Remote-support system for an analysing apparatus

• US 20040221035A1
• Filed: 04/28/2004
• Published: 11/04/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 05/01/2003
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Shimadzu Corporation
• Original Assignee: Shimadzu Corporation
• Inventors: Morikawa, Tsuyoshi
• Application Number:
  US10/833,014
• Publication Number:
  US 20040221035A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/224
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/06 Management of faults, events, alarms or notifications
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/00 Arrangements for monitoring or testing data switching networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/10 Active monitoring, e.g. heartbeat, ping or trace-route
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0281 Proxies
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/029 Firewall traversal, e.g. tunnelling or, creating pinholes

Abstract

The present invention provides a remote support system for diagnosing or analyzing a fault of an analyzing apparatus from a remote service support terminal without lowering the security of the user'"'"'s intranet. In an embodiment of the invention, the system includes an analyzing apparatus 8 having a communication controller 81 and connected via the user'"'"'s intranet 7 to the Internet 1, a terminal 5a or 5b connected via the manufacturer'"'"'s intranet 4 to the Internet 1, and a server 2 accessible through the Internet 1. In a polling communication, the terminal 5a or 5b as the master sends a control command to the server 2 as the slave. In another polling communication, the analyzing apparatus 8 as the master receives the control command from the server 2 as the slave. Such a two-stage communication process makes it possible to control the analyzing apparatus 8 for the purpose of analyzing the log or maintenance information and troubleshooting the problem while maintaining the security level of the intranet 7.

Claims

1. A remote support system for an analyzing apparatus for carrying out a fault diagnosis, repairing, program updates and/or other support services of the analyzing apparatus located on a user'"'"'s side from an external computer, the system comprising:

a communication unit provided to the analyzing apparatus and connected via a user'"'"'s closed network to the Internet;

a service support terminal connected via the user'"'"'s closed network or a different network to the Internet, or directly to the Internet; and

a server used for providing support services, the server being open to the Internet;

wherein the service support terminal and the communication unit of the analyzing apparatus send and receive information from and to each other by way of the server by a process including a first polling step in which the communication unit of the analyzing apparatus acts as a master and the server acts as a slave and a second polling step in which the service support terminal acts as a master and the server acts as a slave.

2. The remote support system according to claim 1, wherein the server is constructed to allow a plurality of service support terminals to simultaneously send the polling request signals addressed to the same analyzing apparatus.

3. The remote support system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the communication unit of the analyzing apparatus is implemented as a control program written in a read-only memory.

4. The remote support system according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a firewall or proxy server located at a gateway of the user'"'"'s closed network.