JP2006229757A - System and management communication equipment for network cooperation - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a system for network cooperation capable of reducing a storage area required for each communication equipment and also reducing traffic in a network. <P>SOLUTION: A node 1 is configured so as to transmit arrival confirmation transmission request data D3 to a node 10 for transmitting arrival confirmation data D5 to nodes 20 to 40 and transmit arrival response property data D2 to the nodes 20 to 40. The nodes 20 to 40 are configured so as to transmit arrival response data D4 to the node 1 in the case that a confirmation destination of the arrival response property data D2 coincides with a transmission source of arrival confirmation data D5 and a response destination of the arrival response property data D2 coincides with a client source of the arrival confirmation data D5 when the arrival response property data D2 and the arrival confirmation data D5 are received. The node 1 determines that respective communication is possible between the node 10 and the nodes 20 to 40 when the arrival response data D4 is received. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a network cooperation system for operating a communication apparatus in a network in an interlocked manner, and a management communication apparatus of the network cooperation system.

  In general, there is a system in which a plurality of devices (hereinafter referred to as communication devices) having a communication function are directly communicated and set to operate in cooperation (for example, refer to Patent Document 1). In this type of system, the controller performs settings for causing one or a plurality of communication devices to perform a linked operation. At that time, it is not particularly confirmed whether or not the communication devices that are set to be linked can actually communicate with each other. For example, when communication is performed using radio waves, the controller and each communication device can communicate with each other, but there is a possibility that the communication devices cannot communicate with each other due to a shield or the like. Therefore, it is necessary to confirm in advance whether or not communication apparatuses can directly communicate with each other.

When examining whether communication devices can communicate directly, for example, as shown in Patent Document 2, an information map indicating the communication state of each communication device is created, and the controller reads the information map so that the communication devices that want to communicate directly with each other You can check if communication is possible.
JP 2001-86572 A JP 2003-264494 A

  However, in the conventional configuration, each communication device has to store an information map for all other devices, so that the storage area of the communication device is significantly consumed. In addition, in order to create the information map, since a large amount of data needs to be transmitted and received, there is a problem that network traffic increases.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and provides a network cooperation system and a management communication apparatus for the network cooperation system that can reduce the storage area required for each communication apparatus and reduce traffic in the network. It is intended to provide.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, there is a network communication system having a management communication device and a plurality of communication devices that can communicate with each other, and operating these communication devices in cooperation with each other. One specific communication device is set as the arrival confirmation transmission side communication device, and at least one other communication device is set as the arrival confirmation reception side communication device, and the arrival confirmation data in which the management communication device is set as the request source Is transmitted to the arrival confirmation transmission side communication device, the arrival confirmation transmission side communication device is set as a confirmation destination, and the management is performed. The communication device is configured to transmit arrival response property data set as a response destination to the arrival confirmation receiving side communication device, and the arrival confirmation receiving side communication When receiving the arrival response property data and the arrival confirmation data, the device matches the confirmation destination included in the arrival response property data with the transmission source of the arrival confirmation data, and the response included in the arrival response property data. It is configured to determine whether the destination and the request source of the arrival confirmation data match each other, and when it is determined that they match each other, the arrival response data is configured to be transmitted to the management communication device. When the arrival response data is received, it is determined that communication between the arrival confirmation receiving side communication device of the arrival response data transmission source and the arrival confirmation transmitting side communication device set as the confirmation destination is possible. It is a featured network cooperation system.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, a bucket is formed in the order of the management communication device to the arrival confirmation transmission side communication device, the arrival confirmation transmission side communication device to the arrival confirmation reception side communication device, and the arrival confirmation reception side communication device to the management communication device. By making data circulate like a relay, it is possible to confirm in the management communication device that communication between the arrival confirmation transmission side communication device and the arrival confirmation reception side communication device that are the targets of the linked operation is possible. Therefore, even if data related to the communication status is not always stored in each communication device, the communication status between the communication devices subject to the linked operation can be confirmed, and the usage rate of the storage area of each communication device can be determined. Can be reduced.

  Furthermore, in the present invention, since the communication state is confirmed only for the communication device that is the target of the interlocking operation, data is transmitted to and received from each communication device in order to collect all communication states in the network. Compared to the case, the amount of data in the network can be reduced, thereby reducing the traffic in the network.

  Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to reduce the storage area required for each communication device and to reduce traffic in the network.

  In the network cooperation system, the management communication device sets the arrival confirmation transmission side communication device and the arrival confirmation reception side communication device, which are the targets of the interlocking operation, based on the preset interlocking setting. A cooperation node management table creation processing unit that identifies a transmission side identifier and a reception side identifier that uniquely identify a communication device, creates a management table in which these identifiers are associated, and a cooperation node information storage unit that stores the management table An arrival response transmission destination identifier in which a management communication device identifier for uniquely identifying the management communication device is set as the response destination, and an arrival confirmation transmission in which a transmission side identifier included in the management table is set as the confirmation destination The arrival response property data including the original identifier is created, and this arrival response property data is managed as described above. An arrival response property creation processing unit for sending to the receiver identifier of a table, and arrival confirmation transmission request data in which the receiver identifier is set as an arrival confirmation destination identifier, and the transmission stored in the management table The arrival confirmation transmission request data creation processing unit for transmitting to the side identifier, and the arrival response data received from the arrival confirmation receiving side communication device, the identifier set in the identifier of the transmission source communication device of the arrival confirmation data Whether the request source identifier of the arrival response data matches the sender identifier of the management table, and the identifier of the source communication device of the arrival response data matches the receiver identifier of the management table If it is determined that they match each other, the management table stored in the cooperation node information storage unit relates to each other. That it comprises a Tagged sender identifier and the communication is possible and determines the coordination node confirmation processing unit between the receiving-side identifier (claim 2) is preferred.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, the arrival response data received from the arrival confirmation receiving communication device is communicated between the arrival confirmation transmitting communication device and the arrival confirmation receiving communication device by the cooperation node confirmation processing unit. It can be confirmed based on the management table whether or not the data is transmitted based on the received data (arrival confirmation data).

  In the network cooperation system, when the arrival confirmation transmission side communication device receives the arrival confirmation transmission request data, the arrival confirmation transmission request data set in an identifier for uniquely identifying the arrival confirmation reception side communication device A request communication device identifier in which the identifier of the communication device on the arrival confirmation receiving side is specified based on the arrival confirmation transmission destination identifier and the identifier of the communication device that is the transmission source of the arrival confirmation transmission request data is set as the request source It is preferable that an arrival confirmation creation processing unit that creates arrival confirmation data including the message and transmits the arrival confirmation data to the identified identifier is provided.

  According to the invention of claim 3, in response to receiving the arrival confirmation transmission request data, arrival confirmation data having the management communication device as a request source may be transmitted to the arrival confirmation receiving side communication device. it can.

  In the network cooperation system, the arrival confirmation receiving side communication device uniquely identifies an arrival confirmation transmission source identifier in which an identifier for uniquely identifying the arrival confirmation sending side communication device is set as the confirmation destination, and the management communication device. When the arrival response property storage unit that stores the arrival response property data including the arrival response transmission destination identifier that is set as the response destination is identified, and when the arrival response property data is received from the management communication device, When the arrival response property write processing unit that writes the arrival response property data in the arrival response property storage unit and the arrival confirmation data from the arrival confirmation transmission side communication device, the arrival confirmation data of the transmission source communication device An identifier and the arrival confirmation transmission source identifier stored in the arrival response property storage unit The first determination for determining whether or not the child matches, the request communication device identifier of the arrival confirmation data in which the identifier of the management communication device is set as the request source, and the arrival response property storage unit The arrival response property determination processing unit that executes the second determination for determining whether or not the arrival response transmission destination identifier matches, and the first and second determinations determine that both match Generating an arrival response data in which an identifier of a communication device that is a transmission source of the arrival confirmation data is set as a request source identifier, and an arrival response creation processing unit that transmits the arrival response data to the requested communication device identifier (Claim 4) is preferable.

  According to the invention of claim 4, when the arrival confirmation data is received, the arrival confirmation data is determined based on the arrival confirmation transmission request data by executing the first and second determinations. It can be confirmed that the data is transmitted from the transmission side communication device.

  In the network cooperation system, the arrival confirmation transmission side communication device transmits the arrival confirmation data to each arrival confirmation transmission side communication device by broadcast when a plurality of the arrival confirmation reception side communication devices are set. (Claim 5) is preferable.

  According to the invention of claim 5, when a plurality of arrival confirmation receiving side communication devices are set in one arrival confirmation transmitting side communication device, the arrival confirmation data is transmitted to each arrival confirmation receiving side communication device. Can be executed in a batch so that the time required for the transmission process can be reduced.

  In the network cooperation system, in the arrival response property data, a different response delay time is set for each arrival confirmation transmitting side communication device, and the arrival confirmation receiving side communication device receives the arrival confirmation data. It is preferable that the arrival response data is transmitted after waiting for the response delay time.

  According to the sixth aspect of the invention, since the arrival response data transmission timings by the respective arrival confirmation receiving devices can be respectively shifted, the respective arrival response data are concentrated on the management communication device at the same time. Transmission can be suppressed.

  Furthermore, another aspect of the present invention is a management communication device of a network cooperation system having a management communication device and a plurality of communication devices that can communicate with each other, and operating these communication devices in an interlocked manner, One specific communication device is set as the arrival confirmation transmission side communication device and at least one other communication device is set as the arrival confirmation reception side communication device, and the arrival confirmation data set by the management communication device as the request source The arrival confirmation transmission request data for transmitting to the arrival confirmation receiving side communication apparatus is transmitted to the arrival confirmation transmitting side communication apparatus, the arrival confirmation transmitting side communication apparatus is set as a confirmation destination, and the management communication apparatus Is configured to transmit the arrival response property data set as a response destination to the arrival confirmation receiving side communication device, and the arrival confirmation reception The communication device matches the confirmation destination included in the received arrival response property data and the transmission source of the received arrival confirmation data, and the response destination included in the arrival response property data and the request source of the arrival confirmation data are When the management communication device receives arrival response data to be transmitted to the management communication device when it is determined that they match, the arrival confirmation reception of the arrival response data transmission source is received. It is a management communication device of the network cooperation system characterized by determining that communication between the communication device on the side and the arrival confirmation transmission side communication device set as the confirmation destination is possible.

  According to the present invention, like a bucket relay in the order of the management communication device to the arrival confirmation transmission side communication device, the arrival confirmation transmission side communication device to the arrival confirmation reception side communication device, and the arrival confirmation reception side communication device to the management communication device. By making the data circulate, it is possible to confirm in the management communication device that communication between the arrival confirmation transmission side communication device and the arrival confirmation reception side communication device that are the targets of the linked operation is possible. Even if data related to the communication state is not stored in each communication device, it is possible to check the communication state between the communication devices that are subject to the interlocking operation, and to reduce the usage rate of the storage area of each communication device. it can.

  Furthermore, in the present invention, since the communication state is confirmed only for the communication device that is the target of the interlocking operation, data is transmitted to and received from each communication device in order to collect all communication states in the network. Compared to the case, the amount of data in the network can be reduced, thereby reducing the traffic in the network.

  Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to reduce the storage area required for each communication device and to reduce traffic in the network.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a network configuration in the embodiment of the present invention. 1, the network cooperation system includes a controller node (management communication device) 1 and a plurality of nodes (communication devices) 10, 20, 30, and 40 that can communicate with each other. In the following description, a configuration including four nodes 10 to 40 will be described in order to simplify the description, but the number of nodes is not limited to four.

  The controller node 1 manages information of other nodes in the network and is guaranteed to be able to communicate with other nodes (for example, the controller node 1 and the other nodes 10 to 40 are wired communication). Take the form). The controller node 1 includes a cooperation node management table creation processing unit 3, an arrival confirmation transmission request data creation processing unit 5, an arrival response property creation processing unit 4, a cooperation node confirmation processing unit 6, and a data type determination processing unit 7. The communication processing unit 8 and the cooperation node information storage unit 9 are included.

  The cooperation node management table creation processing unit 3 obtains addresses (identifiers for uniquely identifying the nodes) of the two nodes that are targets of the cooperation operation based on the cooperation setting data D1 as shown in FIG. The management table DB1 shown in FIG. 3 identified and associated for each of these two node addresses is created, and this management table DB1 is stored in the cooperative node information storage unit 9.

  As shown in the management table DB1, the cooperation node information storage unit 9 stores the addresses of the two nodes to be linked in association with each other as a transmission side address (transmission side identifier) and a reception side address (reception side identifier).

  The arrival response property creation processing unit 4 creates arrival response property data D2 as shown in FIG. 4 based on the management table DB1 of the cooperation node information storage unit 9, and is set in the data D2 through the communication processing unit 8. Data is transmitted to the node address of the destination node. In FIG. 4, the transmission source is set to the address of its own node. In this case, the address of the controller node 1 is used. The transmission destination is set to the node address set as the reception side address in the management table DB1 of the cooperation node information storage unit 9. The data type represents the type of the created data. The arrival response transmission destination address (arrival response transmission destination identifier), the arrival confirmation transmission source address (arrival confirmation transmission source identifier), and the response delay time are the arrival destinations described later of the transmission destination nodes (nodes 20 to 40 in the example of FIG. 1). This is data to be written in the response property storage unit 25.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the arrival confirmation transmission request data creation processing unit 5 transmits an arrival confirmation to the transmission side node (node 10 in the example of the figure) in the management table DB1 of the cooperation node information storage unit 9. The arrival confirmation transmission request data D3 is generated, and the arrival confirmation transmission request data D3 is transmitted to the node address of the transmission side node set in the data D3 through the communication processing unit 8. In FIG. 5, the arrival confirmation transmission destination address (arrival confirmation transmission destination identifier) is an address of a transmission destination node to which the node that has received the arrival confirmation transmission request data D3 transmits the arrival confirmation data D5 (see FIG. 7), that is, management. It represents the address of the receiving node in the table DB1 (in FIG. 3, it is set to the broadcast address because it needs to be transmitted from the node 10 to the nodes 20 to 40).

  The data type determination processing unit 7 determines the type and processing content of the received data and transfers the data to the processing units 3 to 6 corresponding thereto.

  When the cooperation node confirmation processing unit 6 receives arrival response data D41 to D43 (hereinafter, collectively referred to as arrival response data D4 when it is not necessary to distinguish) from other nodes, the arrival response data is received. D4 is compared with the management table DB1. Specifically, the request source address (request source identifier) included in the arrival response data D4 matches the transmission side address of the management table DB1, and the transmission source address (transmission source identifier) of the arrival response data D4 and If it matches the receiving side address of the management table, communication is possible between the two devices associated on the management table DB1 stored in the link node information storage unit 9, and link setting is possible. Judge that there is.

  The communication processing unit 8 transmits various data to a transmission destination address set for data to be communicated, and receives data from other nodes.

  The cooperation node management table creation processing unit 3, arrival response property creation processing unit, arrival confirmation transmission request data creation processing unit 5, cooperation node confirmation processing unit 6, and data type determination processing unit 7 execute various arithmetic processes. The cooperation node information storage unit 9 is composed of a known RAM or the like. A part of the communication processing unit 8 also plays a hardware role as an interface with the communication path.

  The functions necessary for the device to perform arrival confirmation differ between the reception confirmation reception side and the transmission side. For the sake of simplicity, in the following, of the nodes 10 to 40, the node that transmits the arrival confirmation is assumed to be the arrival confirmation transmitting side node (arrival confirmation transmitting side communication device) 10 and the receiving node is temporarily received the arrival confirmation reception. The configuration of the side nodes (arrival confirmation reception side communication devices) 20 to 40 will be described. Each of the nodes 10 and 20 to 40 may have both functions of an arrival confirmation transmitting side node and an arrival confirmation receiving side node described below, or may have only one of them.

  The arrival confirmation transmission side node 10 includes a data type determination processing unit 11, an arrival confirmation creation processing unit 12, and a communication processing unit 13 (for the data type determination processing unit 11 and the communication processing unit 13, the controller node 1 The description of the same function as the data type determination processing unit 7 and the communication processing unit 8 is omitted).

  The data type determination processing unit 11 determines the type of received data and the processing content from the data type of the received data. Further, when the received data is arrival confirmation transmission request data D3, the data type determination processing unit 11 transfers this data D3 to the arrival confirmation creation processing unit 12.

  When the arrival confirmation creation processing unit 12 receives the arrival confirmation transmission request data D3, the arrival confirmation creation processing unit 12 creates arrival confirmation data D5 as shown in FIG. 7 and transmits the arrival confirmation data D5 through the communication processing unit 13. . In the arrival confirmation data D5, the transmission destination address is set to the arrival confirmation transmission destination address (broadcast address in the example of FIG. 5) of the arrival confirmation transmission request data D3, and the request node address (request communication device identifier) is It is set to the address of the transmission source node of the arrival confirmation transmission request data D3.

  The arrival confirmation receiving side nodes 20 to 40 include a data type determination processing unit 21, a arrival response property write processing unit 22, an arrival response property determination processing unit 23, an arrival response creation processing unit 24, and an arrival response property storage unit 25. And a communication processing unit 26. Regarding the data type determination processing unit 21 and the communication processing unit 26, description of portions having the same functions as the data type determination processing unit 7 and the communication processing unit 8 of the controller node 1 is omitted.

  The arrival response property write processing unit 22 causes the arrival response property storage unit 25 to store information related to the arrival response property data D2 received from the controller node 1 (see FIG. 4). Specifically, the arrival response property storage data D6 stored in the arrival response property storage unit 25 includes an arrival response transmission destination address (arrival response transmission destination identifier) and an arrival confirmation transmission source address (arrival as shown in FIG. 8). (Confirmation source identifier) and response delay time. The arrival response transmission destination address is used for determination processing in a later-described arrival response property determination processing unit 23 and is used as a transmission destination address when transmitting the arrival response data D4. The arrival confirmation transmission source address is used for determination processing in the arrival response property determination processing unit 23. The response delay time is set corresponding to the response delay time of the arrival response property data D2 (see FIG. 4) set to a different time for each of the arrival confirmation receiving side nodes 20, 30, 40, and the arrival response data This is used as a transmission delay time during transmission of D4 (see FIG. 6).

  The arrival response property determination processing unit 23 receives the transmission source address in the received arrival confirmation data D5 (see FIG. 7) and the arrival confirmation transmission source in the arrival response property storage data D6 (see FIG. 8) of the arrival response property storage unit 25. The first determination for determining whether or not the addresses match, the requested node address in the arrival confirmation data D5, and the arrival response transmission destination address in the arrival response property storage data D6 of the arrival response property storage unit 25 match The second determination for determining whether or not to perform is performed, and the data D5 and D6 are transferred to the arrival response creation processing unit 24.

  The arrival response creation processing unit 24, when it is determined that both match in the first and second determinations, the arrival response data D4 () in which the transmission source address of the arrival confirmation data D5 is set as the request source address. 6) and the arrival response data D4 is transmitted to the requested node address through the communication processing unit 25. In this transmission, transmission is performed after waiting for the response delay time in the arrival response property storage data D6 (see FIG. 8) of the arrival response property storage unit 25. In FIG. 6, the transmission destination is set corresponding to the requested node address of the arrival confirmation data D5 (see FIG. 7), and the request source address is set corresponding to the address of the transmission source node of the arrival confirmation data D5. Is done.

  Hereinafter, an example will be described.

  9 and 14 are flowcharts of processing in the controller node. 10 and 13 are flowcharts of processing in the arrival confirmation receiving side node. FIG. 11 is a flowchart of processing in the arrival confirmation transmitting side node. FIG. 12 is a sequence diagram showing the flow of data between the nodes in this example.

  In the sequence diagram shown in FIG. 12, there are a controller node 1 and nodes 10 to 40 in the network, and it is assumed that the user performs interlocking settings as shown in FIG. The node 10 is an arrival confirmation transmission side node, and the nodes 20 to 40 are arrival confirmation reception side nodes.

  When the interlock setting data D1 of FIG. 2 is input from the user to the controller (S1), the link node management table creation processing unit 3 of the controller node 1 determines which node and which node the link setting is set to. Then, inter-node cooperation information (the management table DB1) is stored in the cooperation node information storage unit 9 (S2). The management table DB1 stores a transmission side node address and a reception side node address. Basically, when setting the linkage between two devices, the node that transmits data is set as the sender address and the node that receives the data is set as the receiver address. If guaranteed, this is not restrictive, and either of the interlocking nodes may be set as the transmission side address and the reception side address. In addition, if a node that is frequently involved in the linkage setting is set as a transmission side address, since the broadcast can be used for the arrival confirmation transmission request data D3 (referring to the arrival confirmation transmission destination address in FIG. 5), network traffic can be suppressed to a small amount. It becomes possible.

  When data is stored in the cooperation node information storage unit 9, the arrival response property creation processing unit 4 creates arrival response property data D2 based on the cooperation information in the cooperation node information storage unit 9 (see FIG. 4). In the arrival response property data D2, the address of the reception side node of the management table DB1 is set as the transmission destination, and the transmission side address of the management table DB1 is set as the arrival confirmation transmission source. In the arrival response transmission destination address of the arrival response property data D2, the address of the node that wants to know whether cooperation between the two devices is possible, that is, in this case, the address of the controller node 1 is set. The response delay time is from when the nodes 20 to 40 receive the arrival confirmation data D5 (see FIG. 7) until the arrival response data D4 (see FIG. 6) is transmitted to the arrival response transmission destination address (see FIG. 8). Represents the delay time. This response delay time setting serves to prevent the arrival response data D4 from being transmitted to the network all at once when the arrival confirmation data D5 is transmitted to a large number of nodes by broadcast. When the transmission destination is set to broadcast, the response delay time needs to be set in consideration of an interval at which network congestion does not occur. The arrival response property data D2 created in this way is transmitted to the transmission destination by the communication processing unit 8 (S3). In the illustrated example, since three pieces of linkage information are created in the management table DB1, the arrival response property data D2 is respectively sent to the nodes 20, 30, and 40 that are the receiving side nodes of the management table DB1. It is transmitted (S31 to S33 in FIG. 12).

  Referring to FIG. 10, in nodes 20, 30, and 40, data transmitted by controller node 1 is received (S11), and the type of received data is determined by data type determination processing unit 21 (S12). . When it is determined that the arrival response property data D2 has been received (YES in S12), the data type determination processing unit 21 transfers the arrival response property data D2 to the arrival response property write processing unit 22. The arrival response property write processing unit 22 writes the arrival response property storage data D6 (see FIG. 8) in the arrival response property storage unit 25 based on the received arrival response property data D2 (S13). On the other hand, if it is determined that the type of data received by each of the nodes 20 to 40 is not the arrival response property data D2 (NO in S12), processing corresponding to the type is executed (S14).

  9 and FIG. 12, after the controller node 1 transmits the arrival response property data D2, the arrival confirmation transmission request data creation processing unit 5 transmits the transmission side node of the management table DB1 in the cooperation node information storage unit 9. In response to this, arrival confirmation transmission request data D3 as shown in FIG. 5 is created and transmitted via the communication processing unit 8 (S4 in FIG. 9, S34 in FIG. 12). In FIG. 5, the arrival confirmation transmission destination address represents an address of a transmission destination node to which the node 10 that has received the arrival confirmation transmission request data D3 transmits the arrival confirmation data D5. Broadcast can be specified for the arrival confirmation destination address. When the broadcast can be specified, when there are a plurality of nodes (nodes 20 to 40 in the illustrated example) that are to be checked whether or not communication with the node 10 is possible in the interlocking node information storage unit as shown in FIG. Compared to transmitting the arrival confirmation data D5 individually to each of the nodes 20 to 40, the arrival confirmation data D5 may be transmitted simultaneously to all the nodes that are the transmission target of the arrival confirmation data D5. Network traffic and time required for arrival confirmation can be shortened.

  Referring to FIGS. 11 and 12, the node 10 receives the data transmitted by the controller node 1 (S21), and the data type determination processing unit 11 determines the data type (S22). When the data type determination processing unit 11 determines that the received data is the arrival confirmation transmission request data D3, the data type determination processing unit 11 transfers the data D3 to the arrival confirmation creation processing unit 12. The arrival confirmation creation processing unit 12 creates arrival confirmation data D5 as shown in FIG. 7, and transmits this data D5 through the communication processing unit 13 (S23 in FIG. 11 and S35 in FIG. 12). In FIG. 7, an arrival confirmation transmission destination address (broadcast address in the illustrated example) in the arrival confirmation transmission request data D3 is set as the transmission destination, and the transmission source of the arrival confirmation transmission request data D3 is set as the request node address. The node address of the node (here, the address of the controller node 1) is set. On the other hand, if it is determined that the type of the received data is not the arrival confirmation transmission request data D3 (NO in S22), processing corresponding to the type is executed (S24).

  Referring to FIG. 13, when nodes 20, 30, and 40 receive arrival confirmation data D5 transmitted by node 10 (S41), data type determination processing unit 21 determines whether or not the data is arrival confirmation data D5. Is determined (S42), and if it is determined that it is arrival confirmation data D5 (YES in S42), the data D5 is transferred to the arrival response property determination processing unit 23. The arrival response property determination processing unit 23 that has received the arrival confirmation data D5 receives the transmission source address in the arrival confirmation data D5, and the arrival confirmation transmission source address of the arrival response property data D2 stored in the arrival response property storage unit 25. And the request node address in the arrival confirmation data D5 and the arrival response transmission destination address of the arrival response property data D2 stored in the arrival response property storage unit 25 are determined (S43). If it is determined that they match each other (YES in S43), the data is transferred to the arrival response creation processing unit 24. If the corresponding items of the data D2 and D5 do not match (NO in S43), the process is terminated because it is not necessary to return an arrival response. When the node 10 transmits the arrival confirmation data D5 by broadcast as in the above example, the arrival confirmation data D5 is also transmitted to a node (a node outside the figure) that does not want to be confirmed. In this case, in the processing of S43 by the arrival response property determination processing unit 23, the corresponding items do not match, so the arrival confirmation data D5 is discarded at the node. On the other hand, when it is determined that the type of data received by the nodes 20 to 40 is not the arrival confirmation data D5 (NO in S42), processing according to the type of the received data is executed (S45).

  Next, the arrival response creation processing unit creates arrival response data D41 at the node 20, arrival response data D42 at the node 30, and arrival response data D43 at the node 40, which are also shown in FIG. As described above, after waiting for the response delay time of the arrival response property storage data D6 stored in the arrival response property storage unit 25, the arrival response data D4 is sent to the request node address of the data D4 through the communication processing unit 26. (S36 to S38 in FIG. 12 and S44 in FIG. 13). According to this sequence, the nodes 20, 30, and 40 transmit the arrival response. Since the response delay times indicated in the arrival response property storage unit 25 are different for each of the nodes 20 to 40, the arrival response data D4 is not transmitted all at once to the controller node 1, and the controller may fail to receive. The nature becomes low.

  Referring to FIG. 14, when receiving data (S51), controller node 1 determines whether or not the received data is arrival response data D4 by data type determination processing unit 7 (S52). . If it is determined that the received data is arrival response data D4 (YES in S52), the arrival response data D4 is transferred to the cooperative node confirmation processing unit 6. If the request source address and the transmission source of the received arrival response data D4 match the transmission side address and the reception side address of the management table DB1 stored in the cooperation node information storage unit 9, the cooperation node confirmation processing unit 6 Is notified to the user or a higher-level application (S53). Then, after this notification, the controller node 1 deletes the cooperation information in the management table DB1 that is determined to be communicable. Further, the controller node 1 is information of each node that has been confirmed to be communicable after the confirmation of the communication state, and is stored in the arrival response property storage unit 25 of each of the nodes 20 to 40 In order to delete the command, a command may be transmitted to each of the nodes 20 to 40. On the other hand, if it is determined that the data received in S53 is not the arrival response data D4 (NO in S52), processing corresponding to the type of the received data is executed (S54).

  As a notification method in S53, as shown in FIG. 15, it is conceivable to establish the arrival confirmation flag F1 for the input interlocking setting.

  In addition, as shown in FIG. 16, when the arrival node response data D4 is not received within a predetermined time after the cooperation node information storage unit 9 stores the management table DB1, the arrival confirmation is repeated again (the arrival confirmation transmission request). A cooperation error processing unit 51 for executing retransmission of the data D3) may be added to the controller node 1. The cooperation error processing unit 51 executes processing according to the flowchart shown in FIG. The cooperation error processing unit 51 counts a certain time-out period after the arrival confirmation transmission request data creation processing unit 5 transmits the arrival confirmation transmission request data D3. When the count reaches the timeout time (S61), it is determined whether or not the number of transmissions of the arrival confirmation transmission request data D3 (hereinafter referred to as the number of retries) at the present time is less than 3 (S62). If it is determined that the number of retries is less than 3 (YES in S62), the arrival response property creation processing unit 4 is requested to issue a processing request and execute the processing from S3 again (S63). : This process is hereinafter referred to as arrival confirmation retry process). In this method, since the response delay time set in the arrival confirmation receiving side nodes 20 to 40 is calculated again in S3, the optimum response delay time can be reset for the arrival confirmation receiving side nodes 20 to 40. On the other hand, if it is determined in S62 that the number of retries is 3 or more (NO in S62), it is determined that the interlocking setting is impossible, and the user or higher-level application is notified and the process is terminated. (S64). The number of retries is not limited to three, and may be two or more than three.

  Further, the linkage error processing unit may be configured as shown in FIG. 18 so as to execute only retransmission of the arrival confirmation transmission request data D3. In the processing by the cooperation error processing unit 61, after executing the processing of S61, an instruction to transmit the arrival confirmation transmission request data D3 is output to the arrival confirmation transmission request data creation processing unit 5. In this way, when the arrival confirmation transmission request data D3 is retransmitted, it is not necessary to reconstruct the arrival response property data D4, and the processing speed can be improved.

  As described above, according to the network cooperation system, the controller node 1 to the arrival confirmation transmission side node 10, the arrival confirmation transmission side node 10 to the arrival confirmation reception side nodes 20 to 40, and the arrival confirmation reception side node 20 to Communication between the arrival confirmation transmitting side node 10 and the arrival confirmation receiving side nodes 20 to 40, which are the targets of the interlocking operation, is possible by circulating data like the bucket relay in the order from 40 to the controller node 1. Since the controller node 1 can confirm this, it is necessary to confirm the communication state between the nodes subject to the interlocking operation without always storing the data related to the communication state in each of the nodes 1 and 10 to 40. And the usage rate of the storage areas of the nodes 1 and 10 to 40 can be reduced.

  Furthermore, in the network cooperation system, since the communication state is confirmed only for the nodes that are subject to the interlock operation, data is transmitted / received to / from each node to collect all the communication states in the network. Compared to the case, the amount of data in the network can be reduced, thereby reducing the traffic in the network.

  Therefore, according to the network cooperation system, it is possible to reduce the storage area necessary for each node and reduce the traffic in the network.

  According to the embodiment, since the cooperation node management table creation processing unit 3 and the cooperation node confirmation processing unit 6 are provided in the controller node 1, arrival response data received from the arrival confirmation receiving side nodes 20 to 40 is received. It can be confirmed based on the management table DB1 whether or not it has been transmitted based on the arrival confirmation data communicated between the arrival confirmation transmitting side node 10 and the arrival confirmation receiving side nodes 20 to 10. it can.

  According to the embodiment, since the arrival confirmation creating processing unit 12 is provided in the arrival confirmation transmitting side node 10, the controller node 1 is requested to receive a request node address in response to receiving the arrival confirmation transmission request data D3. The arrival confirmation data D5 can be transmitted to the arrival confirmation receiving side nodes 20 to 40.

  According to the embodiment, since the arrival response property determination processing unit 23 is provided in the arrival confirmation receiving side nodes 20 to 40, when the arrival confirmation data D5 is received, the first and second determinations are performed. By executing, it can be confirmed that the arrival confirmation data D5 is transmitted from the arrival confirmation transmission side node 10 based on the arrival confirmation transmission request data D3.

  According to the embodiment, when a plurality of arrival confirmation reception side nodes 20 to 40 are set in one arrival confirmation transmission side node 10, the arrival confirmation data D5 for each of the arrival confirmation reception side nodes 20 to 40 is stored. Since the transmission processing can be executed in a batch, the time required for the transmission processing can be shortened.

  According to the embodiment, the transmission timing of the arrival response data D4 by each of the arrival confirmation receiving nodes 20 to 40 can be shifted, so that each arrival response data D4 is synchronized with the controller node 1 at the same time. It is possible to suppress the concentrated transmission of data.

  The network cooperation system according to the present invention is effective as a method for constructing a network system in which home appliances are operated in an interlocking manner in a home appliance control network.

It is the schematic which shows the structure of the network cooperation system which concerns on this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of an interlocking setting. It is a figure which shows an example of the management table memorize | stored in a cooperation node information storage part. It is a figure which shows an example of arrival response property data. It is a figure which shows an example of arrival confirmation transmission request data. It is a figure which shows an example of arrival response data. It is a figure which shows an example of arrival confirmation data. It is a figure which shows an example of arrival response property storage data. It is a flowchart which shows the process performed by a controller node. It is a flowchart which shows the process performed by the arrival confirmation receiving side node. It is a flowchart which shows the process performed by the arrival confirmation transmission side node. It is a data flow figure showing an example of a data flow at the time of arrival confirmation. It is a flowchart which shows the process performed by the arrival confirmation receiving side node. It is a flowchart which shows the process performed by a controller node. It is a figure which shows another example of an interlocking setting. It is the schematic which shows the structure of the network cooperation system which concerns on another embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the process performed by the controller node of FIG. It is the schematic which shows the structure of the network cooperation system which concerns on another embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Controller node 3 Cooperation node management table creation processing part 4 Arrival response property creation processing part 5 Arrival confirmation transmission request data creation processing part 6 Cooperation node confirmation processing part 9 Cooperation node information storage part 10 Arrival confirmation transmission side node 12 Arrival confirmation creation process Unit 20, 30, 40 arrival confirmation reception side node 22 arrival response property write processing unit 23 arrival response property determination processing unit 24 arrival response creation processing unit 25 arrival response property storage unit 51, 61 linkage error processing unit D1 linkage setting data D2 arrival Response property data D3 Arrival confirmation transmission request data D4 Arrival response data D5 Arrival confirmation data DB1 management table

Claims (7)

A network cooperation system having a management communication device and a plurality of communication devices capable of communicating with each other, and operating these communication devices in cooperation with each other,
The management communication device sets one specific communication device among the communication devices as an arrival confirmation transmission side communication device and sets at least one other communication device as an arrival confirmation reception side communication device, and The arrival confirmation transmission request data for causing the device to transmit the arrival confirmation data set as the request source to the arrival confirmation receiving communication device is transmitted to the arrival confirmation transmitting communication device, and the arrival confirmation transmitting communication device Is set as the confirmation destination, and the management communication device is configured to transmit the arrival response property data set as the response destination to the arrival confirmation reception side communication device,
When the arrival confirmation receiving side communication device receives the arrival response property data and the arrival confirmation data, the confirmation destination included in the arrival response property data matches the transmission source of the arrival confirmation data, and the arrival response It is configured to determine whether or not the response destination included in the property data and the request source of the arrival confirmation data match, and when it is determined to match, the arrival response data is transmitted to the management communication device,
When the management communication device receives the arrival response data, the management communication device can communicate with the arrival confirmation reception side communication device that is the transmission source of the arrival response data and the arrival confirmation transmission side communication device that is set as the confirmation destination. A network cooperation system characterized by being determined to be present. The management communication device is
Based on the preset linkage setting, the arrival confirmation transmission side communication device and the arrival confirmation reception side communication device that are the targets of the linkage operation are set respectively, and the transmission side identifier and the reception side identifier that uniquely identify these communication devices And a linked node management table creation processing unit for creating a management table in which these identifiers are associated with each other,
A cooperative node information storage unit for storing the management table;
An arrival response transmission destination identifier in which a management communication device identifier for uniquely identifying the management communication device is set as the response destination, and an arrival confirmation transmission source identifier in which a transmission side identifier included in the management table is set as the confirmation destination And arrival response property creation processing unit for sending the arrival response property data to the receiver identifier of the management table;
An arrival confirmation transmission request data creation processing unit that creates arrival confirmation transmission request data in which the reception side identifier is set as an arrival confirmation transmission destination identifier and transmits the address to the transmission side identifier stored in the management table;
When the arrival response data is received from the arrival confirmation reception side communication device, the request source identifier of the arrival response data set in the identifier of the transmission source communication device of the arrival confirmation data, and the transmission side of the management table When the identifier matches, and it is determined whether the identifier of the transmission source communication device of the arrival response data matches the identifier of the receiving side of the management table. And a cooperation node confirmation processing unit that determines that communication between the transmission side identifier and the reception side identifier associated with each other in the management table stored in the cooperation node information storage unit is possible. The network cooperation system according to claim 1. The arrival confirmation transmitting side communication device is:
When receiving the arrival confirmation transmission request data, the arrival confirmation receiving side based on the arrival confirmation transmission destination identifier of the arrival confirmation transmission request data set to an identifier for uniquely identifying the arrival confirmation receiving side communication device Identifying the identifier of the communication device, creating arrival confirmation data including the requested communication device identifier in which the identifier of the communication device that is the transmission source of the arrival confirmation transmission request data is set as the request source. The network cooperation system according to claim 1, further comprising an arrival confirmation creation processing unit that transmits to the identified identifier. The arrival confirmation receiving side communication device is:
An arrival confirmation transmission source identifier in which an identifier for uniquely identifying the arrival confirmation transmission side communication device is set as the confirmation destination, and an arrival response transmission destination in which an identifier for uniquely identifying the management communication device is set as the response destination An arrival response property storage unit for storing the arrival response property data including an identifier;
When the arrival response property data is received from the management communication device, the arrival response property write processing unit that writes the arrival response property data in the arrival response property storage unit;
When the arrival confirmation data is received from the arrival confirmation transmission side communication device, the identifier of the transmission source communication device of the arrival confirmation data matches the arrival confirmation transmission source identifier stored in the arrival response property storage unit. A first determination that determines whether or not, a request communication device identifier of the arrival confirmation data in which the identifier of the management communication device is set as the request source, and the arrival response transmission stored in the arrival response property storage unit A arrival response property determination processing unit that executes a second determination for determining whether or not the destination identifier matches;
When it is determined that the two match in the first and second determinations, the arrival response data in which the identifier of the communication device that is the transmission source of the arrival confirmation data is set as a request source identifier is created, and the arrival response data The network cooperation system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising: an arrival response creation processing unit that transmits a request addressed to the requested communication device identifier.   The arrival confirmation transmission side communication device is configured to transmit the arrival confirmation data to each arrival confirmation transmission side communication device by broadcast when a plurality of the arrival confirmation reception side communication devices are set. The network cooperation system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the system is a network cooperation system.   In the arrival response property data, a different response delay time is set for each arrival confirmation transmitting side communication device, and the arrival confirmation receiving side communication device receives only the response delay time after receiving the arrival confirmation data. The network cooperation system according to claim 5, wherein the network response system is configured to transmit the arrival response data after waiting. A management communication device of a network cooperation system having a management communication device and a plurality of communication devices that can communicate with each other, and operating these communication devices in an interlocked manner,
One specific communication device among the communication devices is set as the arrival confirmation transmitting side communication device and at least one other communication device is set as the arrival confirmation receiving side communication device, and the management communication device is set as the request source. The arrival confirmation transmission request data for transmitting the arrival confirmation data to the arrival confirmation receiving side communication device is transmitted to the arrival confirmation transmitting side communication device, and the arrival confirmation transmitting side communication device is set as a confirmation destination, And the management communication device is configured to transmit arrival response property data set as a response destination to the arrival confirmation receiving side communication device, and
The arrival confirmation receiving side communication device matches the confirmation destination included in the received arrival response property data with the transmission source of the received arrival confirmation data, and the response destination included in the arrival response property data and the arrival confirmation It is determined whether or not the data request sources match, and when the management communication device receives arrival response data to be transmitted to the management communication device when it is determined that they match, the arrival response data is transmitted. A management communication device of a network cooperation system, characterized in that communication between an original arrival confirmation receiving side communication device and an arrival confirmation transmitting side communication device set as the confirmation destination is possible.

Images