Work support device, work support system

Abstract

To provide a technique capable of speedily and efficiently gathering data files on a work terminal on updating thereof.SOLUTION: A work support device acquires, from a work terminal, the update day and time of a data file on the work terminal and the position on the data file that the work terminal is displaying at present, and then specifies an updated part, which has been updated on the work terminal, of the data file based upon the acquired update day and time, and position on the data file.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2B

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a technique for assisting a worker in performing a task at a work site. [Background technology]

[0002] Rapid changes in the social environment and diversifying customer needs have made digitalization a challenge in all areas of corporate activity. At the same time, competition to acquire talent is intensifying across industries and business types in order to resolve the chronic labor shortage caused by population decline and an aging society with a declining birthrate. Under these circumstances, improving the productivity of people and equipment is necessary to maximize profits with limited human resources while maintaining a global competitive advantage.

[0003] Let's consider the management work at manufacturing sites. In manufacturing site management, the progress of the manufacturing process is managed to ensure smooth production. If progress is managed properly, even if work delays occur, appropriate measures can be taken, such as changing personnel allocation or requiring overtime work, depending on the situation. However, in manufacturing sites that operate on paper, the lead time from work to reporting is long, making it difficult to grasp accurate progress in real time.

[0004] In response to this situation, the manufacturing industry is turning its attention to work support systems that utilize wearable devices such as electronic paper. For example, when electronic paper is applied to inspection work, work results can be recorded as chronological electronic data. This chronological data records work information such as who performed the work and how, making it possible to visualize progress through data analysis. Furthermore, the analysis and processing of electronic data is more accurate and faster than manual paper-based work, and data files containing this information can also be shared over a network. In this way, the use of wearable devices can improve productivity at manufacturing sites.

[0005] When using wearable devices such as electronic paper in a work support system, it is desirable for the device to be thin and lightweight to reduce the burden on the worker. For this reason, the wearable device's functions are typically specialized for reading and writing, with the more demanding processing being performed on another computer via a network. However, when sharing data files within the device, as the file size and number of devices increase, the time required to collect and analyze the collected files increases, creating a new issue: the real-time nature of the analysis results (progress status) is compromised.

[0006] Patent Document 1 addresses the issue of "efficiently updating information managed by a business support system," and discloses the following technology (see abstract): "A business support device 10a includes a storage unit that stores support data for supporting business operations, including common document information and individual document information; an update unit that updates the support data; and a processing unit that creates change data for reflecting the updated support data in data stored in other devices. The update unit saves common document change information indicating an updated portion of the common document information in the support data, individual document change information indicating an updated portion of the individual document information in the support data, and a change file directory in which a file after the change of the individual document information is saved, in separate data units or directory units, and the processing unit extracts the change data from the separate data or directory." [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0007] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2015-130148 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0008] Patent Document 1 describes a technology that, when a file update is detected within a device, registers the update information in a database via another device. Consider the application of this technology to a work assistance system. In this case, when a wearable device detects a file update, the update information can be registered in the database via another computer. This allows work information within the wearable device to be efficiently registered in the database. However, intermittent execution of load-intensive processes within the wearable device can cause delays in the device's operation. Another issue is that the real-time nature of the analysis results (progress status) mentioned above is impaired.

[0009] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned problems, and aims to provide a technique that can quickly and efficiently collect data files on a work terminal when the data files are updated. [Means for solving the problem]

[0010] The work support device of the present invention acquires from the work terminal the update date and time of a data file on the work terminal and the position on the data file currently displayed by the work terminal, and identifies the updated portion of the data file that has been updated on the work terminal based on the acquired update date and time and the acquired position on the data file. [Effects of the Invention]

[0011] According to the work support device of the present invention, when a data file on a work terminal is updated, the data can be collected quickly and efficiently. Problems, configurations, effects, etc. other than those described above will become clear from the description of the following embodiments. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a method for collecting data files held by a work terminal. [Figure 2A]10 is a sequence chart illustrating a general procedure in which the server 102 analyzes a data file on the work terminal 105. [Figure 2B] 10 is a sequence chart illustrating a procedure for acquiring, from the work terminal 105, update information indicating whether a data file has been updated on the work terminal 105. [Figure 3] 1 shows an example of the structure and data of update history data 300 stored in the server 102. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of a server 102. [Figure 5] 10 is a flowchart illustrating an operation procedure of the server 102. [Figure 6] 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of the types of data files used on the work terminal 105. FIG. [Figure 7] 10 is a flowchart illustrating an operation procedure when the data acquisition unit 1022 switches which data to acquire according to the format of the data file. [Figure 8] FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram illustrating a range of an operating terminal 105 monitored by a server 102 according to a second embodiment. [Figure 9] 9 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure when a monitoring unit 1021 performs the operation of FIG. 8. [Figure 10] 10 is a schematic diagram illustrating another example of the configuration of the range of the work terminal 105 monitored by the server 102. FIG. [Figure 11] 11 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure when a monitoring unit 1021 performs the operation of FIG. 10. [Figure 12] FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram illustrating the range of data files collected by the server 102 according to the third embodiment. [Figure 13] 13 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure when a data acquisition unit 1022 performs the operation of FIG. 12. [Figure 14] FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram illustrating a range of the work terminal 105 collected by the server 102 according to the third embodiment. [Figure 15] 15 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure when a data acquisition unit 1022 performs the operation of FIG. 14. [Figure 16] FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram illustrating a range of the work terminal 105 collected by the server 102 according to the third embodiment. [Figure 17] 17 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure when a data acquisition unit 1022 performs the operation of FIG. 16. [Figure 18] FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram illustrating a range of the work terminal 105 collected by the server 102 according to the third embodiment. [Figure 19A] 19 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure when a data acquisition unit 1022 performs the operation of FIG. 18. [Figure 19B] 19 is a flowchart illustrating another procedure when the data acquisition unit 1022 performs the operation of FIG. 18. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0013] <First Embodiment> Fig. 1 is a diagram illustrating a method for collecting data files held by a work terminal. A work support system 100 is composed of an administration computer 101, a server 102, and a work terminal 105, and supports work performed by a worker on the work terminal 105. Methods for collecting data held by the work terminal 105 include, for example, those shown in the upper and lower parts of Fig. 1.

[0014] The method shown in the upper part of Figure 1 will be explained. A worker inputs work details via a web browser on a work terminal 105, and the server 102 records the work details in a data file 104 in a second data format (for example, HTML format). When an administrator provides information to the work terminal 105, the administration computer 101 provides a data file 103 in the first data format to the server 102, which then converts this to the second data format. The work terminal 105 can view the information on its web browser. When data is to be aggregated, the server 102 stores the data file 104 in a database 106. In this method, the data file 104 describing the work details is created on the server 102 from the beginning.

[0015] The method in the lower part of Figure 1 will be explained. Administration computer 101 provides data file 103 in a first data format to server 102, and server 102 converts this into data file 103 in a third data format (e.g., PDF format). Work terminal 105 acquires data file 107, and the worker records the work content in data file 107 on work terminal 105. When data is to be aggregated, server 102 reacquires data file 107 from work terminal 105 and stores it in database 106. This method differs from the method in the upper part of Figure 1 in that the data file recording the work content is held on work terminal 105.

[0016] 2A is a sequence chart explaining a general procedure by which server 102 analyzes a data file on work terminal 105. Here, it is assumed that work terminal 105 holds a data file, as shown in the lower part of FIG. 1. When a data file on work terminal 105 is updated, server 102 stores the updated content in database 106. Therefore, the analysis procedure is as follows:

[0017] In S201, the server 102 acquires a data file from the work terminal 105, and analyzes the file contents in S203. Assume that the data file was updated on the work terminal 105 between S201 and S203 (S202). In S204, the server 102 determines whether the data file has been updated. Since the data file was updated in S202, it is determined that the data file has been updated. In S205, the server 102 reacquires the data file from the work terminal 105, and analyzes it in S206. In S207, the server 102 extracts the updated content, and in S208, records the updated content in the database 106.

[0018] In this way, in a typical data collection procedure, the server 102 must repeatedly acquire data files from the work terminal 105 in order to determine whether the data files have been updated on the work terminal 105. This places a processing load on both the work terminal 105 and the server 102 for each collection process.

[0019] 2B is a sequence chart illustrating the procedure for obtaining, from the work terminal 105, update information indicating whether a data file has been updated on the work terminal 105. It is assumed that the work terminal 105 holds a data file, as shown in the lower part of FIG. 1. Unlike FIG. 2A, in this sequence chart, the server 102 obtains the data file from the work terminal 105 and analyzes the update content only when the update information indicates that the data file has been updated on the work terminal 105. In other cases, the server 102 obtains only the update information from the work terminal 105, but does not obtain the data file itself. By using this sequence chart, the present invention aims to reduce the load associated with obtaining a data file.

[0020] In S211, the server 102 acquires update information from the work terminal 105. The update information is information indicating whether a data file on the work terminal 105 has been updated, and has a smaller data size than the data file itself. Specific examples of update information will be described later. The server 102 analyzes the update information (S212) and determines that the data file has not been updated (S213). The server 102 repeats the process of acquiring update information, for example, at predetermined intervals (S214). It is assumed that the worker updated the data file on the work terminal between S214 and S215 (S217). The server 102 analyzes the update information (S215) and determines that the data file has been updated (S216). The server 102 acquires the updated portion of the data file from the work terminal 105 (S218). The server 102 identifies the work content by analyzing the acquired updated portion (S219) and records the work content in the database 106 (S220).

[0021] 3 shows the structure and example data of update history data 300 accumulated by server 102. Based on update information acquired from work terminal 105, server 102 identifies the part of the data file that has been updated on work terminal 105 (the number of the updated page), and accumulates this together with the update date and time as an update history. Update history data 300 includes terminal ID 301, file path 302, update date and time 303, and page number 304. Update history data 300 can be stored in database 106.

[0022] The updated portion of a data file can be identified as follows: The work terminal 105 is configured to receive a command from an external terminal that specifies a data file and inquires about its update date and time, and to respond to that command with the update date and time. The work terminal 105 is further configured to receive a command from the external terminal that inquires about the data file currently displayed by the work terminal 105 and the page number currently displayed, and to respond to that command with these. The server 102 can monitor the data file updated on the work terminal 105 and the updated page number by transmitting these two commands (which may technically be combined into one command) to the work terminal 105, for example, every few hundred milliseconds, and receiving the responses.

[0023] For example, for terminal ID "0001," assume that the update date and time of the data file "tmp / a.pdf" is later than the last time it was acquired, and the page number displayed on the work terminal 105 at that time was "2." In this case, the server 102 can identify that page number "2" has been newly updated. Each time the server 102 identifies a newly updated page number, it adds the page number to page number 304 and overwrites and updates update date and time 303. The server 102 accumulates update history data 300 by performing the same process for each terminal ID 301 and file path 302.

[0024] The update history data 300 can be created by acquiring the update date and time, the currently displayed data file, and the page number. Therefore, there is no need to acquire the data file itself and analyze the update content, so the update content can be identified with less processing load and communication volume than the conventional procedure shown in Figure 2A. The processing load and communication volume are reduced for both the server 102 and the work terminal 105.

[0025] FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram of the server 102. The server 102 (task support device) includes a monitoring unit 1021, a data acquisition unit 1022, an analysis unit 1023, a display unit 1024, and a database 106. The monitoring unit 1021 acquires the update status of the data file by transmitting the inquiry command described in FIG. 3 to the work terminal 105, and creates update history data 300 based on this. The data acquisition unit 1022 acquires the updated portion of the data file on the work terminal 105. The updated portion is identified by the monitoring unit 1021 during the process of creating the update history data 300. The analysis unit 1023 analyzes the updated portion to identify the work content performed on the work terminal 105 and records the work content in the database 106. The display unit 1024 displays information stored in the database 106. The database 106 can be configured by storing data files in a storage device.

[0026] 5 is a flowchart illustrating the operation procedure of the server 102. The monitoring unit 1021, data acquisition unit 1022, and analysis unit 1023 can operate independently and in parallel. Each step in FIG. 5 will be described below.

[0027] The monitoring unit 1021 selects a work terminal 105 for monitoring update contents (S501). If the update date and time 303 has just been updated, the monitoring unit 1021 acquires the latest value of the update date and time 303 again (S503), and acquires the update date and time of the data file by sending an inquiry command to the work terminal 105 (S504). If the data file has been updated (S505: YES), the update date and time 303 is overwritten with the update date and time of the data file, and if a new page has been updated, the page number of that page is added to the page number 304 (S506). The monitoring unit 1021 repeats the above steps until monitoring is terminated (S507).

[0028] The data acquisition unit 1022 checks the update history data 300 (S510) to see if there is a page number of a newly updated data file (S511). If there is an updated page (S511: YES), it acquires only the newly updated page of the data file (S512) and stores that page in the database 106 (S513). The data acquisition unit 1022 repeats the above steps until data collection is completed (S514). Because the data acquisition unit 1022 acquires only the updated pages of the data file from the work terminal 105, the load of the collection process can be reduced.

[0029] The analysis unit 1023 checks the update history data 300 (S517) to see if there is a page number of a newly updated data file (S518). If there is an updated page (S518: YES), it analyzes only the newly updated page of that data file (S519) and stores the analysis results in the database 106 (S520). The analysis unit 1023 repeats the above steps until the analysis is completed (S521). Because the analysis unit 1023 analyzes only the updated pages of the data file, the load of the analysis process can be reduced.

[0030] FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating the types of data files used on the work terminal 105. Input form data is made up of specified input screen components (e.g., text boxes, radio buttons, combo boxes, list boxes, check boxes), and the worker inputs the work content into these screen components. The input form data is, for example, a PDF form. The worker may also record the work content by handwriting input 601. In this case, the data describing the handwritten input content is created in, for example, LAF (Lingoes Appendix File) format. The handwritten data can also be created separately from the write-in data. Furthermore, the handwritten data may also be written into the input form.

[0031] 7 is a flowchart illustrating an operation procedure when the data acquisition unit 1022 switches which data to acquire according to the format of the data file. In this flowchart, S701 to S704 are performed instead of S512 described in FIG. 5. The data acquisition unit 1022 determines the type of data file to acquire (S701). If the data file is a work file for recording work content in the data file itself, such as an input form, the data acquisition unit 1022 acquires the work file (S702). If the data file is composed of handwritten data and destination data, the destination data is usually provided to the work terminal 105 by the server 102, so the data acquisition unit 1022 only needs to acquire the handwritten data from the work terminal 105 (S703). If work content is to be recorded in the data file itself and handwritten input is also performed, it is necessary to acquire both the data file and the handwritten data (S704).

[0032] <First embodiment: Summary> The work support device (server 102) according to the first embodiment identifies the updated portion of the data file by acquiring the update date and time of the data file on the work terminal 105 and the page number of the data file currently displayed by the work terminal 105. This makes it possible to identify the updated portion without acquiring and analyzing the entire data file from the work terminal 105. In other words, it is possible to reduce the processing load and communication load required to identify the updated portion.

[0033] <Embodiment 2> In the second embodiment of the present invention, a configuration example will be described in which the processing load on the server 102 is reduced by narrowing down the work terminals 105 or data files that the server 102 monitors, such as update dates and times. The other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment.

[0034] FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram illustrating the range of work terminals 105 monitored by the server 102 according to the second embodiment. The work terminals 105 and the authentication system may be configured so that, when using the work terminal 105, a worker undergoes login authentication by the authentication system and can use the work terminal 105 only if authenticated. In this case, only users who have received login authentication from the authentication system and the work terminals 105 used by those users update data files on the work terminal 105. Therefore, in the second embodiment, the monitoring unit 1021 monitors only user 801 who has received login authentication from the authentication system and the work terminals 105 used by that user, among all users 800 who use the work terminal 105, and does not monitor user 802 who has not received login authentication and the work terminals 105 used by user 802. This reduces the processing load on the server 102.

[0035] Fig. 9 is a flowchart illustrating the procedure when the monitoring unit 1021 performs the operation of Fig. 8. In addition to the procedure described in Fig. 5, the monitoring unit 1021 performs S901 before S501. In S901, the monitoring unit 1021 identifies a work terminal 105 for which a user has undergone login authentication. In S501, the monitoring unit 1021 selects only the work terminal 105 identified in S901 as a monitoring target.

[0036] 10 is a schematic diagram illustrating another example of the configuration of the range of the work terminal 105 monitored by the server 102. It is considered that the data files updated on the work terminal 105 are those that the user is currently operating on the work terminal 105, and other data files are not updated. Therefore, the monitoring unit 1021 monitors only the data file 1001 that the user is currently operating. This makes it possible to reduce the processing load on the server 102. The file that the user is currently operating can be identified by transmitting the command described in FIG. 3 from the server 102 to the work terminal 105.

[0037] Fig. 11 is a flowchart illustrating the procedure when the monitoring unit 1021 performs the operation of Fig. 10. The monitoring unit 1021 performs S1101 instead of S504 described in Fig. 5. In S1101, the monitoring unit 1021 acquires the data file being operated by the user on the work terminal 105 using the command described in Fig. 3. The monitoring unit 1021 repeatedly sends a command to the work terminal 105 to inquire about the update date and time and the page number being displayed only for the data file being operated. The rest is the same as Fig. 5.

[0038] <Embodiment 2: Summary> In the work support device (server 102) according to the second embodiment, the monitoring unit 1021 narrows down the work terminals 105 or data files that are being monitored for update dates and times, etc., to only those currently being worked on. This reduces the processing load on the server 102. The command for identifying the data file being operated is the same as the command in the first embodiment, so it is also useful that the processing load can be reduced using the same mechanism as in the first embodiment.

[0039] <Third Embodiment> In the second embodiment of the present invention, a configuration example will be described in which the server 102 reduces the processing load on the work terminal 105 by narrowing down the data files that the server 102 collects from the work terminal 105. The other configurations are the same as those in the first embodiment.

[0040] FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram illustrating the range of data files collected by the server 102 according to the third embodiment. Depending on the specifications of the work terminal 105, when the data acquisition unit 1022 collects a data file from the work terminal 105, the data file may be locked on the work terminal 105 (for example, making it possible to refer to but not update the data file). As an example, when a data file described by the handwritten data and destination data described in FIG. 6 is transmitted from the work terminal 105 to the data acquisition unit 1022, the data file may be locked in order to generate a PDF file that describes both the handwritten data and the destination data. This locking process may cause the user to stop writing to the data file, resulting in inconveniences such as reduced work efficiency.

[0041] Therefore, in the third embodiment, the data acquisition unit 1022 does not acquire the data file 1201 that the user is operating on the work terminal 105, but acquires only the data file 1202 that the user is not operating. As a result, even when the data acquisition unit 1022 collects data files, the user is not forced to interrupt the writing operation to the data file that he or she is operating, and therefore, a decrease in work efficiency can be avoided.

[0042] 13 is a flowchart illustrating the procedure when the data acquisition unit 1022 performs the operation of FIG. 12. The data acquisition unit 1022 performs S1301 between S511 and S512 described in FIG. 5. In S1301, the data acquisition unit 1022 identifies data files that the user is not operating on the work terminal 105. For example, this can be done by obtaining the results of the command described in FIG. 3 from the monitoring unit 1021. The data acquisition unit 1022 acquires only data files that are not being operated from the work terminal 105. The rest is the same as in FIG. 6.

[0043] 14 is a schematic diagram illustrating the range of work terminals 105 from which data is collected by the server 102 according to the third embodiment. For example, a user may use multiple work terminals 105 simultaneously, such as when working on an inspection task while simultaneously viewing multiple drawings. When a user operates multiple work terminals 105, even if data files are collected from terminals other than the one being operated, work will not be interrupted due to locking. Therefore, the data acquisition unit 1022 identifies the work terminal 105 being operated by the user and collects data files only from the other work terminals 105.

[0044] When a user uses multiple work terminals 105, for example, the user and each work terminal 105 may be associated in a login authentication system, and the user may be configured to be able to log in only to the work terminal 105 with which the user is associated (permitted to use). In this case, first, all work terminals 105 associated with the user in the login authentication system are identified, and of the identified work terminals 105, the one to which the user is logged in is in operation, and the others are not in operation. By this procedure, the data acquisition unit 1022 can identify the work terminal 105 that the user is operating / not operating.

[0045] Fig. 15 is a flowchart illustrating the procedure when the data acquisition unit 1022 performs the operation of Fig. 14. The data acquisition unit 1022 performs S1501 between S511 and S512 described in Fig. 5. In S1501, the data acquisition unit 1022 identifies a work terminal 105 that is associated with a user in the login authentication system and that is not currently being operated by the user. The data acquisition unit 1022 collects data files only from work terminals 105 that are not currently being operated. The rest is the same as Fig. 6.

[0046] FIG. 16 is a schematic diagram illustrating the range of work terminals 105 from which data is collected by the server 102 according to the third embodiment. The work terminal 105 may be configured to allow the user to set a status indicating that the user is on break. For example, a break button may be placed on the operation screen of the work terminal 105, and while the button is pressed, when an external terminal inquires about the user's status, the terminal will respond with a message indicating that the user is on break. When the work terminal 105 is configured in this manner, the data acquisition unit 1022 may collect data files only from the work terminal 105 used by user 1601 who is on break, but not from the work terminal 105 used by user 1602 who is working. This makes it possible to avoid a decrease in work efficiency due to data files being locked.

[0047] 17 is a flowchart illustrating the procedure when the data acquisition unit 1022 performs the operation of FIG. 16. The data acquisition unit 1022 performs S1701 between S511 and S512 described in FIG. 5. In S1701, the data acquisition unit 1022 inquires of the work terminal 105 whether the user is on a break. For example, the data acquisition unit 1022 may send a command to the work terminal 105 inquiring whether the break button has been pressed, and the work terminal 105 may reply to this. The data acquisition unit 1022 acquires data files only from work terminals 105 that are on a break. The rest is the same as in FIG. 6.

[0048] FIG. 18 is a schematic diagram illustrating the range of work terminals 105 from which data is collected by the server 102 according to the third embodiment. The data acquisition unit 1022 may collect data files only from work terminals 105 for which a predetermined time or more has passed since the last time a data file was collected. In FIG. 18, data files are collected only from work terminals 105 (used by user 1801) for which 15 minutes or more have passed since the last time a data file was collected, and are not collected from work terminals 105 (used by user 1802) for which no time has passed. This makes it possible to avoid a decrease in work efficiency due to data files being locked. There are two possible reasons for collecting data files when a predetermined time has passed, as explained below.

[0049] 19A is a flowchart illustrating the procedure when the data acquisition unit 1022 performs the operation of FIG. 18. The data acquisition unit 1022 performs S1901 between S511 and S512 described in FIG. 5. In S1901, the data acquisition unit 1022 determines for each work terminal 105 whether a predetermined time or more has passed since the previous data file was collected. If a predetermined time or more has passed, the process proceeds to S512 and thereafter, and if not, the process returns to S510. This reduces the frequency of data collection processing, thereby reducing the processing load on each of the work terminal 105 and the server 102.

[0050] FIG. 19B is a flowchart illustrating another procedure when the data acquisition unit 1022 performs the operation of FIG. 18. The data acquisition unit 1022 performs S1902 to S1903 between S511 and S512 described in FIG. 5. In S1902, the data acquisition unit 1022 identifies a work terminal 105 that is not being operated by the user, as in S1501. For a work terminal 105 that is not being operated, data files are collected in S512 and subsequent steps. For a work terminal 105 that is being operated, it is further determined whether or not a predetermined time has passed since the last time a data file was collected (S1903). If the predetermined time has not passed, the process returns to S510. If the predetermined time has passed, S512 and subsequent steps are carried out even for the work terminal 105 that is being operated. This makes it possible to prevent a situation in which data files cannot be collected for a long period of time due to the user continuing to use the work terminal 105 for a long period of time.

[0051] In S1902, as in S1301, data files that are not currently being operated by the user may be identified. For data files that are not currently being operated, the data files are collected in S512 and subsequent steps. For data files that are currently being operated, it is further determined whether a predetermined time or more has passed since the last time the data file was collected (S1903). If the predetermined time has not passed, the process returns to S510. If the predetermined time has passed, S512 and subsequent steps are carried out even for data files that are currently being operated. This allows the same effect to be achieved on a data file-by-data file basis.

[0052] <Embodiment 3: Summary> In the work support device (server 102) according to the third embodiment, the data acquisition unit 1022 narrows down the work terminals 105 from which data files are collected or the data files themselves to only those that are not currently being operated by the user. This makes it possible to avoid a decrease in work efficiency due to locking associated with data file collection.

[0053] <Modifications of the present invention> The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments and includes various modifications. For example, the above-described embodiments have been described in detail to clearly explain the present invention, and are not necessarily limited to those including all of the described configurations. Furthermore, it is possible to replace part of the configuration of one embodiment with the configuration of another embodiment, or to add the configuration of another embodiment to the configuration of one embodiment. Furthermore, it is possible to add, delete, or replace part of the configuration of each embodiment with other configurations.

[0054] In the above embodiment, it has been described that the monitoring unit 1021 acquires the page number currently displayed by the work terminal 105, and the data acquisition unit 1022 collects a specific page as part of a data file. This is an example explanation of a case where the data file is configured in page units, and these operations do not necessarily have to be performed in page units of the data file. In other words, it is sufficient for the monitoring unit 1021 to be able to identify the part of the data file currently displayed by the work terminal 105, and it is sufficient for the data acquisition unit 1022 to be able to collect the updated part of the data file.

[0055] The methods described in each embodiment may be combined. For example, in the third embodiment, a plurality of methods are described for narrowing down the work terminals 105 from which the data acquisition unit 1022 collects data files, but these methods may be combined as long as they are not mutually contradictory.

[0056] In the above embodiment, it has been explained that the server 102 acquires a data file from the work terminal 105 only when the update information (response to the inquiry command) indicates that the data file has been updated on the work terminal 105. This means that the data file is acquired to carry out the subsequent analysis processing of the update contents only when the data is updated, and it should be noted that this does not prevent the acquisition of the data file for purposes other than the analysis processing of the update contents.

[0057] In the above-described embodiments, all or some of the monitoring unit 1021, data acquisition unit 1022, analysis unit 1023, and display unit 1024 may be distributed across multiple servers 102. For example, the monitoring results obtained by the monitoring unit 1021 located on one server may be stored in the database 106, and the data acquisition unit 1022 located on another server may obtain the monitoring results from the database 106 and collect data files based on the results.

[0058] In the above embodiments, the monitoring unit 1021, data acquisition unit 1022, analysis unit 1023, and display unit 1024 can be configured by hardware such as a circuit device that implements these functions, or by a computing device such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) that executes software that implements these functions. [Explanation of symbols]

[0059] 102: Server 1021: Monitoring Department 1022: Data acquisition unit 1023:Analysis Department 1024: Display section 105: Work terminal 106: Database

Claims

1. A work assistance device that assists a worker in performing work using a work terminal, a monitoring unit that monitors the update status of the data file held by the work terminal; a data acquisition unit that acquires at least a portion of the data file from the work terminal; Equipped with The monitoring unit acquires, from the work terminal, the update date and time of the data file and the position on the data file currently displayed by the work terminal; the monitoring unit identifies an updated portion of the data file that has been updated on the work terminal based on the acquired update date and time and the acquired location; The data acquisition unit acquires the specified updated portion from the work terminal. A work support device characterized by:

2. the monitoring unit periodically and repeatedly acquires the update date and time and the location from the work terminal; the monitoring unit identifies the updated portion by acquiring the differences in the update date and time and the positions between the repetitions; The monitoring unit accumulates a history of the identified updated portion.

2. The work support device according to claim 1.

3. The task support device further includes an analysis unit that analyzes update contents of the data file, The data file has one or more pages, The monitoring unit identifies the number of the updated page in the data file as the updated portion, The data acquisition unit acquires only the page corresponding to the updated portion from the data file.

2. The work support device according to claim 1.

4. The analysis unit analyzes only the page of the data file acquired by the data acquisition unit, thereby analyzing the update content of the data file.

4. The work support device according to claim 3.

5. The task support device further includes a storage unit for storing update history data describing a history of the update portion, Each time the monitoring unit acquires an updated update date and time, the monitoring unit overwrites the update date and time in the update history data; Each time the monitoring unit identifies a new updated portion, the monitoring unit adds information indicating the new updated portion to the update history data.

3. The work support device according to claim 2.

6. The work terminal stores, as the data file, input form data that holds the results of the work record entered by the worker in accordance with a predetermined input form; handwritten record data configured by a combination of handwritten data describing the route taken by the worker by manual input on the work terminal and write destination data to which the handwritten data is to be written; and possess at least one of the following: when the input form data is updated on the work terminal, the data acquisition unit acquires the updated portion of the input form data as the updated portion; When the handwritten record data is updated on the work terminal, the data acquisition unit acquires only the newly updated part of the handwritten data as the updated part.

2. The work support device according to claim 1.

7. The monitoring unit identifies, from among the plurality of work terminals, a work terminal that has received the login authentication from an authentication system that performs login authentication for the worker, The monitoring unit monitors the update status only for those of the plurality of work terminals that have undergone the login authentication.

2. The work support device according to claim 1.

8. the work terminal is configured to return the data file currently displayed by the work terminal and a page number on the data file currently displayed by the work terminal in response to an inquiry; the monitoring unit determines whether the work terminal is in use by transmitting a command to the work terminal to inquire about the location and receiving a response thereto; The monitoring unit periodically and repeatedly acquires the update date and time and the location only from the work terminal that is in use.

3. The work support device according to claim 2.

9. the work terminal is configured to lock the data file that is being acquired by the data acquisition unit so that the worker cannot at least update it, The data acquisition unit acquires only the data files that the worker has not operated on the work terminal.

2. The work support device according to claim 1.

10. The work terminal is composed of a first terminal and a second terminal, the first terminal and the second terminal are defined as terminals used by the same worker in an authentication system that authenticates the worker, The data acquisition unit acquires the data file from one of the first terminal and the second terminal in which the worker has not received login authentication on the authentication system, and does not acquire the data file from another terminal in which the worker has received login authentication.

2. The work support device according to claim 1.

11. the work terminal is configured to transmit information indicating whether the worker is working or taking a break, The data acquisition unit acquires the data file only from the work terminal that has transmitted a message indicating that the worker is on break.

2. The work support device according to claim 1.

12. the data acquisition unit determines whether or not a predetermined time has elapsed since the data file was last acquired from the work terminal; The data acquisition unit acquires the data file again only when the predetermined time or more has elapsed.

2. The work support device according to claim 1.

13. the data acquisition unit determines whether or not a predetermined time has elapsed since the data file was last acquired from the work terminal; the data acquisition unit acquires the data file that the worker has not operated on the work terminal, the data acquisition unit does not acquire the data file if the worker is operating the data file on the work terminal and the predetermined time has not elapsed; The data acquisition unit acquires the data file when the worker is operating the data file on the work terminal and the predetermined time has elapsed, regardless of whether the worker is operating the data file or not.

2. The work support device according to claim 1.

14. The task assistance device further includes an analysis unit that analyzes the data file, The monitoring unit, the data acquisition unit, and the analysis unit are arranged on the same device.

2. The work support device according to claim 1.

15. The work support device according to claim 1, The work terminal, and The work terminal is configured to respond to a command inquiring about the update date and time of the data file and the position on the data file currently displayed by the work terminal when the command is received. A work support system characterized by:

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