JP2003271809A - Profile managing server, managing device and product managing server - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce the load on users and prevent secondary use of private information by unifying user registration processing for products. <P>SOLUTION: An HNW (home network) managing device 10 gets product type IDs, serial manufacturing numbers and the like from IP terminals 11 through a network. The addresses and names of users are also inputted by the users. The information is transmitted to a profile managing server 3 and is registered in a database in association with user IDs. The user ID is issued for every user by the profile managing server 3. The user IDs are transmitted together with the product serial numbers to a product managing server 4 and the like, and the users are registered. Product companies are notified of only the user IDs and are not notified of private information such as names, and secondary use of the private information is prevented. The users make the profile managing server 3 their deputy for registration processing and are reduced in the load on them. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a user registration method and management method for a terminal device connected to a local network, and more particularly to a user profile management server, management device and product management for realizing user registration via a user ID. Regarding the server.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a product business operator needs to obtain personal information such as a user's name for a manufactured and sold product.
There was a method of enclosing a user registration postcard with the product and returning it, or a method of having the user access the homepage of the business operator via the Internet and execute the user registration process.

[0003]

However, since the conventional registration work is complicated for the user, it cannot be said that the registration work has been carried out sufficiently. In addition, some users may feel reluctant to provide personal information because personal information given with the intention of receiving maintenance services may be diverted for marketing purposes and unwanted product introduction emails may be sent. did. Furthermore, when the address or contact information is changed, the user needs to notify the product operator of the change in registration, but the change procedure is complicated for the user, and the change procedure has not been performed sufficiently. .

On the other hand, for the business operator, it is necessary to prepare a printed matter on which the serial number of the product body is printed, or a printed matter on which the serial number of the product body is printed, and correctly match the package with the product body and package them. Was complicated. Further, as described above, since there is no guarantee that the content of user registration has been updated correctly, there is a possibility that the accuracy of the registered information may deteriorate over time.

By the way, it may be necessary to take measures against some troubles with respect to the sold products. In such a case, not only registered users but also unregistered users need to be notified. Therefore, notification using mass media has been made. However, this method has a drawback that it requires a great deal of cost and time.

[0006] Further, the cause of the trouble may be the interoperation with the products manufactured by other companies. In normal user registration, only the company's products are registered, and products of other companies that interoperate with each other are not registered. Therefore, it is impossible to notify only users who have a plurality of products that cause malfunctions when interoperating.

[0007] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to solve the above problems, and to reduce the workload of the user for user registration such as new registration and registration change. It also aims to protect the personal information of the user. Also, for businesses, the cost required for user registration work is reduced, and the implementation rate of user registration is improved,
The purpose is to improve the reliability of user registration information.

It is another object of the present invention to notify a user who has a plurality of products which cause troubles when interoperating.

[0009]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, a management device connected to at least one terminal device via a network, a profile management server connected to the management device, and A profile management server in a terminal management system including a product management server connected to a profile management server, wherein the profile management server receives a product profile of the terminal device acquired by the management device and a user profile of a user of the terminal device. Receiving means and generating means for generating a unique user ID corresponding to the received user profile;
Specifying means for specifying a product management server related to the terminal device based on the received product profile; transmitting means for transmitting the product profile and the user ID to the specified product management server; A profile management server including is provided.

That is, since the management device collects the information required for user registration and the information is managed by the user profile management server, the user registration work by the user can be reduced. For example, the user's name is
Once entered, there is an advantage that it is not necessary to enter each time. Furthermore, since the user ID is notified to the product management server of the product business operator and the personal information such as the user's name is not notified, it is possible to reduce the risk of secondary use of the user's personal information.

The user profile contains, for example, at least one of the user's name, address and contact information.

Further, the present invention further includes a first table for storing a relationship between the product profile and the product management server, and the specifying means searches the first table based on the product profile, and relates to the related table. The product management server may be extracted.

The present invention further includes a second table for storing the relationship between the user ID and the user profile, and the generating means stores the user ID generated so as to correspond to the user profile in the second table. May be registered in.

The transmitting means may transmit the generated user ID to the management device.

That is, by notifying the user ID,
In the future, by entering the user ID, it becomes possible to inquire and change registration information such as user profile and product profile.

Further, when a third table storing the relationship between the user ID and the product profile and an information inquiry request relating to the user ID from the management device are received, the product profile and the user corresponding to the user ID are received. You may make it further include the reply means which respectively searches the said 3rd table and the said 2nd table for a profile, and answers the extracted product profile and user profile.

When an information update request relating to the user ID is received from the management device, the user profile corresponding to the user ID is retrieved from the second table and the content of the extracted user profile is updated. Means may be further included.

When an information addition request relating to the user ID is received from the management device, the product profile corresponding to the user ID is retrieved from the third table,
An addition unit that compares the extracted product profile with the product profile transmitted from the management device in association with the information addition request, and adds a product profile for a terminal device not registered in the third table. May be further included.

When an information deletion request relating to the user ID is received from the management device, the user ID and the terminal device to be deleted are used as search keys to retrieve the product profile to be deleted from the third table. You may make it further include the deletion means which deletes the searched and extracted product profile from the said 3rd table.

Further, when a product repair request related to the user ID is received from the management device, the user profile corresponding to the user ID is retrieved by extracting the second table, and becomes the user ID and the repair target. It further comprises repair target extraction means for searching and extracting a product profile to be repaired from the third table using the terminal device as a search key, and the transmission means includes the extracted user profile and the product profile. The included repair request information may be transmitted to the product management server corresponding to the product profile.

That is, since the user can make a repair request in the profile management server, a complicated procedure such as investigating a product window or the like will be unnecessary.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, a management device connected to at least one terminal device via a network, a profile management server connected to the management device, and a profile management server connected to the profile management server. A management device in a terminal management system including a product management server, an acquisition unit for acquiring a product profile of the terminal device, an input unit for inputting a user profile of a user of the terminal device, Transmission means for transmitting a product profile and a user profile for the user of the terminal device to the profile management server, reception means for receiving a unique user ID from the profile management server, and output means for outputting the received user ID. And a management device provided with .

That is, by installing the management device in a local network such as a home network, user registration work becomes easy.

Further, the transmitting means transmits an information inquiry request for inquiring a user profile or a product profile registered in the profile management server in association with the user ID, and the receiving means includes the information inquiry request. The product profile or the user profile may be received as a response to, and the output means may output the received product profile or the user profile.

That is, since the user can inquire the current user registration contents by accessing the profile management server, it is possible to save the trouble of inquiring the registration contents for each business operator.

The transmitting means may transmit an information update request for updating the user profile or the product profile registered in the profile management server in association with the user ID.

For example, by updating the user profile once, there is an advantage that the same effects as those obtained by updating and registering with each product business operator can be obtained.

The information update request is an information addition request for additionally registering a terminal device not registered in the user profile management server, and the user I
D and the product profile of the terminal device to be additionally registered may be included.

Further, the information update request is an information deletion request for deleting at least one terminal device registered in the user profile management server, and includes the user ID and the terminal device to be deleted. Specific information for specifying may be included.

Further, the transmission means transmits a product repair request for at least one terminal device registered in the user profile management server, and the product repair request includes the user ID and the terminal device to be repaired. And specific information for specifying

According to a third aspect of the present invention, a management device connected to at least one terminal device via a network, a profile management server connected to the management device, and a profile management server connected to the profile management server. A product management server in a terminal management system including a product management server, and inputting product specification information for specifying a predetermined terminal device and notification information to be notified to a user of the terminal device. Means and a transmitting means for transmitting the input product identification information and notification information to the profile management server, wherein the profile management server extracts a user ID corresponding to the product identification information, and the extracted. A product management server is provided in which the notification information is distributed to a user having a different user ID.

By configuring the product management server in this manner, the device manufacturer can easily and inexpensively transmit desired information only to, for example, the owner of the IP terminal to be maintained. This will also lead to improved customer satisfaction.

Also, a terminal management including a management device connected to at least one terminal device via a network, a profile management server connected to the management device, and a product management server connected to the profile management server. A product management server in the system, a receiving means for receiving the user ID and the product profile transmitted from the profile management server, and a product management table storing the relationship between the received user ID and the product profile. Input means for inputting product identification information of the predetermined terminal device, extraction means for searching and extracting a user ID corresponding to the input product identification information from the product management table, and the extracted user ID The notification information to be notified to the user having the user ID, Includes transmission means for transmitting the physical server, and by the profile management server, product management server the notification information to a user of the extracted user ID is characterized in that it is delivered is provided.

That is, there is an advantage that the business operator can correctly deliver the defect information based on the user ID. In addition, the user has the advantage that he or she can receive a failure notification or the like without the private information being known to the business operator, and thus the execution rate of user registration is expected to increase.

Further, the notification information may be failure information regarding the terminal device.

Further, the notification information may be information regarding a failure that occurs when interoperating a plurality of products of different product companies.

According to this structure, the profile management server can extract the users who own the specific products of the different operators. Therefore, by applying this, it becomes easy to deal with the trouble related to the interoperability.

The product management table may store product shipping information on shipped products and the relationship between the user ID and the product profile.

In this way, based on the correspondence data between the shipped product and the user ID stored in the product management server,
We can infer the quantity of the product in existence in the market. Furthermore, by controlling the inventory quantity of the maintenance parts based on the estimated quantity, it is possible to eliminate the waste of holding the maintenance parts more than necessary.

[0040]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION An embodiment of the present invention will be described below. Of course, the following embodiments provide disclosure for facilitating the implementation by those skilled in the art of the present invention, and are included in the technical scope of the present invention defined by the claims. Partial embodiment only. Therefore, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that even embodiments not directly described in the specification of the present application are included in the technical scope of the present invention as long as the technical idea is common.

Although a plurality of embodiments will be described for the sake of convenience, those skilled in the art can understand that not only these embodiments are individually realized as an invention, but also the invention can be realized by appropriately combining a plurality of embodiments. Easy to understand.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a system configuration example of an IP terminal management system according to this embodiment. 1 is a home network in the first user's home. The connection topology shown in the figure is an example and does not limit the present invention.

Home network management device 10 (hereinafter referred to as H
A network management device (abbreviated as NW management device) is a means for collecting attribute information (product profile) from each IP terminal connected to the home network 1, a means for storing personal information about a user of the home network 1, a key input means, and a display. Equipped with means.

The IP terminals 11, 12 and 13 are IP terminal devices connected to the home network 1 and have their respective attribute information built in the memory or the like.
Has a function of transmitting the attribute information in response to a transmission request via. Here, for the sake of explanation, it is assumed that the products are manufactured by Company A, Company B, and Company C, respectively. Examples of IP terminals include personal computers, network-compatible peripheral devices, and network home appliances.

The home network 2 is the home network of the second user, and includes the HNW management device 20 and the IP.
It has a terminal 21, an IP terminal 22 and an IP terminal 23.

The profile management server 3 is a computer owned by the management service provider, and personal information from the HNW management devices 10 and 20 and the IP terminals 11 to 13 and 21 to which it belongs, via the Internet.
23 to 23, the user service processing for assigning the user ID to each user, and the attribute information of the IP terminal and the user ID to the corresponding operator based on the attribute information of each IP terminal. Performs business processing such as business service for additional distribution.

The data storage device 31 is composed of a hard disk drive or the like, and is used by the user profile management server 3. Specifically, the management data tables shown in FIGS.

The product management servers 4, 5, 6 are connected to the user profile management server 3 via the Internet.
It is a product management server for each company for receiving the attribute information of the IP terminal of each company and the user ID of the user who owns it and performing user management processing.

The data storage devices 41, 51, 61 are hard disk drives attached to the product management servers 4, 5, 6 respectively.

The attribute information of the IP terminal includes, for example, a business ID for identifying the business, a model ID of the IP terminal of the business, and a manufacturing serial number unique to the IP terminal. , Device unique ID, etc. are included. Moreover, the personal information of the user includes, for example, a name, an address, a telephone number, an electronic mail address, and the like.

The HNW management device, the IP terminal, the profile management server, and the product management server have almost the same internal configuration as a general network computer, for example, a CPU, a RAM, a ROM, a hard disk, and a display device. , An input device, a communication IF device, and the like. Below, the processing of the program executed by the CPU will be mainly described.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the structure of a data table that associates a business ID with detailed business information.
This data table is stored in the data storage device 31 and used by the profile management server 3. The profile management server 3 uses this data table to search for and extract the location of the product management server of the company to be registered as a user, based on the company ID included in the attribute information of the IP terminal received from the user. . For example, if the business entity ID 0ff1 is included in the attribute information, 255.255.5.0.0 is extracted as the address of the product management server.

FIG. 3 is a data table in which the user ID and the personal information of the user are associated with each other.
1 and is used by the profile management server 3. The profile management server 3 uses this data table to receive the user I received from the registered user.
The target personal information is specified based on D. In the figure, items such as name, address, telephone number, and mail address are illustrated as an example of information.

FIG. 4 is a data table that associates the user ID with the attribute information of the IP terminal held by the user, which is stored in the data storage device 31 and used by the profile management server 3.

FIG. 5 is a sequence diagram relating to the user registration processing according to this embodiment. It is assumed that the user of home network 1 is a new user. This sequence is activated on the HNW management device when receiving the IP terminal management service.

In step S 501, the HNW management device 10 sends the IP terminal 1 via the home network 1.
1, the request information for requesting the attribute information of the device is transmitted.

In step S502, the IP of company A
When the terminal 11 receives this request information, the attribute information I
The attribute information read out from the storage device of the P terminal 11 is transmitted to the HNW management device 10.

In step S 503, the HNW management device 10 sends the IP terminal 1 via the home network 1.
2, requesting the attribute information of the device.

In step S504, the IP of company B is
In response to this, the terminal 12 returns the attribute information.

In step S 505, the HNW management device 10 sends the IP terminal 1 via the home network 1.
3, requesting attribute information of the device.

In step S506, the IP manufactured by C
In response to this, the terminal 13 returns the attribute information.

In step S507, the HNW management device 10 requests the profile management server 3 for new registration. The new registration request may include the personal information and the collected attribute information, or may be transmitted after the new registration request. Further, after transmitting the request, the request may be transmitted in response to a request from the profile management server.

In step S508, the profile management server 3 issues a user ID to the user.
The issuing algorithm may be any algorithm as long as it can generate a unique ID.

In step S509, the profile management server 3 determines the attribute information of the IP terminal (eg, business operator ID).
(2) is used as a search key to search the data table shown in FIG. 2 and the location of the product management server of the corresponding business operator (eg
Server address).

In step S510, the IP terminal 11
In order to register, the attribute information of the IP terminal 11 and the user ID are transmitted to the product management server 4 of Company A via the Internet.

In step S511, the product management server 4 stores the received information in the data storage device 41. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a product management table stored in the data storage device 41. The product management server 4
The product management table is searched by the model ID and manufacturing number included in the attribute information. If the initial registration date is not stored in the extracted record, it is determined that it is the first registration, and the current date is registered. If the initial registration date is set, the last update date is overwritten with the current date. Further, the received user ID is registered in the extracted record. Similar processing is performed in the other product management servers 5 and 6.

In step S512, the product management server 4 notifies the profile management server 3 of registration completion.

In step S513, the IP terminal 12
In order to register, the attribute information of the IP terminal 12 and the user ID are transmitted to the product management server 5 of company B via the Internet.

At step S 514, the product management server 5 stores the received information in the data storage device 51.

In step S515, the product management server 5 notifies the profile management server 3 of the completion of registration.

In step S516, the IP terminal 13
In order to register, the attribute information of the IP terminal 13 and the user ID are sent to the product management server 6 of company C via the Internet.

In step S 517, the product management server 6 stores the received information in the data storage device 61.

In step S518, the product management server 6 notifies the profile management server 3 of the completion of registration.

In step S519, the profile management server 3 registers the correspondence between the user ID and the personal information for the IP terminals 11 to 13 in the data table of FIG. Further, the correspondence between the user ID and the attribute information is registered in the data table of FIG. The correspondence relationship between them corresponds to the structure of the data table.
Stored in 1.

In step S520, the profile management server 3 notifies the HNW management device 10 of the user I
A registration completion notice is returned together with D. As a method for the profile management server 3 to notify the HNW management device 10 of the assigned user ID, it may be mailed in writing in consideration of security. For example, the profile management server 3 will read the personal information (name and address) corresponding to the user ID from the data table, print the address on an arbitrary postcard, and print the user ID.

In step S521, the HNW management device 10 displays the received user ID on the display means and stores it in the storage device. Instead of the display means, the audio output means may be used for output, or the image forming means may be used for image formation.

FIG. 6 is a sequence diagram when the user of the home network 1 inquires of the profile management server 3 about the registered contents.

In step S 601, the HNW management device 10 sends a registration content inquiry request to the profile management server 3. The user ID may be included in the inquiry request or may be transmitted in response to the transmission request from the profile management server 3.

In step S602, the profile management server 3 searches the data table shown in FIG. 3 based on the received user ID and extracts personal information. Further, based on the received user ID, the data table shown in FIG. 4 is searched, and the attribute information of the IP terminal such as the business name, model, and device unique number is extracted.

In step S603, the profile management server 3 returns the search result to the HNW management device 10.

FIG. 7 is a sequence diagram when a user of home network 1 performs a process of changing personal information.

In step S701, the user of the home network 2 edits the content of the personal information stored in the HNW management device 20. The HNW management device 20 updates the personal information based on the information input by the input means such as the keyboard and stores the personal information in the storage device.

In step S 701, the HNW management device 20 sends a request to change the registered content to the profile management server 3. The change request may include the input user ID and edited personal information, or may be transmitted in response to a transmission request from the profile management server 3.

In step S703, the profile management server 3 executes the process shown in FIG. 3 based on the received user ID.
The data table shown in is searched, and the registered contents are updated and stored with the received personal information.

In step S 704, the profile management server 3 sends the update completion to the HNW management device 10.

FIG. 8 is a sequence diagram when the user of the home network 2 activates the attribute information update process in the HNW management device 20.

In the figure, for the sake of explanation, the IP terminals 21 and 22 have been registered in advance, the IP terminal 22 has not been registered, and the IP terminal of company C (not shown) has been registered, but is discarded. It has been disposed of.

In step S 801, the HNW management device 20 sends the IP terminal 2 via the home network 2.
1, the request information for requesting the attribute information of the device is transmitted.

In step S802, the IP manufactured by A
When the terminal 21 receives this request information, it reads the attribute information from its own storage device, and reads the read attribute information H
It is transmitted to the NW management device 20.

In step S 803, the HNW management device 20 sends the IP terminal 2 via the home network 2.
2, requesting the attribute information of the device.

In step S804, the IP of company B is
In response to this, the terminal 22 returns the attribute information.

In step S 805, the HNW management device 20 sends the IP terminal 2 via the home network 2.
3, requesting attribute information of the device.

In step S806, the IP manufactured by C
In response to this, the terminal 23 returns the attribute information.

In step S807, the HNW management device 20 transmits a comparison request with the registered IP terminal. The collected attribute information is also sent to the profile management server 3 together with the user ID.

In step S808, the profile management server 3 executes the process shown in FIG.
The data table shown in (1) is searched and a comparison process with the received attribute information of the IP terminal is performed. That is, if the received attribute information is not registered in the data table of FIG. 4, it means that the IP terminal is not registered. Therefore,
The IP terminal 23 is determined to be unregistered. On the other hand, if the attribute information registered in the data table of FIG. 4 is not received from the HNW management device, it is determined that the corresponding IP terminal does not exist for some reason. For example.
When the attribute information of the registered IP terminal 23 of C company is not received, it is determined that the IP terminal 23 does not currently exist in the home network 2. Continuing to refer to the data table shown in FIG.
Information about the terminal, such as a business name, a model, and a device unique number, is extracted.

In step S809, the profile management server 3 sends the extracted information to the HNW management device 20.
Return to.

In step S810, the HNW management device 20 displays the returned result on the display means. The user inputs to the HNW management device 20 how to update the registration content based on the display content. It should be noted that an IP terminal that is registered but not detected in the home network 2 will be described here by simply selecting whether to perform user registration or deletion. However, in particular, deletion will be described in more detail. Collecting information will bring benefits to businesses. The reason for erasing is assumed to be transfer to another person or disposal, but in the former case, someone may reuse it somewhere, whereas in the latter case, This is because there is no possibility of reuse. Therefore, by adding this information further, the business operator can estimate how many IP terminals of that type are present in the market, and based on this, the stock quantity of maintenance parts can be adjusted. It will be possible.

In step S811, the HNW management device 20 sends a change request to the profile management server 3 according to the result input in. In this example, the IP terminal 23
New registration and deletion of IP terminal made by C company.

In step S812, the profile management server 3 instructs the product management server 6 of Company C to send the user ID of the home network 2 for the IP terminal.
Request that the association be removed.

In step S813, the product management server 6 of company C deletes the user ID indicating the user of the home network 2 associated with the device from the customer management data table of the company. Without deleting
The usage status may be registered as disposal.

FIG. 9 is an example of a product management table stored in the data storage device of the product management server. As shown in the figure, the format, serial number, and
The user ID and operating status are registered along with the initial registration date and the last update date. As for the incidental information, as will be described later,
User changes due to transfer and repairs are registered.

In step S814, the product management server 6 of company C notifies the profile management server 3 that the deletion process (or the discard registration process) has been completed.

In step S815, the profile management server 3 determines the operator I from the attribute information of the IP terminal 23.
By extracting D and referring to the data table shown in FIG. 2, it is recognized that the product is a product of company A, and the product management server 4 of company A displays the attribute information of the IP terminal 23 and the user ID of the home network 2. Is added to request user registration.

In step S816, when the product management server 4 of the company A receives the registration request, the user ID of the IP terminal 23 is displayed as the user ID of the IP terminal 23 together with the attribute information of the IP terminal 23 as the user ID of the user who has transmitted the registration request. Stored in the product management table of.

In step S817, the product management server 4 of the company A notifies the profile management server 3 that the registration process has been completed.

In step S818, the profile management server 3 updates the contents of the data table shown in FIG. 4 managed by itself, based on the above processing result.

In step S819, the profile management server 3 notifies the HNW management device 20 of the completion of updating.

FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram when the user of the home network 1 requests the profile management server 3 to repair the IP terminal owned by the user. In the figure, for the sake of explanation, it is assumed that the IP terminal 11 has failed and the user of the home network 1 has started the repair request process in the HNW management device 10.

In step S1001, first, HN
The W management device 10 requests the profile management server 3 to refer to the registered IP terminal to which the user ID is added.

In step S1002, the profile management server 3 searches the data table shown in FIG. 4 using the user ID as a search key, and the registered IP
Information about terminals, such as a business ID and a device unique number, is collected. Further, the profile management server 3 searches the data table shown in FIG. 2 using the company ID as a search key, and collects, for example, the company name.

In step S1003, the profile management server 3 sends the collected information to the HNW management device 1
Return to 0.

In step S1004, the HNW management device 10 displays the received information on the display device. The user is requested to repair the IP terminal 11 according to the displayed contents.
Select.

In step S1005, the HNW management device 10 sends a repair request to the profile management server 3 for the selected IP terminal 11. The repair request includes at least specific information useful for identifying the IP terminal 11 (eg, attribute information such as model ID, product name, device unique ID).

In step S1006, the profile management server 3 determines, based on the attribute information of the IP terminal 11,
The address of the product management server 4 of company A is extracted by searching the data table of FIG. 4 to extract the business operator ID, and referring to the data table shown in FIG. 2 based on the extracted business operator ID. Then, predetermined information (for example, name and address or e-mail address) is extracted from the attribute information of the IP terminal 11 and the personal information of the user, and the repair request with the information extracted is transmitted. An e-mail address, telephone number, etc. may be preferable in order not to disclose personal information to the product business operator.

In step S1007, the product management server 4 searches the received personal information of the user for the optimum service base for the maintenance of the device, and arranges the repair service in the system within the company. For example, if the address is included as the personal information, the service base close to the address is extracted. If the telephone number is included as the personal information, the general address is specified from the telephone number, and the service base close to the address is extracted. It is assumed that the address book database of the service base is stored in advance in the data storage device 41 or the like.

In step S1008, the product management server 4 notifies the profile management server 3 of the acceptance completion.

In step S1009, the profile management server 3 notifies the HNW management device 10 of acceptance completion.

In step S1010, the product management server 4 sends a repair guide mail to the electronic mail address included in the personal information as a destination. It is assumed that the email contains, for example, the contact information of the repair person and the link information for downloading the program for checking the function of the IP terminal 11.

In step S1011, the user clicks the link information written in the received mail,
A download request for a program for inspecting the failure content of the IP terminal 11 to be repaired is issued.

In step S1012, the product management server 4, which is the link destination, transmits the test program for the IP terminal.

In step S1013, the HNW management device 10 executes the downloaded test program, controls the IP terminal 11 to be repaired through the home network 1, performs a function check, and collects device status information.

In step S1014, the HNW management device 10 transmits the device status information, which is the test result, to the predetermined server designated by the company A.

In step S1015, the product management server 4 searches the repair database based on the received device status information and estimates the failure content. The repair database is stored in the data storage device 41. For example, it is assumed that the device status information and the corresponding failure content are registered in advance.

At step S1016, the product management server 4 returns the analysis result to the HNW management device 10. At this time, in some cases, an update version of the control software built in the IP terminal 11 may be sent to prompt the update of the control software of the device.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 10, the test program is transferred to the HNW management apparatus 10 and executed there. However, the test program is transferred from the HNW management apparatus 10 to the IP terminal 11 subject to the function check. The function check may be performed by causing the IP terminal 11 itself to execute the test program, and the result may be received by the HNW management device 10. Further, in a system environment in which a global IP address is assigned to the IP terminal itself, the product management server can directly remotely operate the IP terminal 11 to perform a function check.

FIG. 11 is a sequence diagram when a fault notification is given to a product having a manufacturing number within a specific range. The fault notification means notifying the user of the presence of a fault and countermeasure information for the fault. The feature of the present embodiment here is that the information can be individually notified even if the business operator does not know the personal information of the product owner.

In step S1101, the product management server 4 of the product business operator searches the product management table shown in FIG. 9 using the manufacturing number as a search key, and extracts the user ID of the owner of the product to be notified. The serial number may be input individually as the search condition setting, or 0000
It may be set by specifying a range, such as 1 to 02020.

In step S 1102, the distribution request is transmitted to the profile management server 3. At the time of distribution request, the extracted user ID and failure information to be notified to the user are also transmitted to the profile management server 3.

In step S1103, when the profile management server 3 receives the distribution request, it starts the distribution process. When the distribution process is activated, the received user I
The data table of the personal information shown in FIG. 3 is searched with D as a search key, and the destination information (eg, e-mail address or address / name) of the guide information is extracted.

In step S1104, the profile management server 3 sets the destination of the electronic mail based on the extracted electronic mail address and attaches the guide information. The guidance information may be inserted in the body of the email.

When the extracted destination information is the address / name, these are subjected to the address printing process on the address sticker. Further, the guide information is printed, enclosed in a sealed letter, and an address sticker is attached. Of course, in the case of notification by a postcard, the address forming process and the guide information printing process are performed on the postcard by the image forming apparatus.

In step S1105, the profile management server 3 transmits the created electronic mail or the created postcard.

In step S1106, when the distribution work is completed, the profile management server 3 notifies the product management server 4 of the completion.

FIG. 12 is a sequence diagram for notifying a user of a failure that occurs when a plurality of manufacturers interoperate with different products. For example, it is used by a certain business operator to notify the user of the existence of the failure and the corresponding information.

The feature of this embodiment here is that the profile management server 3 is caused to perform a conditional search for the user information and the product information owned by the profile management server 3.
It is possible to notify the information only to the owner who matches the specific condition. In particular, it is a great advantage that products of other companies can be searched.

In step S1201, the product management server 4 sets search conditions. For example, the specific information of the in-house product and the specific information of the other company's product that cause a failure when interoperating are input. The specific information is information that can identify the product, such as the product type ID.

In step S1202, the product management server 4 requests the profile management server 3 for search and distribution. For example, the search condition and the fault information to be delivered to the corresponding owner are transmitted.

In step S1203, the profile management server 3 searches the terminal attribute data table shown in FIG. 4 according to the received search conditions. For example, if the search condition is MODEL1 & C3000,
0001 will be extracted as the user ID.
Further, based on the extracted user ID, the data table of personal information shown in FIG. 3 is searched, and the destination information of the guidance information is extracted.

At step S1204, the profile management server 3 sets the destination of the electronic mail based on the extracted electronic mail address and attaches the guide information.

In step S1205, the profile management server 3 transmits the created electronic mail or the created postcard.

In step S1206, when the distribution work is completed, the profile management server 3 notifies the product management server 4 of the completion.

As described above, the information can be notified to the appropriate user.

Although the home network is taken as an example in the above description, a general L network such as an office network is used.
The present invention can be applied even to an AN.

[0144]

[Other Embodiments] A storage medium in which a program code of software for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiments is recorded,
It goes without saying that the object of the present invention can also be achieved by supplying the system or device to the computer (or CPU or MPU) of the system or device to read and execute the program code stored in the storage medium. In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium realizes the novel function of the present invention, and the storage medium storing the program code constitutes the present invention.

As a storage medium for supplying the program code, for example, a flexible disk, a hard disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, a CD-ROM,
CD-R, magnetic tape, non-volatile memory card, RO
M or the like can be used.

Further, the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by executing the program code read by the computer, and the OS and the like running on the computer actually perform processing based on the instructions of the program code. The function of the above-described embodiment can be realized also by performing a part or all of the above.

Furthermore, after the program code read from the storage medium is written in the memory provided in the function expansion board inserted in the computer or the function expansion unit connected to the computer, based on the instruction of the program code, A CPU or the like included in the function expansion board or the function expansion unit performs a part or all of the actual processing, and the processing can also realize the functions of the above-described embodiments.

The present invention is applicable to the case where the program is distributed from the storage medium storing the program code of the software which realizes the functions of the above-described embodiment to the requester through a communication line such as personal computer communication. It goes without saying that it is also applicable.

[0149]

According to the present invention, a user can register an IP terminal existing on a home network with each business by simply performing user registration on the profile management server. Can be simplified.

Further, for updating registration information such as address change, it is sufficient to update only the data stored in the profile management server, so that the omission of changes is eliminated and the credibility of the user registration contents is dramatically improved.

Furthermore, since personal information is not unnecessarily disclosed to the business operator, the personal information can be protected and can be diverted to marketing or sales promotion information other than the original purpose of device maintenance. Can be prevented.

On the other hand, it is sufficient for the business operator to change the information of the business operator registered in the profile management server even when the product management server address is changed or the business operator itself is changed. There is an advantage that the cost required for the operation can be reduced and the user is not confused.

Further, by returning the data related to the user ID online, it becomes possible to store the user ID in the home network management device as it is. Therefore, there is an advantage that the user does not have to manually input.

[0154] Also, the IP registered by each business as a user
There is an advantage that the terminal can be referred to by a single inquiry process, for example.

When the user wants to change the address or the contact information, he / she can change the user information for all the owned IP terminals by performing only one change operation on the profile management server. Become.

Further, even when an IP terminal is newly installed in the home network, there is an effect that the user can be easily registered with the business operator.

Further, when the IP terminal is excluded from the home network, the user registration for the business operator can be easily deleted, and the business operator can know that the device is no longer used and maintain it. It has the effect of being able to be used to judge the adjustment of the inventory of parts.

Further, the user only has to send a repair request to the profile management server, and the profile management server transfers the request to a predetermined applicable business operator. Therefore, the user does not need to check the whereabouts of the applicable business operator. is there.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration example of an IP terminal management system according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a data table for associating a business ID with business information.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a data table for associating a user ID with personal information of a user.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a data table for associating a user ID with attribute information of an owning IP terminal.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a sequence for newly executing user registration.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a sequence when referring to registered contents.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a sequence for updating registered personal information.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a sequence when updating registration information of an IP terminal.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a product management table managed by a product management server.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a sequence for requesting repair of a registered IP terminal.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a sequence for notifying a user having a specific product of failure information and the like.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of a sequence for notifying a user having a plurality of specific products of failure information associated with interoperation.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Home network 10 in first user's home ... HNW management devices 11 to 13 of home network 1 ... I connected to home network 1
P terminal device 2 ... Home network 20 in second user home ... HNW management devices 21 to 23 of home network 2 ... I connected to home network 2
P terminal device 3 ... Profile management server 31 of management service providing company ... Data storage devices 4 to 6 ... Product management servers 41, 51, 61 for each company ... Data associated with each product management server 4, 5, 6 Storage device

Claims (26)

[Claims] 1. A terminal management including a management device connected to at least one terminal device via a network, a profile management server connected to the management device, and a product management server connected to the profile management server. The profile management server in the system, the receiving means for receiving the product profile of the terminal device and the user profile regarding the user of the terminal device acquired by the management device, and a unique device corresponding to the received user profile. Generating means for generating a user ID; specifying means for specifying a product management server related to the terminal device based on the received product profile; and the product profile and the specified product management server for the specified product management server. A transmission means for transmitting the user ID, Airu management server. 2. The profile management server according to claim 1, wherein the user profile includes at least one of the user's name, address, and contact information. 3. A first table further storing a relationship between the product profile and the product management server, wherein the specifying unit searches the first table on the basis of the product profile and relates to the related table. The profile management server according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a product management server is extracted. 4. A second table further storing a relationship between the user ID and the user profile, wherein the generating means stores the user ID generated so as to correspond to the user profile in the second table. The profile management server according to claim 1, wherein the profile management server is registered in the profile management server. 5. The transmitting means is configured to generate the user I.
2. D is transmitted to the management device.
The profile management server according to claim 4. 6. A third table that stores the relationship between the user ID and the product profile, and when an information inquiry request related to the user ID is received from the management device, the product profile and the user corresponding to the user ID. The profile according to claim 4 or 5, further comprising an answering unit that searches for a profile from the third table and the second table, respectively, and answers the extracted product profile and user profile. Management server. 7. When an information update request related to a user ID is received from the management device, a user profile corresponding to the user ID is retrieved from the second table and the content of the extracted user profile is updated. The profile management server according to claim 4, further comprising means. 8. When an information addition request related to a user ID is received from the management device, a product profile corresponding to the user ID is searched from the third table, and the extracted product profile and the information addition request. 7. The method further comprises: an addition unit that compares the product profile transmitted from the management device in association with the above, and adds a product profile for a terminal device that is not registered in the third table. To any one of claims 7 to 9
The profile management server described in the section. 9. When an information deletion request related to a user ID is received from the management device, the user ID and the terminal device to be deleted are used as search keys to retrieve a product profile to be deleted from the third table. 9. The profile management server according to claim 6, further comprising a deleting unit that deletes the searched and extracted product profile from the third table. 10. When a product repair request related to a user ID is received from the management device, a user profile corresponding to the user ID is retrieved by extracting from the second table, and becomes the user ID and a repair target. It further comprises a repair target extraction unit that searches for and extracts a product profile to be repaired from the third table using the terminal device as a search key, and the transmission unit includes the extracted user profile and the product profile. 10. The repair request information including the information is transmitted to a product management server corresponding to the product profile, according to any one of claims 6 to 9.
The profile management server described in the section. 11. A terminal management including a management device connected to at least one terminal device via a network, a profile management server connected to the management device, and a product management server connected to the profile management server. The management device in the system, which is an acquisition unit that acquires a product profile of the terminal device, an input unit that inputs a user profile related to a user of the terminal device, a product profile of the terminal device and a user of the terminal device A transmission means for transmitting a user profile to the profile management server; a reception means for receiving a unique user ID from the profile management server; and an output means for outputting the received user ID. Management device. 12. The management device according to claim 11, wherein the user profile includes at least one of the user's name, address, and contact information. 13. The transmitting means transmits an information inquiry request for inquiring a user profile or a product profile registered in the profile management server in association with the user ID, and the receiving means comprises the information inquiry request. 12. The product profile or the user profile is received as a response to the request, and the output means outputs the received product profile or the user profile.
Alternatively, the management device according to claim 12. 14. The transmission means transmits an information update request for updating a user profile or a product profile registered in the profile management server in association with the user ID. The management device according to any one of claims 13 to 13. 15. The information update request is an information addition request for additionally registering a terminal device that is not registered in the user profile management server, and the user ID.
The management device according to claim 14, wherein the management device includes a product profile of a terminal device to be additionally registered. 16. The information update request is an information deletion request for deleting at least one terminal device registered in the user profile management server, the user ID and the terminal device to be deleted. The specific information for specifying is included.
Management device described in. 17. The transmission means transmits a product repair request for at least one terminal device registered in the user profile management server, and the product repair request includes the user ID and the terminal device to be repaired. The management device according to any one of claims 11 to 16, characterized in that the management device includes specific information for specifying the. 18. A terminal management including a management device connected to at least one terminal device via a network, a profile management server connected to the management device, and a product management server connected to the profile management server. A product management server in the system, wherein input means for inputting product identification information for identifying a predetermined terminal device and notification information to be notified to a user of the terminal device; and the input product identification Transmitting means for transmitting information and notification information to the profile management server, wherein the profile management server extracts a user ID corresponding to the product specifying information, and notifies the user of the extracted user ID of the notification information. The product management server is characterized by being distributed. 19. A terminal management including a management device connected to at least one terminal device via a network, a profile management server connected to the management device, and a product management server connected to the profile management server. A product management server in the system, the user ID transmitted from the profile management server
And a product profile, a product management table that stores the relationship between the received user ID and the product profile, an input unit that inputs product identification information of the predetermined terminal device, Extracting means for searching and extracting the user ID corresponding to the product specifying information from the product management table, the extracted user ID, and the notification information to be notified to the user having the user ID. A product management server, comprising: a transmitting unit that transmits the management information to the management server, wherein the notification information is distributed to the user having the extracted user ID by the profile management server. 20. The product management server according to claim 18, wherein the notification information is failure information regarding the terminal device. 21. The product management server according to claim 20, wherein the notification information is information about a failure that occurs when interoperating a plurality of products of different product companies. 22. The product management server according to claim 19, wherein the product management table stores product shipping information regarding shipped products, and a relationship between the user ID and the product profile. . 23. A terminal management including a management device connected to at least one terminal device via a network, a profile management server connected to the management device, and a product management server connected to the profile management server. A profile management method in a system, comprising: receiving a product profile of the terminal device and a user profile related to a user of the terminal device acquired by the management device; and a unique user ID corresponding to the received user profile. Generating a product profile, and specifying a product management server associated with the terminal device based on the received product profile, and transmitting the product profile and the user ID to the specified product management server. And a profile that includes Le management method. 24. A terminal management including a management device connected to at least one terminal device via a network, a profile management server connected to the management device, and a product management server connected to the profile management server. A user registration method in a system, comprising: obtaining a product profile of the terminal device; inputting a user profile related to the user of the terminal device; product profile of the terminal device and user profile related to the user of the terminal device. To the profile management server, a step of receiving a unique user ID from the profile management server, and a step of outputting the received user ID. 25. A terminal management including a management device connected to at least one terminal device via a network, a profile management server connected to the management device, and a product management server connected to the profile management server. In the system, there is provided an information distribution request method for requesting information distribution from the product management server to the profile management server, wherein product specifying information for specifying a predetermined terminal device and user of the terminal device. A step of inputting notification information to be notified, a step of transmitting the input product identification information and the notification information to the profile management server, the user corresponding to the product identification information by the profile management server An ID is extracted, and the notification information is distributed to the user having the extracted user ID. A method for requesting information distribution, which is characterized in that 26. A terminal management including a management device connected to at least one terminal device via a network, a profile management server connected to the management device, and a product management server connected to the profile management server. In the system, an information distribution request method for requesting information distribution from the product management server to the profile management server, wherein the user ID transmitted from the profile management server
And a product profile, storing a relationship between the received user ID and the product profile in a product management table, inputting product identification information of the predetermined terminal device, the input The profile management of a step of searching and extracting a user ID corresponding to the product identification information from the product management table, the extracted user ID, and notification information to be notified to the user having the user ID. And a step of transmitting the notification information to the user having the extracted user ID by the profile management server.