Remote management system

• US 5,777,895 A
• Filed: 05/17/1996
• Issued: 07/07/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 05/19/1995
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Haier Group Corporation (Haier Group Company), Qingdao Haier Washing Machine Co., Ltd. (Haier Group Company)
• Original Assignee: Sanyo Electric Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Takenaka, Akira, Fukuoka, Ichiro, Kuroda, Kiyomitsu
• Primary Examiner(s): Trammell, James P.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Shah, Kamini S.
• Application Number:
  US08/650,059
• Time in Patent Office: 781 Days
• Field of Search: 364/550, 364/DIG. 1, 364/138, 364/424.11, 364/146, 379/106, 379/96, 399/8, 395/184.01, 340/825.35, 340/825.49, 340/825.22
• US Class Current: 702/188
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 99/00 Subject matter not provided for in other groups of this subclass
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 11/00 Telephonic communication systems specially adapted for combination with other electrical systems

Abstract

A remote management system where a central control apparatus for controlling machines installed in plural stores from remote on receiving data of working conditions of the machines, which is transmitted from terminals of the stores, for displaying a layout of the machines in each store, a machine kind, a layout of the store such as a wall, an entrance and a window on blocks, for example, by a coloring, a hatching of the block, on and off of the display of the block and the like.

Claims

1. A remote management system where a central control apparatus manages a machine remotely based on data concerning the machine which is transmitted from the machine to said central control apparatus, said central control apparatus comprising:

layout setting means for setting a machine layout of an area indicating the arrangement where said machine is installed in said area; and

layout displaying means for displaying a picture of said machine layout of said area.

2. A remote management system as set forth in claim 1, wherein said central control apparatus manages machines in a plurality of areas and said layout setting means sets a machine layout for each of said areas;

said central control apparatus further comprising;

area specifying means for specifying one of said plurality of areas, and

storing means for storing data of the machine layout of said plurality of areas corresponding to data for specifying each said area, and

said layout displaying means including;

means for displaying a picture of the machine layout of a specified area.

3. A remote management system as set forth in claim 1, wherein said machine is a laundry machine.

4. A remote management system as set forth in claim 1, wherein said layout displaying means includes means for displaving a picture of an area divided into a plurality of blocks, and

said central control apparatus, further comprising:

first specifying means for specifying a position on said picture of said area displayed by said layout displaying means; and

storing means for storing data of said machine layout of said area,

said layout setting means including;

means for causing said storing means to store data of the specified area to indicate the position of the machine in the area where the machine is installed, and

said layout displaying means further including;

means for differing the display mode of said specified block from that of the other blocks of said picture.

5. A remote management system as set forth in claim 4, wherein

said central control apparatus further comprises:

second specifying means for specifying a position around said plurality of blocks,

said layout setting means including;

means for setting a layout of an element which forms the outline of said area at the position specified by said second specifying means; and

means for causing said storing means to store data of the layout of said element set by said setting means, and

said layout displaying means including;

means for displaying a picture of said element at the specified position around said displayed plurality of blocks.

6. A remote management system as set forth in claim 4, wherein

said layout setting means includes:

first data setting means for setting first data concerning the machine on the block specified by said first specifying means; and

means for causing said storing means to store said first data set by said first data setting means, and

said layout displaying means includes;

means for displaying said first data set by said first data setting means on the block which is specified by said first specifying means from said plurality of displayed blocks.

7. A remote management system as set forth in claim 6, wherein

said central control apparatus further comprises:

means for causing said storing means to store second data concerning a machine other than said first data by correlating said second data to said first data, and

said layout displaying means includes;

means for displaying said stored second data correlated to said first data of the block specified by said first specifying means when the block among said plurality of blocks which displays the machine layout is specified by said first specifying means.

8. A remote management system as set forth in claim 7, wherein

said central control apparatus further comprises:

transmitting means for transmitting to said machine a transmission instruction of said first and second data to set the machine layout at the central control apparatus,

receiving means for receiving said first and second data transmitted from the machine in response to the transmission instruction; and

means for causing said storing means to store the data received by said receiving means whereby said layout displaying means displays said stored first and second data when said plurality of blocks is displayed.

9. A remote management system as set forth in claim 8, wherein

said central control apparatus, further comprises:

means for causing said storing means to store said first and second data by correlating this data to data which specifies the area where the machine is installed.

10. A remote management system as set forth in claim 4, wherein said machine is a laundry machine.

11. A remote management system as set forth in claim 1, wherein said lavout displaying means includes means for displaying a picture of a machine layout in said area and a layout of an element which forms the outline of said area as being divided into a plurality of blocks, and

said central control apparatus further comprises:

first specifying means for specifying a position on the picture of the machine layout displayed by said layout displaying means;

third specifying means for specifying a layout position on the picture of said element displayed by said layout displaying means; and

storing means for storing the data of said machine layout and said element layout,

said layout setting means including;

means for causing said storing means to store the data of the block specified by said first specifying means as data to indicate the arranged position of the machine in said area; and

means for causing said storing means to store the data of the block specified by said third specifying means as data to indicate the position of the element around said area, and

said layout displaying means further comprising;

means for respectively differing display modes of the block specified by said first specifying means the block specified by said third specifying means, and the other blocks.

12. A remote management system as set forth in claim 11, wherein

said layout setting means includes:

first data setting means for setting first data concerning the machine on the block specified by said first specifying means; and

said layout displaying means includes

means for displaying said first data set by said first data setting means on the block which is specified by said first specifying means among said displayed plurality of blocks.

13. A remote management system as set forth in claim 11, wherein

said layout setting means includes:

third data setting means for setting third data concerning the element layout around said area; and

means for causing said storing means to store said third data set by said third data setting means; and

said layout displaying means includes;

means for displaying said third data set by said third data setting means on the block which is specified by said third specifying means among said displayed plurality of blocks.

14. A remote management system as set forth in claim 11, wherein

said third specifying means includes:

on/off specifying means for specifying the status of each of said plurality of blocks to display or erase,

said layout setting means including;

means for causing said storing means to store the data of said status and the position of the block when said block and the status thereof are specified by said on/off specifying means of said third specifying means, and

said layout displaying means includes;

means for displaying or erasing the block specified by said third specifying means according to the status specified by said on/off specifying means of said third specifying means.

15. A remote management system as set forth in claim 12, wherein

said central control apparatus further comprises:

means for causing said storing means to store second data concerning the machine other than said first data by correlating said second data to said first data, and

said layout displaying means including;

means for displaying said stored second data correlated to said first data of the block specified by said first specifying means when the block among the plurality of blocks which displays the machine layout is specified by said first specifying means.

16. A remote management system as set forth in claim 15, wherein

said central control apparatus further comprises:

transmitting means for transmitting to said machine a transmission instruction of said first and second data therefrom;

receiving means for receiving said first and second data transmitted from the machine in response to the transmission instruction; and

means for causing said storing means to store the data received by said receiving means,

whereby said layout displaying means displays said stored first and second data when said plurality of blocks is displayed.

17. A remote management system as set forth in claim 16, wherein

said central control apparatus further comprises:

means for causing said storing means to store said first and second data by correlating this data to data which specifies the area where the machine is installed.

18. A remote management system as set forth in claim 11, wherein said machine is a laundry machine.