Output device, output system, output method

Abstract

To alleviate the workload required for the installation of a loudspeaker and the installation of a clock.SOLUTION: An output device includes a connection unit that is connected to a first terminal of a Local Area Network (LAN) cable over which the connection unit is connected to a time server (Network Time Protocol (NTP) server) and an announcement server so that the connection unit can communicate with the time server and an announcement server, a film speaker, a display unit, a first acquisition unit that acquires time data sent from the time server over the LAN cable connected to the connection unit, a second acquisition unit that acquires announcement data sent from the announcement server over the LAN cable connected to the connection unit, and a control unit that forces the display unit to display the time based on the acquired time data and forces the display unit or film speaker to output the contents of announcement based on the acquired announcement data.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an output device, an output system, and an output method. [Background Art]

[0002] In a shipboard broadcasting system, speakers respectively provided in a plurality of cabins, corridors, and the like within a ship are each connected via electric wires to an amplifier device provided in an electrical room within the ship. When an announcement is made on the ship, a signal representing the content of the announcement is amplified by the amplifier device and output as sound from each speaker. This makes it possible to convey the content of the announcement to each area within the ship. Examples of shipboard broadcasting systems include those disclosed in Patent Document 1 below. [Prior Art Literature] [Patent Literature]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2007-221767 [Summary of the Invention] [Problem to be Solved by the Invention]

[0004] However, in addition to speakers, a clock may also be installed in a cabin. In this case, construction work is performed in which electric wires are laid in each cabin such that a first terminal is connected to the amplifier device and a second terminal is connected to the speaker, the speaker is installed in each cabin, and connection to the second terminal is performed. Construction work for installing the clock is performed separately from the construction work for the speaker. Therefore, it is necessary to perform both the speaker construction work and the clock construction work in a single space, and as the number of cabins increases, the construction burden also increases.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide an output device, an output system, and an output method that can reduce the burden imposed on speaker construction work and clock construction work. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] To solve the above-mentioned problems, one aspect of the present invention is an output device comprising: a connection unit connected to a first terminal of a LAN (Local Area Network) cable that is communicatively connected to a time server (NTP; Network Time Protocol server) and an announcement server; a film speaker; a display unit; a first acquisition unit that acquires time data transmitted from the time server via the LAN cable connected to the connection unit; a second acquisition unit that acquires announcement data transmitted from the announcement server via the LAN cable connected to the connection unit; and a control unit that causes the time based on the acquired time data to be displayed on the display unit and the announcement content based on the acquired announcement data to be output from the display unit or the film speaker.

[0007] Furthermore, one aspect of the present invention is an output system including a time server (NTP; Network Time Protocol server), an announcement server, and an output device, wherein the output device includes a connection unit connected to a first terminal of a LAN (Local Area Network) cable that is communicatively connected to the time server and the announcement server, a film speaker, a display unit, a first acquisition unit that acquires time data transmitted from the time server via the LAN cable connected to the connection unit, a second acquisition unit that acquires announcement data transmitted from the announcement server via the LAN cable connected to the connection unit, and a control unit that causes the time based on the acquired time data to be displayed on the display unit and causes the announcement content based on the acquired announcement data to be output from the display unit or the film speaker.

[0008] Furthermore, one aspect of the present invention is an output method performed by an output device having a film speaker and a display unit, wherein a connection unit is connected to a first terminal of a LAN (Local Area Network) cable that is communicatively connected to a time server (NTP; Network Time Protocol server) and an announcement server, a first acquisition unit acquires time data transmitted from the time server via the LAN cable connected to the connection unit, a second acquisition unit acquires announcement data transmitted from the announcement server via the LAN cable connected to the connection unit, and a control unit causes the time based on the acquired time data to be displayed on the display unit and the announcement content based on the acquired announcement data to be output from the display unit or the film speaker. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] As explained above, this invention makes it possible to reduce the burden of installing speakers and clocks. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0010] [Figure 1] This is a schematic block diagram showing the configuration of an output system S according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] This is a schematic block diagram showing the functions of the output device 10. [Figure 3] This is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the output device 10 as seen from the side. [Figure 4] This is a schematic front view showing the output device 10 as seen from the front. [Figure 5] This is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the output device 10. [Figure 6] This figure shows an example of an image displayed on the display screen of the output device 10. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0011] Below, an output system using an output device according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Figure 1 is a schematic block diagram showing the configuration of an output system S according to one embodiment of the present invention. The output system S comprises output devices 10a, 10b, and 10c (hereinafter referred to simply as output device 10 unless otherwise specified), a time server 20, an announcement server 30, a user management server 40, and a DHCP server 50, all of which are connected to each other via a network NW. The output system S is installed on a ship. The ship may be any of the following: a passenger ship such as a ferry, a cargo ship, a commercial ship, a cruise ship, etc. Such ships generally have multiple compartments inside. These compartments include various rooms such as passenger cabins, offices, a bridge, an electrical room, corridors, and a dining room.

[0012] The network NW is, for example, a LAN (Local Area Network) that connects various devices installed on board the ship to enable communication. Alternatively, this network NW may also be PoE (Power over Ethernet). In recent years, some ships have LAN cables installed on board during construction or renovation, enabling network communication. Output system S can utilize these LAN cables installed on ships.

[0013] The time server 20 has the function of measuring the correct time and transmits time data based on the measurement result. The time data may be data representing the current time, or it may be data that allows the receiving device to correctly set the current time. The receiving device can query the time server 20 for the time, receive time data from the time server 20 as a response to the query, and set the time based on this received data. Such a time server may be, for example, an NTP server (Network Time Protocol).

[0014] The announcement server 30 transmits data representing the content of the announcement as announcement data. The announcement content includes normal announcements, which are announced under normal circumstances, and emergency announcements, which are announced under emergency circumstances. Emergency situations include fires occurring on board the ship. To distinguish between normal and emergency announcements, a flag indicating whether or not it is an emergency may be set in the announcement data, or the announcement data may include a string indicating an emergency, such as "emergency." The announcement server 30 receives audio signals corresponding to the content spoken by the announcer to an audio input device such as a microphone, and transmits them via VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) to various destination devices via the network NW. Whether or not it is an emergency can be indicated by the announcer pressing an emergency button or similar to indicate an emergency, and speaking the announcement content. If the emergency button is not pressed and the announcement is spoken, it is indicated as a normal announcement.

[0015] Furthermore, the announcement server 30 may acquire character data or image data representing the announcement content entered by the announcer via input devices such as a keyboard, mouse, or touch panel, and transmit it as announcement data to various destination devices. To indicate whether it is an emergency, the input content may include the string or image of "emergency," or the announcer may indicate that it is an emergency by clicking an emergency button or similar on the display screen of the terminal device for the announcer. If the emergency button is not pressed, it is indicated that it is a normal announcement. Emergency announcements include information about fires and directions to evacuation routes. Regular announcements include information about the sea route, departure times, and arrival times.

[0016] The user management server 40 executes various processes for grasping connected user terminals and performing information management. In the output system S, user terminals are connected via a network NW, and transmission and reception of various types of information are also enabled, and the user management server 40 manages the connection status of user terminals connected in this manner. The user terminal is a terminal used by a user on board a ship, and may be any terminal device among computers, smartphones, mobile phones, tablets, and the like. A user on board a ship may be a passenger or a crew member using the ship. The user management server 40 may also perform security control, failure detection, and the like for connected user terminals.

[0017] A DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) server 50 assigns IP addresses to user terminals connected via wireless (e.g., Wi-Fi (registered trademark)) to access points installed on the ship. Data representing the relationship between the IP address assigned by the DHCP server 50 to a user terminal and the identification information of the target user terminal to which the IP address is assigned is shared between the user management server 40 and the DHCP server 50. This allows the user management server 40 to grasp the number of connected user terminals and the connected user terminals.

[0018] The output devices 10 are each installed one by one in a plurality of compartments on the ship (here, for example, passenger cabins). If the compartment has a certain amount of space such as a dining room, a lounge, or the like, two or more output devices 10 may be installed in one compartment. Although three output devices 10 are illustrated in this figure, there may be four or more, or one or two.

[0019] FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram showing functions of the output device 10. The output device 10 includes a connection unit 101, a first acquisition unit 102, a second acquisition unit 103, a display unit 104, a film speaker 105, a determination unit 106, a storage unit 107, and a control unit 108.

[0020] The connection unit 101 is connected to the first terminal of a LAN cable that is connected to the time server and the announcement server in a way that enables communication between them. Power is supplied to the connection section 101 via PoE through a LAN cable. This means that the power required to operate the output device 10 can be obtained via PoE through the LAN cable. Therefore, there is no need to lay a separate power line for connection to the power source in addition to the LAN cable, reducing the burden during installation.

[0021] The first acquisition unit 102 acquires time data transmitted from the time server via a LAN cable connected to the connection unit 101.

[0022] The second acquisition unit 103 acquires announcement data transmitted from the announcement server via the LAN cable connected to the connection unit 101.

[0023] The display unit 104 displays various data. The display unit 104 may use, for example, either a liquid crystal panel or an organic EL (Electro-Luminescence) panel.

[0024] The film speaker 105 outputs sound. The film speaker 105 can be a film-like device, for example, one using a flexible transparent piezoelectric element. In such a film-like device, a conductive layer is printed with ink on the edges of the film, and sound can be output by passing an electric current through this conductive layer.

[0025] Here, Figure 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the output device 10 as seen from the side. In the output device 10, a display unit 104 is provided on one main surface of the base member 100 so as to overlap it, and a film speaker 105 is provided so as to overlap the display surface of the display unit 104. If such a film speaker 105 is made of a transparent material, even if it is provided in a position that overlaps the display screen of the display unit 104, the display content displayed on the display unit 104 can still be seen.

[0026] A connection portion 101 is provided on the main surface opposite to the base member 100, and a third terminal, which is one end of a LAN cable C for connecting to a network NW, is connected to this connection portion 101. The fourth terminal, which is the terminal on the opposite side of the LAN cable C from the third terminal, is connected to a network device (for example, a switching hub) for connecting to the network NW.

[0027] Figure 4 is a schematic front view of the output device 10 as seen from the front. A display unit 104 is provided on the base member 100, and a film speaker 105 is provided so as to overlap the display unit 104. Here, the film speaker 105 is shown positioned so as to overlap the display unit 104, but it may also be positioned adjacent to the display unit 104 on a plane so as not to overlap. When the film speaker 105 is positioned so as to overlap the display unit 104, the installation area of ​​the output device 10 as seen from the front can be reduced.

[0028] In the display screen of the display unit 104, the upper first area 104a displays an image of an analog clock based on time data. The lower second area 104b displays the announcement content based on announcement data. The number of divisions and area of ​​the display area may be changed as appropriate according to the time data or announcement content.

[0029] Returning to Figure 2, the determination unit 106 determines whether or not emergency information is included in the announcement data based on the announcement data. The determination unit 106 makes this determination by referring to information (flags) in the announcement data that indicate whether or not it is an emergency. The determination unit 106 may also determine whether or not emergency information is included by checking whether or not the announcement data contains character data indicating an emergency, such as "Emergency". If character data indicating an emergency is included, the determination unit 106 determines that emergency information is included, and if character data indicating an emergency is not included, the determination unit 106 determines that emergency information is not included.

[0030] The memory unit 107 stores various types of data. For example, the memory unit 107 stores time data received from the time server 20 and announcement data received from the announcement server 30. The storage unit 107 is composed of a storage medium, such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), flash memory, EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory), RAM (Random Access read / write Memory), ROM (Read Only Memory), or any combination of these storage media. This storage unit 107 can, for example, use non-volatile memory.

[0031] The control unit 108 displays the time based on the acquired time data on the display unit 104 and outputs the announcement content based on the acquired announcement data from the display unit 104 or the film speaker 105. When displaying time data on the display unit 104, it may be displayed as an analog clock with hands indicating the current time on the dial, or it may be displayed as a string of characters indicating the current time as a digital clock. Furthermore, when the control unit 108 displays time data on the display unit 104, it may display one clock or multiple clocks. When multiple clocks are displayed, the control unit 108 may, for example, display the current time in Japan, the current time at the ship's current location, the current time at the destination, and Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) on the display unit 104 when a ship is traveling from Japan to a foreign country. In this case, the time difference can be calculated based on the departure point and the current time corresponding to the departure point, according to the location of the object for which the time is to be calculated (the ship's current location, the destination, etc.).

[0032] Based on the determination result of the determination unit 106, the control unit 108 displays the content based on the emergency information on the display unit 104 if the announcement data includes emergency information. The control unit 108 reduces the display area for the time displayed on the display unit 104 when the announcement data contains emergency information compared to the display area for the time displayed on the display unit 104 when the announcement data does not contain emergency information, and displays content based on the emergency information on the display unit 104.

[0033] The first acquisition unit 102, the second acquisition unit 103, the determination unit 106, and the control unit 108 may be composed of a processing unit such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) or a dedicated electronic circuit.

[0034] Figure 5 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the output device 10. When installing the output device 10, the output device 10 is carried to the guest room to be installed, and the third terminal of the LAN cable laid in the guest room is connected to the connection part 101 of the output device 10. The fourth terminal of the LAN cable is connected to a network device. Then the output device 10 is mounted at the installation location, such as on a wall. In this way, by installing the output device 10, which can realize the functions of displaying a clock and outputting sound, it is possible to install both a speaker and a clock. Furthermore, since power can be supplied by PoE, if the output device 10 is connected to the LAN cable, there is no need to lay a separate power line or prepare a power supply device such as a power adapter to receive power. Therefore, the burden of power supply installation can also be reduced.

[0035] When a LAN cable is connected to the connection unit 101, the output device 10 receives power supplied by PoE from the LAN cable (step S101) and starts up. The output device 10 waits to receive data transmitted from the time server 20 and the announcement server 30. When time data is transmitted from the time server 20, the first acquisition unit 102 acquires the time data (step S102). Once the time data is acquired, the control unit 108 displays the current time on the display unit 104 based on the time data (step S103). For example, as shown in Figure 4 above, the control unit 108 displays an image of an analog clock corresponding to the current time in the first area 104a.

[0036] Next, when announcement data is transmitted from the announcement server 30, the second acquisition unit 103 acquires the announcement data by receiving it (step S104). Once the announcement data is acquired, the determination unit 106 determines, based on the announcement data, whether or not the announcement data contains emergency information (step S105).

[0037] If the announcement data does not contain emergency information (step S105-NO), the control unit 108 outputs the announcement content based on the announcement data from the display unit 104 or the film speaker 105 based on the determination result of the determination unit 106 (step S106). If the announcement data was transmitted via VoIP, the control unit 108 outputs a sound (e.g., voice) corresponding to the announcement data by emitting it from the film speaker 105. Furthermore, if the announcement data is text data or image data, the control unit 108 displays the announcement content based on the announcement data in the second area 104b, for example, as shown in Figure 4 above. In this case, the passengers in the cabin can check both the current time and the content of the announcement by looking at the display screen of the output device 10. The control unit 108 may output audio from the film speaker 105 using a text-to-speech function if the announcement data is text data. In this case, the control unit 108 may also display the text data. After this, the control unit 108 proceeds to step S108.

[0038] If the announcement data contains emergency information (step S105-YES), the control unit 108 outputs the announcement data from the display unit 104 or the film speaker 105 based on the determination result of the determination unit 106 (step S107). If the announcement data was transmitted by VoIP, the control unit 108 outputs a sound (e.g., voice) corresponding to the announcement data by emitting it from the film speaker 105.

[0039] Here, Figure 6 shows an example of an image displayed on the display screen of the output device 10. When the announcement data is text data or image data, for example, as shown in Figure 6, the control unit 108 displays the announcement content based on the announcement data in the second area 104d and the current time based on the time data in the first area 104c. The display size of the second area 104d is larger than the display size of the second area 104b. The control unit 108 makes the display area for the time displayed on the display unit 104 when the announcement data contains emergency information (first area 104c) smaller than the display area for the time displayed on the display unit 104 when the announcement data does not contain emergency information (first area 104a), and displays the content based on the emergency information in the second area 104d of the display unit 104. This makes it possible to display the announcement content based on emergency information in a larger size. Furthermore, if emergency information is included, the control unit 108 may choose not to display the current time. This allows for a larger display area to show the emergency information. Furthermore, if the announcement data is text data, the control unit 108 may output audio from the film speaker 105 using a voice reading function. In this case, the control unit 108 may also display the text data. Subsequently, the control unit 108 proceeds to step S108.

[0040] In step S108, the control unit 108 determines whether or not to terminate the process (step S108). If it determines to terminate the process, the control unit 108 terminates the process; if it determines not to terminate the process, it proceeds to step S102.

[0041] By installing the output device 10 described above in each of the multiple cabins on the ship, sound can be output in each cabin. In addition to outputting sound, the output device 10 can also display the time and text to show announcement content. Furthermore, in emergencies such as when an anomaly occurs, the system can output voice messages or alarm sounds to indicate that an anomaly has occurred, and can also display text related to the anomaly as needed, thereby enabling text broadcasting.

[0042] In the embodiments described above, the output system S was described as being installed on board a ship. However, it may also be installed in places other than ships, such as conference rooms in factories or office buildings, where there is a network and on-site speakers for broadcasting are required. Furthermore, by pressing a switch located outside the guest room, a chime sound is emitted from the speaker of the output device 10 inside the guest room, allowing it to be used as an intercom with a clock.

[0043] In addition, in the above-described embodiment, announcement data may be transmitted to the user terminal. This allows the announcement server 30 to output announcement data not only to the output device 10 but also to the user terminal. Furthermore, based on the location of the access point to which the user terminal is connected, announcement data including announcement content related to the area including the location of the access point may be distributed according to the area. This allows the user to be aware of announcement data corresponding to the current location of the user terminal. If an access point is installed in each room on the ship, it is also possible to send different messages as announcement data for each room based on the connected access point. In that case, even when distributing emergency information, for example, different evacuation routes depending on the room location can be distributed as announcement data. This allows the user to be guided to an evacuation route according to the current location of the user terminal on the ship.

[0044] The output device 10 in the above-described embodiment may be implemented using a computer. In that case, the program for implementing this function may be recorded on a computer-readable recording medium, and the program recorded on this recording medium may be loaded into a computer system and executed. Here, "computer system" includes hardware such as an OS and peripheral devices. Furthermore, "computer-readable recording medium" refers to portable media such as flexible disks, magneto-optical disks, ROMs, CD-ROMs, and storage devices such as hard disks built into a computer system. Moreover, "computer-readable recording medium" may also include those that dynamically hold programs for a short period of time, such as communication lines used when transmitting programs via networks such as the Internet or communication lines such as telephone lines, and those that hold programs for a certain period of time, such as volatile memory inside a computer system that acts as a server or client in such cases. Furthermore, the above-mentioned program may be for implementing a part of the above-mentioned function, or it may be a program that can implement the above-mentioned function in combination with a program already recorded in the computer system, or it may be implemented using a programmable logic device such as an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array).

[0045] While embodiments of this invention have been described in detail above with reference to the drawings, the specific configuration is not limited to these embodiments and includes designs and the like that do not depart from the spirit of this invention. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0046] 10, 10a, 10b, 10c…Output device, 20…Time server, 30…Announcement server, 40…User management server, 50…DHCP server, 100…Base component, 101…Connection unit, 102…First acquisition unit, 103…Second acquisition unit, 104…Display unit, 105…Film speaker, 106…Determination unit, 107…Storage unit, 108…Control unit, S…Output system

Claims

1. A connection unit connected to the first terminal of a LAN (Local Area Network) cable that enables communication between a time server (NTP; Network Time Protocol server) and an announcement server, Film speaker and, Display unit and A first acquisition unit acquires time data transmitted from the time server via a LAN cable connected to the aforementioned connection unit, A second acquisition unit acquires announcement data transmitted from the announcement server via a LAN cable connected to the aforementioned connection unit, A control unit that causes the time based on the acquired time data to be displayed on the display unit, and the announcement content based on the acquired announcement data to be output from the display unit or the film speaker. An output device having

2. The system has a determination unit that determines whether or not emergency information is included in the announcement data based on the announcement data. Based on the determined result, the control unit causes the display unit to display content based on the emergency information if the announcement data includes emergency information. The output device according to claim 1.

3. The control unit reduces the display area for the time displayed on the display unit when the announcement data contains emergency information to a smaller size than the display area for the time displayed on the display unit when the announcement data does not contain emergency information, and displays content based on the emergency information. The output device according to claim 2.

4. Power is supplied via PoE (Power over Ethernet) through the aforementioned LAN cable. The output device according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

5. The aforementioned film speaker is transparent and is mounted in a position that overlaps with the display screen of the display unit. The output device according to claim 4.

6. A time server (NTP; Network Time Protocol server), Announcement server and, An output system including an output device, The output device is A connection unit connected to the first terminal of a LAN (Local Area Network) cable that is connected to the time server and the announcement server in a manner that enables communication between them, Film speaker and, Display unit and A first acquisition unit acquires time data transmitted from the time server via a LAN cable connected to the aforementioned connection unit, A second acquisition unit acquires announcement data transmitted from the announcement server via a LAN cable connected to the aforementioned connection unit, A control unit that causes the time based on the acquired time data to be displayed on the display unit, and the announcement content based on the acquired announcement data to be output from the display unit or film speaker. has Output system.

7. This is an output method performed by an output device having a film speaker and a display unit. The connection part is connected to the first terminal of a LAN (Local Area Network) cable that enables communication between the time server (NTP; Network Time Protocol server) and the announcement server. The first acquisition unit acquires time data transmitted from the time server via the LAN cable connected to the connection unit. The second acquisition unit acquires the announcement data transmitted from the announcement server via the LAN cable connected to the connection unit. The control unit causes the time based on the acquired time data to be displayed on the display unit, and the announcement content based on the acquired announcement data to be output from the display unit or the film speaker. Output method.

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