Remote monitoring system for building facilities

Abstract

A remote monitoring system 1 being an example of an embodiment is a system for remotely monitoring building equipment that comprises: a communication module 10; and a communication device 20 that controls the communication module 10 for executing communications. A remote monitoring device 30 constituting the remote monitoring system 1 transmits communication confirmation data to the communication device 20, thereby executing the confirmation of communication with the communication device 20. The communication device 20 restarts the communication module 10 when the communication confirmation data cannot be received.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a remote monitoring system for building facilities, and more particularly to a remote monitoring system for building facilities that has a communication function with a remote monitoring device. [Background technology]

[0002] Building facilities such as elevators are generally maintained and inspected by maintenance companies. Conventionally, building facilities such as elevators may be equipped with communication devices, and remote monitoring systems that use these communication devices to remotely monitor the facilities from a monitoring center of a maintenance company or the like are widely known (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 to 3). The elevator monitoring system disclosed in Patent Document 1 is configured to reset the elevator control device after performing a predetermined confirmation process when a reset command signal is sent from the remote monitoring device in the monitoring center to the elevator side via the communication device.

[0003] In recent years, there has been an increase in the use of mobile communications (e.g., LTE: Long Term Evolution) as a means of communication between remote monitoring devices and communication devices installed in building facilities. When using a mobile communications network such as an LTE network, it is not possible to maintain a constant connection due to communication costs. For this reason, communication checks are periodically performed to ensure that communication is possible without any problems. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2005-112486 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 5-2694 [Patent Document 3] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-264911 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] If communication between the remote monitoring device and the communication device installed in the building equipment cannot be established during the above-mentioned communication check, maintenance personnel must be dispatched to the site to carry out recovery work. This creates a problem of a heavy workload for the maintenance personnel. Another problem is that the remote monitoring function of the building equipment will be lost until the maintenance personnel are dispatched and carry out the recovery work.

[0006] The object of the present invention is to provide a remote monitoring system that can quickly restore communication without dispatching maintenance personnel to the site when communication between the remote monitoring device and communication devices installed in building facilities cannot be confirmed. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The remote monitoring system for building facilities of the present invention is a remote monitoring system for building facilities that includes a communication module and a communication device that controls the communication module to perform communication, and is characterized in that it includes a remote monitoring device that communicates with the communication device via the communication module and performs remote monitoring of the building facilities, the remote monitoring device sends communication confirmation data to the communication device to perform communication confirmation with the communication device, and the communication device restarts the communication module if it cannot receive the communication confirmation data.

[0008] In many cases, communication between the remote monitoring device and the communication device installed in the building equipment can be restored by restarting the communication module. Therefore, in the building equipment remote monitoring system according to the present invention, if communication cannot be confirmed, for example, if communication confirmation continues for a certain period of time, the communication device automatically restarts the communication module rather than declaring communication unavailable and dispatching a maintenance worker to the site. This may allow communication to be restored quickly without the need for a maintenance worker, significantly reducing the number of times a maintenance worker must be dispatched. Furthermore, recovery time can be shortened.

[0009] In the remote monitoring system for building facilities according to the present invention, it is preferable that the communication device restarts itself if it is unable to receive communication confirmation data even after restarting the communication module. Because communication failures can occur due to the communication device, this configuration increases the likelihood that communication can be restored, making the above-mentioned effects more pronounced. While it is possible to restart the communication device at the same time as the communication module, this configuration prevents unnecessary restarts of the communication device because there is a high likelihood that communication can be restored by restarting only the communication module.

[0010] In the remote monitoring system for building facilities according to the present invention, the remote monitoring device is configured to be able to communicate with the communication device via multiple communication lines including a main line and a sub-line, and if communication cannot be confirmed via the main line, communication confirmation data may be transmitted via the sub-line. With this configuration, if a communication failure occurs due to a problem with the main line, unnecessary recovery work for the communication equipment can be prevented.

[0011] In the remote monitoring system for building facilities according to the present invention, the communication device may be configured to restart the communication module if communication check data is not received for a predetermined period of time after the previous reception of communication check data. In this case, the communication module can be restarted at an appropriate time, preventing a communication failure from being left unattended for a long period of time.

[0012] In the remote monitoring system for building facilities according to the present invention, the communication device may be configured to output information requesting the remote monitoring device to transmit communication confirmation data. For example, the communication device may be able to execute communication confirmation with the remote monitoring device at any time. The communication device may be configured to restart the communication module if communication confirmation data cannot be received even after outputting the request.

[0013] In the remote monitoring system for building facilities according to the present invention, the building facilities are preferably elevators. [Effects of the Invention]

[0014] According to the remote monitoring system for building facilities of the present invention, when communication between the remote monitoring device and the communication device installed in the building facilities cannot be confirmed, communication can be quickly restored without dispatching a maintenance worker to the site. This can reduce the number of times that maintenance workers need to be dispatched and shorten the recovery time, for example. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0015] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram illustrating a remote monitoring system for an elevator according to an embodiment; [Figure 2] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a remote monitoring system. [Figure 3] 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a control procedure related to communication confirmation. [Figure 4] 10 is a flowchart showing another example of a control procedure related to connectivity confirmation. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0016] Hereinafter, with reference to the drawings, an embodiment of a remote monitoring system for building facilities according to the present invention will be described in detail. The embodiment described below is merely an example, and the present invention is not limited to the following embodiment. Furthermore, the present invention also includes forms that are formed by selectively combining multiple embodiments and modified examples described below.

[0017] The configuration of an elevator remote monitoring system 1, which is an example of an embodiment, will be described in detail below with reference to Figures 1 and 2. In this embodiment, an elevator 2 is used as an example of building equipment, but the building equipment according to the present invention is not limited to elevators. The remote monitoring system according to the present invention can also be applied to, for example, air conditioning equipment or security systems such as intercom equipment. However, the remote monitoring system according to the present invention is particularly effective in remotely monitoring elevators.

[0018] As shown in Figures 1 and 2, elevator remote monitoring system 1 is a system for remotely monitoring elevator 2, which includes a communication module 10 and a communication device 20 that controls communication module 10 to perform communication. Remote monitoring system 1 includes remote monitoring device 30 that communicates with communication device 20 via communication module 10 and remotely monitors elevator 2. Remote monitoring device 30 is generally a computer of a maintenance company that performs maintenance and inspection of elevator 2, and is installed in a location away from the facility where elevator 2 is installed, for example, a monitoring center (information center) that remotely monitors elevator 2.

[0019] The remote monitoring device 30 generally performs remote monitoring of a plurality of elevators 2. A plurality of elevators 2 installed in a plurality of facilities are the targets of remote monitoring by the remote monitoring device 30. The remote monitoring device 30 may be configured as one computer or as a plurality of computers. In order to perform remote monitoring of a plurality of elevators 2, the remote monitoring device 30 needs to communicate with each elevator 2, and is configured to periodically transmit communication confirmation data to the communication device 20 of each elevator 2 to confirm the communication status with the communication device 20.

[0020] As will be described in more detail below, in the remote monitoring system 1, when the communication device 20 is unable to receive communication confirmation data for a predetermined period of time, it restarts at least the communication module 10. In many cases, restarting the communication module restores communication between the communication device 20 and the remote monitoring device 30. The remote monitoring system 1 can significantly reduce the number of times maintenance personnel are dispatched and also significantly shorten the recovery time.

[0021] The elevator 2 is a lifting facility in which a car 3 moves within a hoistway 4 to transport people, goods, etc. between landings 5 ​​installed on each floor. The car 3 has, for example, an interior space where people can board, and moves within the hoistway 4 by being driven by a hoist 7 installed in an upper machine room 6. The car 3 is equipped with an in-car operation panel 3A, a car door 3B, and a door opening and closing device (not shown) that opens and closes the car door 3B. In addition, the landing 5 is provided with a landing operation panel 5A and a landing door 5B.

[0022] In this embodiment, a control panel 8 that controls the operation of the elevator 2 is installed in the upper machine room 6. The control panel 8 controls the hoist 7 based on operation signals from, for example, the car operating panel 3A and the hall operating panel 5A, and moves the car 3 to a predetermined hall 5 in accordance with the operation of the user. In addition, when the car 3 is stopped at the hall 5, the control panel 8 controls the door opening and closing device to open and close the car door 3B. The hall door 5B opens and closes in conjunction with the car door 3B.

[0023] As described above, the elevator 2 is equipped with the communication module 10 and the communication device 20 as communication devices for communicating with the remote monitoring device 30. The communication module 10 and the communication device 20, together with the remote monitoring device 30, constitute the remote monitoring system 1. In the example shown in FIG. 1 , the communication module 10 and the communication device 20 are installed in the upper machine room 6 together with the control panel 8. The communication device 20 is disposed adjacent to the control panel 8 and is connected to the control panel 8 by wire, but the communication device 20 may also be incorporated into the control panel 8. Similarly, the communication module 10 may also be incorporated into the control panel 8.

[0024] The remote monitoring system 1 is configured, for example, by using the functions of the above communication equipment to transmit information about a failure to the remote monitoring device 30 when a failure occurs in the elevator 2. The remote monitoring system 1 may also be configured to transmit a signal from the remote monitoring device 30 to the control panel 8 to perform an inspection of the elevator 2, and to automatically perform part of the inspection of the elevator 2. The above communication equipment is essential for remote monitoring of the elevator 2 by the remote monitoring system 1, and a good communication state between the communication device 20 and the remote monitoring device 30 must be ensured.

[0025] The communication module 10 is, for example, a wireless communication device that performs wireless communication with a wireless base station. There are no particular limitations on the wide-area wireless communication standard used, and any standard such as LTE, 4G, or 5G may be used. In the following, it is assumed that LTE communication is performed between the communication device 20 and the remote monitoring device 30, and the communication module 10 is an LTE communication module. A conventionally known LTE communication module can be used as the communication module 10.

[0026] When a communication failure occurs with the remote monitoring device 30, the communication module 10 is restarted by the communication device 20. The communication module 10 has, for example, a power supply circuit including a relay, and is restarted by turning the relay on / off based on a control signal output from the communication device 20. The communication module 10 may have a power button for turning the power on / off, or it can also be restarted manually by a maintenance technician.

[0027] The communication device 20 is a communication control device that controls the communication module 10 to perform wireless communication with the remote monitoring device 30. The communication device 20 includes, for example, a first processing unit 23 that executes processing related to recovery when a communication failure with the remote monitoring device 30 occurs, and a second processing unit 24 that executes processing related to sending and receiving information for remote monitoring of the elevator 2. The communication device 20 has a memory 21 that stores various setting information, control programs, etc., and a processor 22 that implements the functions of each processing unit by reading and executing the control program.

[0028] The communication device 20 is configured to restart the communication module 10 when a communication failure with the remote monitoring device 30 occurs. The communication device 20, for example, outputs a control signal for restarting to the communication module 10. Furthermore, the communication device 20 is configured to restart itself when the communication failure is not resolved even after restarting the communication module 10. Like the communication module 10, the communication device 20 has a power supply circuit including a relay, and may also have a manually operable power button.

[0029] As described above, the remote monitoring device 30 is a device that communicates with the communication device 20 and remotely monitors the elevator 2. The remote monitoring device 30 includes, for example, a first processing unit 33 that executes processing related to confirming communication with the communication device 20, and a second processing unit 34 that executes processing related to the remote monitoring of the elevator 2. The remote monitoring device 30 has a memory 31 that stores various setting information, control programs, etc., and a processor 32 that realizes the functions of each processing unit by reading and executing the control program. The memory 31 also stores the IP address or domain name of the communication device 20 of each elevator 2.

[0030] The configuration for checking communication between the communication device 20 and the remote monitoring device 30 will be described in detail below.

[0031] The remote monitoring device 30 is configured to transmit communication check data to the communication device 20 to check communication with the communication device 20. In LTE communication, due to communication cost issues, it is not possible to maintain a communication connection state at all times, so the function of the remote monitoring device 30 is to perform a communication check to confirm whether communication with the communication device 20 can be performed without any problems. It is preferable that the remote monitoring device 30 periodically performs a communication check for each elevator 2. For example, the remote monitoring device 30 performs a communication check for each elevator 2 every day.

[0032] The remote monitoring device 30 checks communication by, for example, executing a Ping command. When the Ping command is executed, a packet containing communication check data is generated and sent to a communication destination specified by an IP address or the like. If communication is good, the same number of responses as the number of communication check packets sent will be received. At this time, the response time can also be measured. The number of communication check packets is not particularly limited, but as an example, it is 50 to 150 times per day for one elevator 2.

[0033] The remote monitoring device 30 ends the communication check, for example, when a response from the communication device 20 is confirmed. The remote monitoring device 30 may send multiple packets at once for one elevator 2, or may send 50 to 150 packets over several minutes to several hours. The remote monitoring device 30 sends communication check packets to the same communication destination, for example, at regular intervals (every tens of seconds to several minutes). Note that a packet loss rate, which is the ratio of the number of responses to the number of packets sent, may be calculated, and this information may be used for control related to the communication check.

[0034] The remote monitoring device 30 may perform communication checks on the communication devices 20 of multiple elevators 2 in a predetermined order, or may perform communication checks in a randomly changed order each day. The remote monitoring device 30 may also store the packet loss rate data for each elevator 2 in memory 31 and change the order of communication checks based on the data. The remote monitoring device 30 may perform communication checks in descending order of the packet loss rate over a predetermined period, for example. In this case, communication checks can be performed preferentially on communication destinations that are prone to communication failure.

[0035] The communication device 20 is configured to restart the communication module 10 if it cannot receive communication confirmation data (communication confirmation packet). If the communication device 20 cannot receive the communication confirmation data even though a communication check is being performed by the function of the remote monitoring device 30, it is considered that a communication failure has occurred due to a problem with the communication equipment such as the communication module 10 or the communication device 20, or the communication line. Since communication failures in the remote monitoring system 1 can often be resolved by restarting the communication module 10, this function of the communication device 20 allows communication to be quickly restored without the need for a maintenance technician to be dispatched to the site.

[0036] The communication device 20 may restart the communication module 10 at an appropriate time when the communication confirmation data is not received, but preferably the restart is performed taking into consideration the timing when the communication confirmation is performed by the remote monitoring device 30. For example, the communication device 20 restarts the communication module 10 when the communication confirmation data is not received by a preset time. An example of this time is the time when transmission of some or all of the communication confirmation packets scheduled to be transmitted that day is completed. When the communication module 10 is restarted at the time when transmission of some of the packets scheduled to be transmitted that day is completed, the effect of the restart can be quickly confirmed without performing special processing such as transmitting additional packets.

[0037] If the time at which the remote monitoring device 30 performs the communication check does not change, the communication device 20 may determine whether to restart the communication module 10 at a fixed time every day. That is, if the communication device 20 does not receive communication check data by the fixed time every day, the communication device 20 restarts the communication module 10. The time is set, for example, by remote operation by the remote monitoring device 30 or by a maintenance technician. Note that if the communication check time changes and the schedule is set in advance, the communication device 20 may obtain the schedule in advance and change the time at which the communication device 20 determines whether to restart to match the time at which the communication check is performed.

[0038] The communication device 20 may restart the communication module 10 if it has not received communication check data for a predetermined period of time since the last time it received communication check data. For example, the communication device 20 stores in memory 21 the date and time when communication check data was last received from the remote monitoring device 30 and starts a timer from that date and time. If a predetermined period of time has passed since that date and time without receiving communication check data, it assumes that a communication failure has occurred and restarts the communication module 10. If the communication device 20 receives communication check data before the predetermined period has passed, it resets the timer and starts counting for the next predetermined period.

[0039] The predetermined period is set, for example, by remote operation using the remote monitoring device 30 or by a maintenance technician. If the remote monitoring device 30 checks the communication status at the same time every day, the predetermined period is set to 24 hours or more. The predetermined period is preferably set taking into consideration the time it takes to complete transmission of some or all of the packets scheduled for transmission that day. If the predetermined period is set so that the communication module 10 is restarted before all packets have been transmitted, the effect of the restart can be quickly confirmed without requiring special processing such as additional packet transmission.

[0040] If the communication device 20 cannot receive communication confirmation data from the remote monitoring device 30 even after restarting the communication module 10, it is preferable to restart the communication device 20 itself. Because communication failures can occur due to the communication device 20, restarting the communication device 20 increases the likelihood that communication can be restored. It is possible to restart the communication device 20 at the same time as the communication module 10, but, for example, the time required to restart the communication device 20 is longer than that required for the communication module 10, and in many cases communication can be restored by restarting only the communication module 10. For this reason, it is preferable to restart the communication devices in stages.

[0041] For example, after restarting the communication module 10, the communication device 20 restarts itself if it is unable to receive communication confirmation data for a predetermined period of time after the restart. This allows the communication device 20 to be restarted after the effect of restarting the communication module 10 has been sufficiently confirmed. If the communication failure is not resolved even after restarting the communication device 20, the remote monitoring device 30 may display an alert indicating that communication with the communication device 20 is not possible. The alert is displayed taking into consideration the time when the communication device 20 is restarted and the time to confirm the effect. If there are still communication confirmation packets scheduled to be sent that day at the time the communication device 20 is restarted, the effect of restarting the communication device 20 can be confirmed within the same day.

[0042] In this embodiment, the remote monitoring device 30 is configured to be able to communicate with the communication device 20 via multiple communication lines including a main line X and a sub-line Y. The main line X is a line used during normal times and is used in emergencies such as when a natural disaster such as an earthquake occurs. For this reason, the sub-line Y is not used for communication during normal times. The remote monitoring device 30 may use this sub-line Y to check communication. Specifically, if communication cannot be checked via the main line X, communication check data is transmitted via the sub-line Y. In this case, when a communication failure occurs due to a problem with the main line X, unnecessary recovery work on communication equipment can be prevented.

[0043] For example, if there is no response from the communication device 20 even after sending a predetermined number of communication confirmation packets via the main line X, the remote monitoring device 30 sends a communication confirmation packet via the sub-line Y. At this time, the number of packets sent via the sub-line Y may be less than the number of packets sent via the main line X. As illustrated in FIG. 1, if there are multiple sub-lines Y, the remote monitoring device 30 may perform the communication confirmation using all of the sub-lines Y, or may select one sub-line Y from the multiple sub-lines Y to perform the communication confirmation.

[0044] When a communication check is performed using the sub-line Y, the predetermined period that is a determining factor for restarting the communication module 10 is set to a period during which the process of transmitting communication check data via the main line X and the sub-line Y is completed. That is, the communication device 20 restarts the communication module 10 when communication check data cannot be received via multiple communication lines including the main line X and the sub-line Y. Furthermore, the communication device 20 may be restarted when communication check data cannot be received even after restarting the communication module 10.

[0045] The communication device 20 may be configured to be able to output information (request information) requesting the remote monitoring device 30 to transmit communication confirmation data. When the remote monitoring device 30 receives the request information, it transmits the communication confirmation data to the requested communication device 20. Note that if a communication failure occurs, the request information does not reach the remote monitoring device 30, and therefore the communication confirmation data is not transmitted either. The communication device 20 may be configured to restart the communication module 10 if it is unable to receive the communication confirmation data even after outputting the request information.

[0046] If the communication device 20 cannot receive the communication confirmation data even after restarting the communication module 10, the communication device 20 may output the request information before restarting itself. Alternatively, the communication device 20 may output the request information after restarting itself. The communication device 20 outputs the request information to the remote monitoring device 30, for example, to check the effect of restarting the communication device.

[0047] An example of a control procedure for confirming communication in the remote monitoring system 1 will be described below with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

[0048] As shown in Fig. 3, the remote monitoring device 30 performs a communication check by transmitting a communication check packet as communication check data to the communication device 20 of each elevator 2 (steps S10 and S11). If there is no problem with the communication status between the communication device 20 and the remote monitoring device 30, a response is received from the communication device 20, and the communication check ends upon receiving this response (Yes in step S11). On the other hand, if no response is received (No in step S11), the remote monitoring device 30 continues transmitting packets until the number of transmitted packets reaches a predetermined number. As mentioned above, an example of the predetermined number is 50 to 150 packets per day per elevator 2.

[0049] If there is no response from the communication device 20 even after the predetermined number of packets have been sent and communication cannot be confirmed, an alert display indicating that communication is not possible is output (step S13). At this time, the recovery process by the communication device 20 has been completed. In other words, since the communication failure has not been resolved even through the recovery process by the communication device 20, in this case, for example, a maintenance person is dispatched to the site based on the alert display and performs recovery work.

[0050] When the communication device 20 receives a communication confirmation packet from the remote monitoring device 30 (Yes in step S20), it responds to the remote monitoring device 30 (step S26). On the other hand, if a predetermined period of time has passed since the last communication confirmation packet was received without the communication device 20 receiving a communication confirmation packet (Yes in step S21), it assumes that a communication failure has occurred and automatically executes communication recovery processing. Specifically, it first restarts the communication module 10 (step S22). If the communication failure is resolved by this restart, it becomes possible to receive a communication confirmation packet (Yes in step S23).

[0051] If the communication confirmation packet cannot be received even after restarting the communication module 10 (No in step S23), the communication device 20 restarts itself (step S24). If the communication failure is resolved by this restart, the communication device 20 will be able to receive the communication confirmation packet (Yes in step S25). Note that the output of the alert display in step S13 above is executed, for example, when confirmation of the effect of restarting the communication device 20 has been completed and the restart has not been effective.

[0052] It is preferable that the procedures of steps S23 and S25 continue for a predetermined period after the restart. In this case, the effect of the restart can be sufficiently confirmed. As described above, by restarting the communication device when transmission of a portion of the packets scheduled for transmission that day is completed, the effect of the restart can be quickly confirmed without performing special processing such as transmitting additional packets. For example, the communication module 10 may be restarted when transmission of approximately one-third of the number of packets scheduled for transmission that day is completed, and the communication device 20 may be restarted when transmission of approximately two-thirds of the number of packets is completed.

[0053] Fig. 4 is a flowchart showing another example of a control procedure for communication confirmation. In Fig. 4, the same steps as in Fig. 3 are designated by the same reference numerals, and redundant explanations are omitted. The example shown in Fig. 4 differs from the example shown in Fig. 3 in that, when there is no response from communication device 20 even after the predetermined number of packets have been sent and communication confirmation cannot be obtained, a packet is transmitted on sub-line Y to confirm communication (step S14). Also, it differs from the example shown in Fig. 3 in that communication device 20 outputs request information for transmitting additional packets to remote monitoring device 30.

[0054] In the example shown in Fig. 4, the remote monitoring device 30 performs a communication check using the sub-line Y (steps S14, S15). The communication checks in steps S10 to S12 are performed using the main line X. In this case, it is possible to determine whether the cause of the communication failure is the main line X or the communication equipment. If a communication check using the sub-line Y can be performed and communication can be confirmed before restarting the communication equipment, unnecessary restarting of the communication equipment can be prevented.

[0055] If the communication device 20 is unable to receive a packet even after a predetermined period of time has elapsed since the previous packet was received, the communication device 20 restarts the communication equipment (at least restarts the communication module 10) (steps S20, S21, S27), and then outputs request information for sending additional packets to the remote monitoring device 30 (step S28). In this case, even if the number of packets scheduled to be sent that day is already zero, the effect of the restart can be quickly confirmed. If the restart is ineffective and the communication failure cannot be resolved, the request information does not reach the remote monitoring device 30, and therefore the communication confirmation packet cannot be received (No in step S29). Note that even if the communication failure has been resolved, there may be cases where packets are not sent due to a malfunction of the remote monitoring device 30.

[0056] When the remote monitoring device 30 receives the request information from the communication device 20 (Yes in step S16), it transmits an additional communication confirmation packet to the communication device 20 that is the request destination (step S17). In this case, it is highly likely that communication with the communication device 20 has been restored, and a response will be received after the additional packet is transmitted. If the remote monitoring device 30 cannot confirm communication even using the sub-line Y and does not receive the request information, it outputs an alert display indicating that communication is not possible (step S13).

[0057] As described above, according to the remote monitoring system 1 having the above configuration, when communication cannot be confirmed between the remote monitoring device 30 and the communication device 20 of the elevator 2, communication can be quickly restored without dispatching a maintenance worker to the site. This reduces the number of times that maintenance workers must be dispatched, and also shortens the recovery time.

[0058] The inventors have found that in many cases, a communication failure can be resolved by restarting the communication module 10. Therefore, when communication cannot be confirmed, instead of immediately dispatching a maintenance technician to the site, the first recovery method is to have the communication device 20 restart the communication module 10.

[0059] If the communication failure is not resolved by the first recovery means, the second recovery means is to have the communication device 20 restart itself. This makes it possible to increase the probability of communication recovery while suppressing unnecessary restarts of the communication device 20. Since a breakdown in the elevator 2 has a significant impact on the lives of users, it is important to quickly resolve the communication failure and ensure good communication with the remote monitoring device 30 in order to improve the quality of maintenance services. [Explanation of symbols]

[0060] 1 remote monitoring system, 2 elevator, 3 car, 3A car operation panel, 3B car door, 4 hoistway, 5 landing, 5A landing operation panel, 5B landing door, 6 upper machine room, 7 hoist, 8 control panel, 10 communication module, 20 communication device, 21, 31 memory, 22, 32 processor, 23, 33 first processing unit, 24, 34 second processing unit, 30 remote monitoring device, X main line, Y sub-line

Claims

1. A remote monitoring system for a building facility, comprising: a communication module; and a communication device that controls the communication module to perform communication, The building equipment is an elevator, a remote monitoring device that communicates with the communication device via the communication module and remotely monitors the building facilities; the remote monitoring device transmits communication confirmation data to the communication device to perform communication confirmation with the communication device; the communication device restarts the communication module when the communication device is unable to receive the communication confirmation data, and restarts the communication device itself when the communication device is unable to receive the communication confirmation data even after the communication module has been restarted; A remote monitoring system for building facilities, in which the remote monitoring device displays an alert indicating that communication with the communication device is not possible if the communication confirmation data cannot be received even after restarting the communication device.

2. The remote monitoring system for building equipment described in claim 1, wherein the remote monitoring device is configured to be able to communicate with the communication device via multiple communication lines including a main line and a sub-line, and when the communication confirmation cannot be performed via the main line, the communication confirmation data is transmitted via the sub-line.

3. 2. The remote monitoring system for building facilities according to claim 1, wherein the communication device restarts the communication module if the communication device is unable to receive the communication confirmation data for a predetermined period of time after the communication confirmation data was last received.

4. A remote monitoring system for building facilities described in any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the communication device is configured to output information to the remote monitoring device requesting the transmission of the communication confirmation data.

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