function of controlling the light emission of the LED unit 12 based on the data of the light information unit 21 received from the data discrimination unit (reception unit) 62. For example, when text data such as "Light, red light" is received, it converts this into a command, and the first light emission unit 121 of the LED unit 12 is turned on by this command. Also, when a command is sent from the data discrimination unit (reception unit) 62, the light emission control unit 63 controls the light emission of the LED unit 12 by the command. In addition, the light emission control unit 63 can also adjust the light intensity, color, light emission time, and the like.

[0052] The voice data generating unit 64 generates voice data in a format such as MP3 or WAV from the text data of the voice message unit 22 received from the data determining unit (receiving unit) 62. For example, the voice data is generated by reading out the text data using a known Text-to-Speech (TTS) technique. The generated voice data is transmitted to the voice control unit 65. The generated voice data is also stored in the storage unit 115.

[0053] The voice control unit 65 controls the speaker 112 to output a voice reading the text data based on the voice data transmitted from the voice data generation unit 64. In addition, the voice control unit 65 can also control the volume, pitch, tone, and playback speed of the voice. In addition to the above functions, the voice control unit 65 also functions as a playback command receiving unit when the playback switch 118 is pressed, and plays back the voice in response to the playback command generated when the playback switch 118 is pressed.

[0054] <3. Method of notifying the status of production equipment by a status notification device> Next, a method for notifying the status of production equipment by the status notification device configured as above will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS.

[0055] First, a case where the playback switch 118 is in the first setting will be described with reference to the flowchart in Fig. 10. As shown in Fig. 10, when the status of the production facility 3 is written to the internal memory 311 of the production facility 3 (step S11), the PLC 31 generates the transmission data 2 from the internal memory 311 as described above (step S12). The generated transmission data 2 is transmitted to the receiving unit (accepting unit) 61 of the status notification device 1 (step S13).

[0056] The transmission data 2 received by the receiving unit 61 (receiving unit) is transmitted to the data discrimination unit (receiving unit) 62, which extracts the text data or command from the optical information unit 21 and extracts the text data from the voice message unit 22 (step S14).

[0057] The extracted text data or command of the light information section 21 is sent to the light emission control section 63, which causes the LED unit 12 to emit light (step S15). In parallel with this, the extracted text data of the voice message section 22 is sent to the voice data generation section 64, which generates voice data (step S16). This voice data is also stored in the storage section 115. Based on this voice data, the voice control section 65 causes the speaker 112 to output a voice reading the text data (step S17).

[0058] Next, the case where the above-mentioned replay switch 118 is in the second setting will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 11. Steps S21 to S26 shown in FIG. 11 are the same as steps S11 to S16 in FIG. 9, and therefore the description will be omitted. When the replay switch 118 is pressed after the voice data is generated in step S26 (YES in step S27), a replay command is sent to the voice control unit 65, and the voice control unit 65 outputs the reading sound of the text data from the speaker 112 (step S28). Therefore, the reading sound is not output until the replay switch 118 is pressed (NO in step S27). In addition, when the replay switch 118 is pressed, the voice control unit 65 stores in the storage unit 115 that the reading sound has been reproduced (step S29). This allows the fact that the reading sound has been reproduced to be confirmed after the fact. The order of steps S28 and S29 may be reversed.

[0059] In this way, every time a status is written to the internal memory 311 of the production equipment 3, that status is notified by light from the LED unit 12 and by sound output from the speaker 112.

[0060] <4. Features> As described above, according to this embodiment, the following effects can be obtained. (1) The status of the production equipment 3 can be notified by both light and sound, allowing the user to confirm the status of the production equipment 3 by both sight and sound.

[0061] (2) In the production facility 3, since it is only necessary to prepare text data for voice data in advance, data generation is simpler than generating voice data, and the generation time can be significantly shortened. Therefore, the time until the introduction of the status notification device 1 can be shortened. Also, since text data is generated and stored instead of voice data, the amount of data can be reduced, and text data corresponding to a wide variety of voices can be easily generated. Furthermore, since it is only necessary to transmit small-volume text data in the network 7, the data transmission time can be shortened, and thus the time until the status is notified can be shortened.

[0062] (3) By setting the playback switch 118 to the second setting, it is possible to stop the output of voice messages that may be inconvenient if heard by unrelated users. Furthermore, if there is a change in the status of the production equipment 3 and no user is around the status notification device 1, the user can listen to the details of the status by pressing the playback switch 118 afterwards. Furthermore, by pressing the playback switch 118, the fact that a voice has been played is stored, so that the user can confirm that the notification has been recognized.

[0063] <5. Modifications> Although the first embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the first embodiment, and various modifications are possible without departing from the spirit of the present invention. The modifications described below can be combined as appropriate. The modifications below can also be applied as appropriate to the second embodiment described later.

[0064] <5-1> In the above embodiment, the LED unit 12 is illuminated by the text or command in the optical information section 21 of the transmission data 2, but for example, the method of illumination may be changed according to the content of the text data in the voice message section 22. For example, when the content of the text data in the voice message section 22 is "Temperature abnormal" or the like that requires urgent action, the illumination control section 63 can increase the intensity of the illumination or change the blinking cycle (for example, shorten it) in order to increase the degree of visibility.

[0065] <5-2> In the above embodiment, a read-out sound is output from the speaker 112 based on the voice message section 22 of the transmission data 2, but it is possible to generate voice data so that the read-out sound changes depending on the content of the text data in the voice message section 22. For example, when the content of the text data in the voice message section 22 is "abnormal temperature" or the like that requires urgent action, the voice control section 65 can change at least one of the volume, pitch, tone, and playback speed of the reproduced voice in order to enhance the degree of audibility. For example, the volume of the reproduced voice can be increased or the pitch can be raised to draw attention to the voice.

[0066] Such changes in the voice can also be performed by the voice data generating unit 64. That is, it is possible to generate voice data in which at least one of the volume, pitch, tone, and playback speed of the reproduced voice is changed according to the contents of the text data in the voice message unit 22.

[0067] <5-3> In the above embodiment, the voice data is generated based on the text data included in the transmission data 2, but various information can be added to the text data that is the basis of the voice data. For example, information identifying the production equipment 3 whose status has changed (such as the number or IP address of the production equipment 3) and the time when the status change occurred can be added to the text data. This allows the voice data generating unit 64 to generate voice data in which, in addition to the status, the production equipment 3 whose status has changed and the time are added to the read-out sound.

[0068] <5-4> If the play switch 118 is not pressed for a predetermined time, the status notification device 1 can notify a predetermined user of the change in status by email, telephone, etc. This allows the user to be sure to recognize the change in status of the production equipment 3.

[0069] <5-5> The light-emitting unit of the present invention may be a light source such as a light bulb, other than the LED unit 12, as long as it can emit multiple types of light. For example, even if it is a monochromatic light, it may be capable of emitting multiple patterns of blinking lights. In addition, the type of speaker 112 used as the audio unit of the present invention is not particularly limited as long as it can output a reading sound.

[0070] <5-6> In the above embodiment, the voice data generating unit 64 is configured by the control unit 114, but for example, a software module that generates voice data by a known TTS technique may be provided separately.

[0071] <5-7> The storage unit 115 stores voice data, and when the receiving unit (accepting unit) 61 receives text data that is the same as previously received text data for voice, it can read out the voice data that corresponds to the text data stored in the storage unit 115 and reproduce the reading sound. This can shorten the time required to generate voice data.

[0072] <5-8> The status notification device 1 may be an information processing device, a general-purpose desktop PC, a tablet PC, etc. designed specifically for the provided service. Therefore, the forms of the status notification device shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 are examples and can be changed as appropriate. Further, in the above embodiment, the status notification device 1 having the LED unit 12 and the speaker 112 is used. However, for example, a computer such as a PLC (status notification unit of the present invention) having the control unit 114 is prepared, and an external connection of an LED unit, a speaker, or a storage device thereto can also be used as the status notification device. Further, the computer having the control unit 114 can also be incorporated into the monitoring target device as the status notification unit.

[0073] <5-9> In the above embodiment, the example of notifying the status of the production facility 3 is given. However, the monitoring target device targeted by the status notification device 1 of the present invention may be other than the production facility 3. For example, it can be various devices whose status changes, such as a printer, a server, a network camera, a disaster prevention system, a crime prevention system, an entrance and exit system, an environmental monitoring system, an order receiving and issuing system, etc. Further, the monitoring target device of the present invention is not limited to the configuration such as the production facility 3 described above, and it may be any device as long as at least the change in the status is stored and transmission data can be generated based on this.

[0074] <B. Second Embodiment> Hereinafter, a second embodiment of the status notification device according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The differences between the second embodiment and the first embodiment are (1) the production facility does not generate transmission data, and (2) the software configuration of the status notification device. Therefore, hereinafter, mainly the differences from the first embodiment will be described, and the description of the same configuration will be omitted.

[0075] <1. Production Facility> As described above, in the production facility, although transmission data is not generated, the change in the status is written into the internal memory of the PLC in the same way.

[0076] <2. Status notification device> Since the production equipment 3 according to this embodiment does not transmit transmission data, the software configuration of the status notification device 1 is different. The following will be described with reference to the block diagram shown in FIG.

[0077] 12, when the control unit 114 of the status notification device 1 loads the status notification program 151 stored in the storage unit 115 into the RAM, the control unit 114 interprets and executes the status notification program 151 by the CPU, and functions as a computer equipped with a light emission control unit 63, an audio data generation unit 64, an audio control unit 65, and an event information generation unit 66. The configuration other than the event information generation unit 66 is the same as in the first embodiment, and therefore description thereof will be omitted.

[0078] The event information generating unit 66 reads the internal memory 311 of the PLC 31 of the production equipment 3 at predetermined time intervals and monitors changes in the state. When the event information generating unit 66 detects that the internal memory 311 has been rewritten, it generates transmission data 8 based on the contents of the internal memory 311. The transmission data 8 includes first transmission data (first event information) 81 and second transmission data (second event information) 82. Each of the transmission data 81, 82 is generated by referring to the notification data 9 stored in the storage unit 115.

[0079] The notification data 9 is data that is pre-registered to correspond to each detected state (see Figure 3). For example, as shown in Figure 13, the production equipment number (or IP address) 91, the color of light emitted 92, the light emission pattern 93, text data indicating the state 94, etc. are registered, and further, any of these text data are registered to correspond to the detected state.

[0080] For example, when the state written in the internal memory 311 shown in FIG. 3 is "stopped", the transmission data 81, 82 corresponding to this "stopped" are generated. For example, when text data such as red (color of light emission) 92a, lighting (light emission pattern) 93a, and stopped (text indicating the state) 94a are registered as the notification data 9 corresponding to "stopped" (gray part in FIG. 13), the event information generating unit 66 generates text data including "red, flashing" or a command indicating these as the first transmission data 81 to be transmitted to the light emission control unit 63, and generates text data including "stopped" as the second transmission data 82 to be transmitted to the voice data generating unit 64. In addition, this text data can include the number or IP address of the production equipment 3 whose state has changed, and the time when the state changed. The subsequent processing is the same as that in the first embodiment.

[0081] <3. Features> As described above, according to this embodiment, the following effects can be obtained. (1) The event information generation unit 66 of the status notification device 1 is capable of generating the transmission data 81, 82, so that the status of the production equipment 3 can be notified even if the production equipment 3 does not have the function of generating transmission data.

[0082] (2) Because the status notification device 1 stores the notification data 9 that is the basis for each of the transmission data 81, 82, the memory capacity of the production equipment 3 can be reduced, which contributes to cost reduction. Also, the contents written to the internal memory 311 do not need to include the color, as long as they include at least the status.

[0083] (3) The notification data 9 in Fig. 13 is an example, and can be set appropriately according to the state written in the internal memory 311. For example, items other than those shown in Fig. 13 can be added appropriately, so that it is possible to notify a wide variety of states. Therefore, it is possible to generate transmission data including states other than those described above, and to output a sound indicating a more detailed state.

[0084] The status notification device of the first embodiment may be configured to be provided with the event information generation unit 66 of the second embodiment so as to be compatible with both production equipment that can create transmission data and production equipment that cannot. [Explanation of symbols]

[0085] 1 Status notification device 118 Playback Switch 3 Production equipment (monitored equipment) 61 Receiving section (reception section) 62 Data discrimination unit (reception unit) 63 Light Emission Control Unit 64 Audio data generation unit 65 Audio control section 21 Light Information Department (First Event Information) 22 Voice Message Section (Second Event Information)

Claims

1. a status notification unit that generates first event information including light emission data related to light emission and second event information including text data corresponding to a sound to be reproduced, and notifies a status of a monitored device by a light emission unit and a sound unit, a reception unit for receiving the first event information and the second event information from the monitoring target device connected by wire or wirelessly; a light emission control unit that controls light emission of the light emitting unit based on the first event information received by the reception unit; a voice data generating unit that generates voice data to be reproduced by the voice unit based on the second event information received by the event information receiving unit; a sound control unit that controls the sound reproduced by the sound unit based on the sound data; The status notification unit includes:

2. The status notification unit according to claim 1 , wherein the light emission control unit is configured to change a light emission method in the light emission unit based on the second event information.

3. 3. The status notification unit according to claim 1, wherein the audio data generation unit generates the audio data so as to change at least one of the volume, pitch, tone, and playback speed of the reproduced audio depending on the content of the text data included in the second event information.

4. 3. The status notification unit according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the voice control unit controls the voice unit to change at least one of the volume, pitch, tone, and playback speed of the voice being played back depending on the content of the text data included in the second event information.

5. A storage unit that stores the generated voice data, 5. A status notification unit as described in any one of claims 1 to 4, configured to control the audio reproduced by the audio unit based on the audio data stored in the memory unit when receiving text data identical to text data contained in the second event information previously received.

6. The voice data generating unit 6. The status notification unit according to claim 1, wherein the audio data is generated so as to include at least one of a time when the first and second event information were received and information for identifying the monitored device.

7. a playback command receiving unit that receives a command to play the audio; 7. The status notification unit according to claim 1, wherein the voice control unit controls the audio unit to reproduce the sound when the reproduction command is received by the reproduction command receiving unit.

8. A light-emitting unit that emits light; a speech unit for producing speech; A status notification unit according to any one of claims 1 to 6, The status notification device includes:

9. A light-emitting unit that emits light; a speech unit for producing speech; The playback switch and A status notification unit according to claim 7; Equipped with The regeneration command receiving unit is configured to receive the regeneration command from the regeneration switch.

10. A status notification method for notifying a status of a monitored device by a light-emitting unit and a sound unit, the monitored device generating first event information including light-emitting data related to light emission and second event information including text data corresponding to a sound to be played, the method comprising: receiving the first event information and the second event information from the monitoring target device connected by wire or wirelessly; generating audio data to be reproduced by the audio unit based on the received second event information; controlling the sound reproduced by the sound unit based on the sound data; controlling light emission of the light-emitting unit based on the received first event information; The status notification method includes:

11. A status notification program that generates first event information including light emission data related to light emission and second event information including text data corresponding to a sound to be played, and notifies a status of a monitored device by a light emission unit and a sound unit, On the computer, receiving the first event information and the second event information from the monitoring target device connected by wire or wirelessly; generating audio data to be reproduced by the audio unit based on the received second event information; controlling the sound reproduced by the sound unit based on the sound data; controlling light emission of the light-emitting unit based on the received first event information; A status notification program that executes the following:

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