Monitoring apparatus, display method, program, and monitoring system for displaying an operation state of each of a plurality of equipment devices

A monitoring apparatus of a plurality of equipment devices displays, on a state display screen, an operation state of each of the plurality of equipment devices in summary, and includes a display control unit configured to display, on the state display screen, information indicating each of the plurality of equipment devices and information relating to control that changed the operation state of the equipment device, in association with each other.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a monitoring apparatus, a display method, a program, and a monitoring system.

BACKGROUND ART

An operator in charge of maintenance and management of an equipment device in a construction, such as a factory and a building facility, monitors the operation state and the like by looking at current value data and trend graphs of the target device displayed on a central monitoring apparatus.

For example, even when a target device is controlled by multiple control methods by displaying a control state trend that displays the operation state of the target device together with the control state of each of the multiple control methods, there is known a monitoring apparatus that can identify at a glance the operation state of the target device and the transition of the control state, that is, which control method has caused the target device to start/stop (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

CITATION LIST

Patent Documents

Patent Document 1

(Patent document 1) Publication of Japanese Patent No. 5653227

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

Technical Problem

For example, in a monitoring apparatus of a plurality of equipment device that displays, on a state display screen, an operation state of each of the plurality of equipment devices in summary, there is a problem in that a user viewing the state display screen is unable to determine, from the information displayed on the state display screen, the control that has caused the operation state of the equipment device to change. Patent Document 1 does not mention such a problem.

The purpose of the present disclosure is to provide a monitoring apparatus, a display method, a program, and a monitoring system by which a user can identify on a state display screen the control that is a factor in changing the operation state of equipment device.

Solution to Problem

The monitoring apparatus of the present disclosure is a monitoring apparatus of a plurality of equipment devices that displays, on a state display screen, an operation state of each of the plurality of equipment devices in summary, the monitoring apparatus including:a display control unit configured to display, on the state display screen, information indicating each of the plurality of equipment devices and information relating to control that changed the operation state of the equipment device, in association with each other.

According to the present disclosure, by displaying the information indicating the plurality of equipment devices and the information relating to the control that changed the operation state of the equipment device in association with each other on the state display screen, the user can identify the control that caused the operation state of the equipment device to change on the state display screen.

The information relating to the control that changed the operation state of the equipment device may include a control function that changed the operation state of the equipment device and information indicating a command content.

According to the present disclosure, the information indicating the control function and the command content that changed the operation state of the equipment device can be identified by the user on the state display screen.

The information relating to the control that changed the operation state of the equipment device may further include information indicating a time when the control function changed the operation state of the equipment device.

According to the present disclosure, the information indicating the time when the control function changed the operation state of the equipment device can be identified by the user on the information display screen.

A control history information managing unit configured to manage, as control history information of each of the plurality of equipment devices, the control function that reported a control command for changing the operation state of the equipment device, the command content included in the control command, and information indicating a priority level of the control function, may be further included, andthe display control unit may display, on the state display screen by using the control history information, the control function that most recently changed the operation state of the equipment device and information indicating the command content, in association with the information indicating each of the plurality of equipment devices.

According to the present disclosure, the user can identify the information indicating the control function and the command content that most recently changed the operation state of the equipment device on the state display screen for each equipment device.

The control function may include a control function for changing the operation state of the equipment device by a user operation, andthe information relating to the control that changed the operation state of the equipment device may further include information indicating a user that has executed the user operation.

According to the present disclosure, information indicating the user who changed the operation state of the equipment device by the control function can be displayed on the state display screen to allow the user to identify the information.

The control function may include a control function for changing the operation state of the equipment device by linking with another function, andthe information relating to the control that changed the operation state of the equipment device may further include information indicating a condition under which the linking with the another function was activated.

According to the present disclosure, information indicating the condition under which the linking with the other function was activated can be displayed on the state display screen to allow the user to identify the condition.

The display method of the present disclosure is a display method performed in a monitoring apparatus of a plurality of equipment devices that displays, on a state display screen, an operation state of each of the plurality of equipment devices in summary, the display method including:a step of receiving, from a first control function, a control command for changing the operation state of the equipment device; anda step of displaying, on the state display screen, information relating to control by a second control function, in response to detecting that a priority level of the second control function that changed the operation state of the equipment device is higher than a priority level of the first control function.

According to the present disclosure, when the priority level of the second control function, which is the factor that changed the operation state of the equipment device, is higher than the priority level of the first control function that received the control command, by displaying information relating to the control of the second control function on the state display screen, the user can identify the control that is the factor that changed the operation state of the equipment device on the state display screen.

The display method of the present disclosure is a display method performed in a monitoring apparatus of a plurality of equipment devices that displays, on a state display screen, an operation state of each of the plurality of equipment devices in summary, the display method including:a step of acquiring, for each of the equipment devices, information relating to control that changed the operation state of each of the plurality of equipment devices; anda step of displaying, on the state display screen, information indicating each of the plurality of equipment devices and the information relating to the control that changed the operation state of the equipment device, in association with each other.

According to the present disclosure, by displaying information indicating the plurality of equipment devices and the information relating to control that changed the operation state of the equipment devices in association with each other on the state display screen, the user can identify the control that caused the operation state of the equipment device to change on the state display screen.

The display method of the present disclosure is a display method performed in a monitoring apparatus of a plurality of equipment devices that displays, on a state display screen, an operation state of each of the plurality of equipment devices in summary, the display method including:a step of receiving a user operation with respect to a first control function for changing the operation state of the equipment device; anda step of displaying, on the state display screen, information relating to control by a second control function to be overwritten by information relating to control by the first control function, in response to detecting that a priority level of the second control function that changed the operation state of the equipment device is lower than a priority level of the first control function.

According to the present disclosure, the user can identify on the state display screen that the information relating to the control of the second control function will be overwritten by the information relating to the control of the first control function when the priority level of the second control function, which is the factor that changed the operation state of the equipment device, is lower than the priority level of the first control function that received the user's operation.

The program of the present disclosure causes a monitoring apparatus of a plurality of equipment devices that displays, on a state display screen, an operation state of each of the plurality of equipment devices in summary, to execute:a step of receiving, from a first control function, a control command for changing the operation state of the equipment device; anda step of displaying, on the state display screen, information relating to control by a second control function, in response to detecting that a priority level of the second control function that changed the operation state of the equipment device is higher than a priority level of the first control function.

According to the present disclosure, when the priority level of the second control function, which is the factor that changed the operation state of the equipment device, is higher than the priority level of the first control function that received the control command, by displaying information relating to the control of the second control function on the state display screen, the user can identify the control that is the factor that changed the operation state of the equipment device on the state display screen.

The program of the present disclosure causes a monitoring apparatus of a plurality of equipment devices that displays, on a state display screen, an operation state of each of the plurality of equipment devices in summary, to execute:a step of acquiring, for each of the equipment devices, information relating to control that changed the operation state of each of the plurality of equipment devices; anda step of displaying, on the state display screen, information indicating each of the plurality of equipment devices and the information relating to the control that changed the operation state of the equipment device, in association with each other.

According to the present disclosure, by displaying information indicating the plurality of equipment devices and the information relating to control that changed the operation state of the equipment device in association with each other on the state display screen, the user can identify the control that caused the operation state of the equipment device to change on the state display screen.

The program of the present disclosure causes a monitoring apparatus of a plurality of equipment devices that displays, on a state display screen, an operation state of each of the plurality of equipment devices in summary, to execute:a step of receiving a user operation with respect to a first control function for changing the operation state of the equipment device; anda step of displaying, on the state display screen, information relating to control by a second control function to be overwritten by information relating to control by the first control function, in response to detecting that a priority level of the second control function that changed the operation state of the equipment device is lower than a priority level of the first control function.

According to the present disclosure, the user can identify on the state display screen that the information relating to the control of the second control function will be overwritten by the information relating to the control of the first control function when the priority level of the second control function, which is the factor that changed the operation state of the equipment device, is lower than the priority level of the first control function that received the user's operation.

The monitoring system of the present disclosure is a monitoring system of a plurality of equipment devices that displays, on a state display screen, an operation state of each of the plurality of equipment devices in summary, the monitoring system including:a control unit configured to control an operation of one or more of the equipment devices according to a control command from a plurality of control functions associated with priority levels;an acquiring unit configured to acquire, from the control unit, information relating to control that changed the operation state of the equipment device; anda display control unit configured to display, on the state display screen, information indicating each of the plurality of equipment devices and the information relating to the control that changed the operation state of the equipment device, in association with each other.

According to the present disclosure, by displaying on the state display screen the information indicating the plurality of equipment devices and the information relating to the control that changed the operation state of the equipment device in association with each other, the user can identify the control that caused the operation state of the equipment device and equipment device to change on the state display screen.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Next, the embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail.

First Embodiment

FIG.1is a configuration diagram of an example of a monitoring system according to the present embodiment. The monitoring system includes a monitoring apparatus10, a controller12, and an equipment device14. The monitoring apparatus10and one or more controllers12can communicate via a network18, such as a local area network (LAN). The monitoring apparatus10may be implemented by a service using the Internet or cloud computing, for example. The network18may use a wireless communication system such as 3G, 4G, or 5G. The name of the monitoring apparatus10is an example and may be another name.

The controller12and the equipment device14are installed in a construction such as a building, for example. The controller12can communicate with one or more equipment devices14that are monitoring targets. The controller12has multiple control functions with different priority levels and receives control commands from multiple control functions. Further, the controller12receives control commands from multiple control functions with different priority levels from the monitoring apparatus10or another controller12, etc. The controller12controls the equipment device14by transmitting, to the equipment device14according to the priority level, a control command from a control function selected from control commands of the multiple control functions, as described later.

Further, the controller12acquires state information (such as temperature) from the equipment device14and transmits the state information to the monitoring apparatus10. The controller12manages the control command history described later. The controller12transmits the control history information described later to the monitoring apparatus10.

The equipment device14is an air conditioner installed in a construction such as a building. For example, if the equipment device14is an air conditioner, the command content included in the control command includes a start/stop command, such as to start operating or stop operating, or a setting command, such as to set the temperature. The operation state of the equipment device14is controlled according to the command content from the controller12.

The monitoring apparatus10is an example of an information processing apparatus that monitors the equipment device14. For example, the monitoring apparatus10is implemented by BMS (Building Management System). The monitoring apparatus10includes a function of central monitoring such as alarm monitoring, monitoring the state of the equipment device14, automatic control, operation management, or the like.

The monitoring apparatus10performs display control for controlling the display of screens such as a summary screen or a trend screen used by the user for monitoring the equipment device14. The summary screen is an example of a state display screen and is used by the user to confirm the operation state of one or more equipment devices14. The monitoring apparatus10uses, for example, control history information and state information of the equipment device14received from the controller12to create a summary screen or a trend screen. Further, the monitoring apparatus10uses display information such as symbols to create a summary screen. Details of the summary screen will be described later. The trend screen is used, for example, to graphically display changes over time such as changes of the operation state of equipment device14, the temperature, the humidity, or the like.

The monitoring apparatus10also has a control function for sending control commands to the controller12. The monitoring apparatus10manages control history information and state information of the equipment device14received from the controller12.

The monitoring apparatus10is an information processing apparatus that can be operated by a user such as a user of a PC. The monitoring apparatus10may display a summary screen or a trend screen on an information processing apparatus that can be operated by a user such as a user of a mobile phone, a smartphone, a tablet terminal, a PC, or the like.

The monitoring system inFIG.1is an example, and the monitoring apparatus10may be configured with an information processing system implemented by one or more computers, for example. Further, the monitoring system inFIG.1is an example, and it is obvious that there are various system configuration examples depending on the application and purpose.

The monitoring apparatus10and the controller12inFIG.1are implemented by, for example, a computer500with the hardware configuration illustrated inFIG.2. The hardware configuration of the equipment device14is omitted.

FIG.2is a hardware configuration diagram of an example of a computer according to the present embodiment. The computer500inFIG.2is equipped with an input device501, a display device502, an external I/F503, a RAM504, a ROM505, a CPU506, a communication I/F507, an HDD508, etc., and these elements are connected to each other by a bus B. The input device501and the display device502may be connected and used when necessary.

The input device501is a touch panel, operation keys and buttons, a keyboard, and a mouse, etc., used by the user to input various signals. The display device502is configured by a display such as a liquid crystal display or an organic EL display that displays a screen, and a speaker that outputs sound data such as voice and music. The communication I/F507is an interface that connects the computer500to the network18or the like. The computer500can perform data communication via a communication I/F507.

The HDD508is an example of a nonvolatile storage device that stores programs and data. The stored programs and data include an OS, which is basic software that controls the entire computer500, and applications that provide various functions on the OS.

The computer500may use a drive device (e.g., solid-state drive: SSD) that uses a flash memory as a storage medium instead of the HDD508.

The external I/F503is an interface with an external device. The external device includes a recording medium503a. The computer500can read and/or write information in the recording medium503avia the external I/F503. The recording medium503amay be a flexible disk, a CD, a DVD, an SD memory card, a USB memory, etc.

The ROM505is an example of a nonvolatile semiconductor memory (storage device) that can hold programs and data even when the power is turned off. The ROM505stores programs such as BIOS that is executed when the computer500starts, OS settings, and network settings, and data. The RAM504is an example of a volatile semiconductor memory (storage device) that temporarily holds programs and data.

The CPU506is an arithmetic unit that implements control and functions of the entire computer500by reading programs and data from storage devices such as the ROM505and the HDD508onto the RAM504and executing processing.

The monitoring apparatus10and the controller12according to the present embodiment can implement various types of processing as described later by executing programs by using resources capable of information processing as described above.

The functional blocks of the monitoring apparatus10and the controller12of the monitoring system according to the present embodiment will be described.FIG.3is a function block diagram of an example of the monitoring apparatus and the controller of the monitoring system according to the present embodiment.

By executing a program, the monitoring apparatus10implements a control history information receiving unit20, an equipment device state information receiving unit22, a display control unit24, an operation receiving unit26, a control history information managing unit28, an equipment device state information managing unit30, and a control function unit32. Further, by executing a program, the controller12implements a control history information transmitting unit40, an equipment device state information transmitting unit42, an equipment device state information acquiring unit44, a control command history managing unit46, a control function priority managing unit48, a control function unit50, a control command receiving unit52, and an equipment device control unit54.

In the functional block diagram ofFIG.3, functions unnecessary for the description of the monitoring system according to the present embodiment are omitted as appropriate.

The control function priority managing unit48of the controller12manages control commands to the equipment device14received from the multiple control functions, according to a control function priority management table (priority array) as illustrated in, for example,FIG.4corresponding to the equipment device14that is the monitoring target.FIG.4is a configuration diagram of an example of a control function priority management table. Different priority levels are set for multiple control functions.

The control function priority management table illustrated inFIG.4stores, as the value of each priority level from “1” to “16”, null indicating that no control command is received or the command content (command) of the received control command. For example, in the control function priority management table illustrated inFIG.4, “operation” is stored as the value of the priority level “6” and “stop” is stored as the value of the priority level “9”. The lower the number of the priority level, the higher the priority. It may also be possible to set priority levels for prioritizing later inputs, in which the priority levels are set to have the same priorities. For priority levels (e.g., “6” to “8”) of the same priority, the values of priority levels “6” and “8” are set to release “null”, which are the priority levels other than priority level “7” for which the control command has been received.

The control function unit50is an example of a control function provided in the controller12and transmits a control command specifying the priority level set to itself. The control command receiving unit52receives a control command from the control function unit50, a control command from another controller12, or a control command from the control function unit32of the monitoring apparatus10. Based on the control command received by the control command receiving unit52, the control function priority managing unit48updates the value of the control function priority management table illustrated inFIG.4. Details of the processing for updating the value of the control function priority management table illustrated inFIG.4will be described later.

Based on the control function priority management table managed by the control function priority managing unit48, the equipment device control unit54controls the equipment device14that is the monitoring target according to the control command having the highest priority level and a value that is not null (a non-null value). For example, in the example ofFIG.4, the equipment device14that is the monitoring target is controlled according to the control command of the highest priority level “6” for which a non-null value.

The equipment device state information acquiring unit44acquires state information from the equipment device14. The control command history managing unit46manages the received control command history by, for example, the control command history table illustrated inFIG.5.FIG.5illustrates an example of the configuration of the control command history table. The control command history table inFIG.5stores the time when the control command was received, the control function that reported the control command, and the priority level and the value of the control function that reported the control command.

The control history information transmission unit40transmits, to the monitoring apparatus10as control history information, for example, the information of the control function priority management table inFIG.4and the information of the control command history table inFIG.5, which are necessary to create the control history information table as illustrated inFIG.6.FIG.6is a configuration diagram of an example of the control history information table.

The control history information table inFIG.6stores the value of each priority level from “1” to “16”, the control function that reported the control command, the control command details, and the time when the control command was received. By using the control history information table inFIG.6, the monitoring apparatus10can confirm the operation state of the equipment device14that is the monitoring target, the control function that changed the operation state to the corresponding operation state, and the time when the operation state changed to the corresponding operation state, as described later. Further, the equipment device state information transmitting unit42transmits the state information of the equipment device14to the monitoring apparatus10.

The control history information receiving unit20of the monitoring apparatus10receives control history information described later from the controller12. The equipment device state information receiving unit22receives state information of the equipment device14from the controller12. The control history information managing unit28manages control history information by, for example, the control history information table illustrated inFIG.6.

The control history information illustrated inFIG.6defines at least the same number of priority levels as the control function priority management table managed by the control function priority managing unit48of the controller12. In the control history information illustrated inFIG.6, the value of each priority level is updated by a value of the control function priority management table managed by the control function priority managing unit48of the controller12. In the control history information illustrated inFIG.6, the control function that reported the control command and the time of the control command are updated by the information of the control command history table managed by the control command history managing unit46of the controller12.

Although the control command details of the control history information illustrated inFIG.6are not required, for example, in the case of a user-controlled control function, account information (the ID, the role, or the authority, etc.) of a user such as an administrator may be stored as the control command details. In the control command details of the control history information illustrated inFIG.6, for example, in the case of a control function of linked control, the condition under which the linked control was activated (CO2 linking, key linking, etc.) may be stored as the control command details.

The control history information inFIG.6is an example, and the information in the control function priority management table managed by the control function priority managing unit48of the controller12may be acquired, and the record with the highest priority level and a non-null value may be selected and stored.

The equipment device state information managing unit30manages the state information of the equipment device14received from the controller12. The control function unit32is an example of a control function provided in the monitoring apparatus10, and transmits a control command specifying the priority level set in the control function of itself to the controller12.

By using the control history information managed by the control history information managing unit28and the state information of the equipment device14managed by the equipment device state information managing unit30, the display control unit24creates and displays a summary screen and a trend screen used by the user for monitoring the equipment device14. The operation receiving unit26receives an operation from the user with respect to the summary screen and the trend screen, for example. The functional block diagram ofFIG.3is an example, and at least a part of the controller12may be provided in the monitoring apparatus10. For example, a function executed by the equipment device control unit54of the controller12may be provided in the monitoring apparatus10, that is, the function for controlling the equipment device14that is the monitoring target according to a control command having the highest priority level and a non-null value, based on the control function priority management table managed by the control function priority managing unit48.

For example, the control function priority managing unit48of the controller12updates the value of the control function priority management table inFIG.4by the procedure illustrated inFIG.7to control the equipment device14that is the monitoring target.FIG.7is a diagram of an example of the processing outline of the controller according to the present embodiment.

The controller12manages a control function priority management table for each equipment device14that is the monitoring target. The controller12may manage the control function priority management table for each group of equipment devices14that are the monitoring targets. The controller12receives control commands from the monitoring apparatus10or another controller12, or from a control function implemented in the controller12.

Based on a received control command, the controller12updates the values in the control function priority management table. For example, inFIG.7, the controller12receives a control command in which the priority level is “9” and the command content is “operation”, from the control function according to user control of the monitoring apparatus10. The controller12receives a control command in which the priority level is “3” and the command content is “operation”, from the control function of the other controller12. The controller12receives a control command in which the priority level is “2” and the command content is “stop” from the control function implemented in the controller12.

The controller12updates the value as illustrated inFIG.7based on a control command from the monitoring apparatus10or another controller12or a control command received from the control function implemented in the controller12.

Based on the control function priority management table corresponding to the equipment device14that is the monitoring target, the controller12controls the equipment device14that is the monitoring target according to the control command having the highest priority level and a non-null value. For example, inFIG.7, the control command of priority level “2” is selected as the control command having the highest priority level and a non-null value.

Therefore, the controller12controls the equipment device14that is the monitoring target to stop operating according to the control command of the priority level “2”. The controller12manages the history of control commands received from each of the control functions by, for example, the control command history table inFIG.5.

As illustrated inFIG.7, the controller12can select the control command to be used for controlling the equipment device14from the control commands received from the multiple control functions according to the control function priority management table corresponding to the equipment device14that is the monitoring target. The equipment device14changes the operation state according to the control from the controller12.

For example, the display control unit24of the monitoring apparatus10creates and displays a summary screen1000as illustrated inFIG.8.FIG.8is an image diagram of an example of the summary screen. The summary screen1000according to the present embodiment is an example of a state display screen that displays the operation state of the equipment device14that is the monitoring target in summary.

The summary screen1000includes a symbol1006representing the equipment device14that is the monitoring target, a symbol1002representing the operation state of the equipment device14, information1004about the control that changed the operation state of equipment device14, and information1008about temperature settings. For example, the symbol1002representing the operation state of the equipment device14illustrated in FIG.8changes in color and shape so that the operation state such as stopping or operating can be visually determined. Further, the information1004relating to the control that changed the operation state of the equipment device14illustrated inFIG.8represents the information relating to the control such as “fire disaster control” which is the factor that changed the operation state indicated by the symbol1002.

By confirming the information1004relating to the control that changed the operation state of the equipment device14on the summary screen1000ofFIG.8, the user can identify the control function that changed the operation state of the equipment device14to the operation state indicated by the symbol1002.

The information1004relating to the control that changed the operation state of the equipment device14illustrated inFIG.8is an example, and the information may be displayed, for example, as illustrated inFIG.9AandFIG.9B.FIG.9AandFIG.9Bare display examples of the information relating to the control that changed the operation state of the equipment device.

FIG.9Ais a display example of the information1004relating to the control that changed the operation state of the equipment device14in the form of text, symbol, tooltip, symbol+tooltip, or command dialog.FIG.9Bis a display example in which the priority level is added to the example ofFIG.9A. The display examples inFIGS.9A and9Bare examples; other examples will suffice so long as the display enables the user to identify the control function that changed the operation state of the equipment device14to the current state.

FIGS.10A and10Bare explanatory diagrams of one example of a trend screen. As illustrated inFIG.10A, the user who monitors the equipment device14can transition from the summary screen to the trend screen to confirm the trend screen as illustrated inFIG.10B. In the publication of Japanese Patent No. 5653227, an example of the display of the control state trend screen is illustrated inFIG.1, which displays the control state trend indicating the transition between the operation state and the control state of the target device.

In the present embodiment, the reason why one or more equipment devices14are in the current operation state can be identified for each equipment device14on the summary screen without transitioning to the trend screen, making it easy for the user who monitors the equipment device14to identify the reason. Further, the number of operations of the monitoring apparatus10by the user who monitors the equipment device14can be reduced.

The summary screen illustrated inFIG.8is an example, and for example, the configuration illustrated inFIG.11may be used.FIG.11is an image diagram of an example of a summary screen. The summary screen inFIG.11is an example of an annunciator type screen. As illustrated inFIG.11, the summary screen according to the present embodiment does not necessarily need to display the symbol1006of the equipment device14that is the monitoring target.

FIG.11includes, for each equipment device14that is the monitoring target, text information for identifying the equipment device14, text information for indicating the operation state of the equipment device14, text information relating to the control that changed the operation state of the equipment device14, and the time when the operation state of the equipment device14changed.

Note that the display control by the monitoring apparatus10according to the present embodiment may have variations as illustrated in, for example,FIG.12.FIG.12is a diagram for explaining variations of the display control according to the present embodiment. The display control by the monitoring apparatus10can be divided into the cases of, for example, constant display, display when the user operates, or display when the controller12controls in a different manner from the user's intention, as illustrated inFIG.12. Further, as illustrated inFIG.12, the authority (role) of the user operating the monitoring apparatus10can be divided into the cases of, for example, administrator, field service, or air conditioner user. InFIG.12, “SAMPLE 1” to “SAMPLE 3” are processed by a combination of dividing into the cases of display control and dividing into the cases of user authority.

“SAMPLE 2” is processed, for example, by the processing procedure illustrated inFIG.13.FIG.13is a flowchart of one example of the processing by the monitoring apparatus. For example, when responding to an inquiry from the administrator user, the field service user needs to identify the command content on which the current operation state of the equipment device14is based on, the control function from which the command content was received, and when the control function was received.

In step S10, the monitoring apparatus10receives a display operation for displaying a summary screen, from the user. In step S12, the monitoring apparatus10identifies the equipment device14necessary for creating the summary screen for which a display operation has been received from the user. For example, when the monitoring apparatus10has received a display operation for the summary screen1000illustrated inFIG.8, the monitoring apparatus10identifies the equipment device14to be displayed on the summary screen1000of the “OAHU-◯◯ ◯th Floor North System Outside Controller” inFIG.8.

In step S14, the monitoring apparatus10repeats the processing of steps S14to S18until the processing for all equipment devices14identified in step S12is completed. In step S16, the monitoring apparatus10selects an unprocessed equipment device14for which display data has not been created, and reads the control history information, state information, information necessary for display (such as the symbol of the equipment device14), etc., of the equipment device14.

In step S18, the monitoring apparatus10uses the information read in step S16to create display data of the equipment device14that is the processing target, including, for example, the symbol1006representing the equipment device14, the symbol1002representing the operation state of the equipment device14, and the information1004relating to the control that changed the operation state of the equipment device14, as illustrated inFIG.8.

For example, in the processing of step S18, the monitoring apparatus10identifies the highest priority level storing a non-null value from the control history information table as illustrated inFIG.6. Then, the monitoring apparatus10creates display data of the equipment device14by identifying the control function that reported the control command of the identified priority level, the control command details, the value that is the command content, the time when the control command was received, etc.

Then, when the monitoring apparatus10ends the processing for all the equipment devices14identified in step S12, the monitoring apparatus10performs the processing of step S20. In step S20, the monitoring apparatus10uses the display data created in step S18to display, for example, the summary screen1000as illustrated inFIG.8. The summary screen1000constantly displays the symbol1006representing the equipment device14, the symbol1002representing the operation state of the equipment device14, and the information1004relating to the control that changed the operation state of the equipment device14.

The processing of “SAMPLE 1” is performed, for example, by the processing procedure illustrated inFIG.14.FIG.14is a flowchart of one example of the processing by the monitoring apparatus. The administrator user may use the monitoring apparatus10to perform an operation to change the operation state of the equipment device14. For example, when the controller12controls the equipment device14with a control function that has a higher priority level than the control function according to user control, the command content given by the control function according to user control is not applied in the control of the equipment device14. The administrator user needs to identify the reason why the command content given by the control function according to user control performed by the user himself/herself is not applied in the control of the equipment device14and take an appropriate action. Therefore, the monitoring apparatus10performs the processing illustrated inFIG.14to easily identify the reason why the command content given by the control function according to user control performed by the administrator user is not applied in the control of the equipment device14.

In step S30, the monitoring apparatus10receives a control command by a control function according to user control from the administrator user. The monitoring apparatus10sends the control command received from the administrator user to the controller12.

In step S32, the monitoring apparatus10confirms control history information of the equipment device14corresponding to the received control command. In step S34, the monitoring apparatus10uses a control history information table as illustrated inFIG.6to determine whether there is a control function storing a non-null value with a higher priority level than the user control.

If there is no control function storing a non-null value with a higher priority level than the user control, the monitoring apparatus10ends the processing inFIG.14. If there is a control function storing a non-null value with a higher priority level than the user control, the monitoring apparatus10performs the processing in steps S36to S40.

In step S36, the monitoring apparatus10identifies the control function with the highest priority level and a non-null value. In step S38, the monitoring apparatus10identifies the control function that reported the control command of the identified priority level, the control command details, the value that is the command content, and information such as the time when the control command was received.

Then, in step S40, the monitoring apparatus10uses the information identified in step S38to display the summary screen1000as illustrated in, for example,FIG.8, to indicate the reason why the control command by the control function according to user control was not applied in the control of the equipment device14. The contents displayed in the summary screen1000may be changed according to the user's authority.

According to the processing illustrated inFIG.14, the information1004relating to the control that changed the operation state of the equipment device14is displayed in the summary screen1000, and, therefore, it is easy to identify the reason why the command content of the control function according to user control performed by the user himself/herself is not applied in the control of the equipment device14, and an appropriate measure can be taken quickly.

The processing of “SAMPLE 3” is performed, for example, by the processing procedure illustrated inFIG.15.FIG.15is a flowchart of one example of the processing by the monitoring apparatus. The air conditioner user may use the monitoring apparatus10to perform an operation to change the operation state of the equipment device14. For example, if the controller12controls the equipment device14with a control function that has a higher priority level than the control function according to user control, the command content given by the control function according to user control is not applied in the control of the equipment device14. The air conditioner user may become confused when the command content given by the control function according to user control performed by the user himself/herself is not applied in the control of equipment device14. Therefore, the monitoring apparatus10performs the processing illustrated inFIG.15to inform the air conditioner user the reason why the command content of the control function according to user control performed by the air conditioner user is not applied in the control of equipment device14.

In step S50, the monitoring apparatus10receives, from the air conditioner user, a preparatory action to issue a control command by the control function according to user control. The preparatory action includes an operation to open the operation panel of the control function according to user control and an operation to open a right click menu for the control function according to user control.

In step S52, the monitoring apparatus10confirms the control history information of the equipment device14for which the preparatory action has been received. In step S54, the monitoring apparatus10uses the control history information table as illustrated inFIG.6to identify the control function storing the highest priority level and a non-null value. In step S56, the monitoring apparatus10identifies the control function that reported the control command of the identified priority level, the control command details, the value that is the command content, and information such as the time when the control command was received.

In step S58, the monitoring apparatus10determines whether the priority level of the control function identified in step S54is higher than the priority level of the user control. If the priority level of the control function identified in step S54is higher than the priority level of the user control, the monitoring apparatus10performs the processing in step S60. In step S60, the monitoring apparatus10uses the information identified in step S56to display the summary screen1000as illustrated in, for example,FIG.8to indicate the reason why the control command by the control function according to user control is not applied in the control of the equipment device14. The monitoring apparatus10displays, for example, the control function that reported the control command of the identified priority level, the control command details, the value that is the command content, information such as the time when the control command was received, and displays the fact that the control command given by the control function according to user control is not applied, because the control command from the control function of higher priority level is prioritized.

If the priority level of the control function identified in step S54is not higher than the priority level of the user control, the monitoring apparatus10performs the processing in step S62. In step S62, the monitoring apparatus10displays, for example, the control function that reported the control command of the identified priority level, the control command details, the value that is the command content, and information such as the time when the control command was received, and displays a message to confirm whether the control command from the control function can be overwritten with the control command given by the control function according to user control and applied in the control of the equipment device14.

Note that the processing inFIG.15starts by receiving, from the air conditioner user, a preparatory action for issuing a control command given by the control function according to user control, but the processing inFIG.15can be performed before receiving the preparatory action, for example, and a button for receiving the preparatory action can be grayed out and disabled. The monitoring apparatus10can perform the processing inFIG.15regardless of the processing for receiving the preparatory action, for example, and may not receive the control function according to user control.

According to the processing illustrated inFIG.15, it is possible to know in advance the reason why the command content given by the control function according to user control by the user himself/herself is not applied in the control of the equipment device14, thereby avoiding confusion caused by the fact that the command content given by the control function according to user control is not applied in the control of the equipment device14.

According to the monitoring system according to the present embodiment, the user can identify, on the summary screen1000, the control that is the factor that changed the operation state of the equipment device14.

Although the present invention has been described above based on the examples, the present invention is not limited to the examples above, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the claims. The present application is based upon and claims priority to Japanese Patent Application No. 2020-218534 filed on Dec. 28, 2020, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST

10monitoring apparatus12controller14equipment device18network20control history information receiving unit22equipment device state information receiving unit24display control unit26operation receiving unit28control history information managing unit30equipment device state information managing unit32control function unit40control history information transmitting unit42equipment device state information transmitting unit44equipment device state information acquiring unit46control command history managing unit48control function priority managing unit50control function unit52control command receiving unit54equipment device control unit1000summary screen1002symbol representing the operation state of equipment device1004information relating to control that changed the operation state of equipment device1006symbol of equipment device that is monitoring target