KR102600678B1 - Integration terminal for home service - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an integrated terminal for home service, comprising: a plurality of service agents using different communication protocols; and an integration agent that manages and controls the plurality of service agents according to a control command of the terminal management server, wherein the integration agent uses a predefined mapping table to use a predefined mapping table between the terminal management server and each service agent. It is characterized by mapping different communication protocols.

Description

Integrated terminal for home service {INTEGRATION TERMINAL FOR HOME SERVICE}

The present invention relates to an integrated terminal installed in a home, and more specifically, to an integrated terminal for home services capable of remote service control and management through a terminal management server.

With the rapid development of information and communication technology, interest in and demand for IoT (Internet of Things) technology is rapidly increasing. IoT can be defined in various ways depending on the perspective from which it is viewed. However, IoT is essentially an intelligent information and communication technology or service that enables communication between people and objects and between objects by connecting various objects through a communication network based on the Internet.

These IoT technologies are being applied in various technological fields such as smart home, smart health, smart car, etc. In particular, research on smart home services that combine IoT technology with home network systems is actively underway. Smart home service refers to the overall system that seeks to improve the standard of living through IoT devices with Internet of Things functions in a residential environment where a communication network is established.

In order to implement these smart home services at home, various service terminals such as WiFi AP (Access Point) devices, IoT Gateway (Gateway) devices, and Set Top Box (STB) devices are required. However, as shown in FIG. 1, existing in-home service terminals are independently managed, controlled, and automatically opened based on separate hardware (H/W) and agents. Additionally, existing in-home service terminals transmit and receive data with the terminal management server using different communication protocols (eg, SNMP, TR-069, etc.).

In this way, when existing service terminals in the home are operated with independent protocols and control items, the terminal management server only allows independent management and control for each service terminal, and there is a problem in that integrated management and control is difficult. In addition, the protocols used for communication between service terminals in the home and the terminal management server are different, so there is a problem that management and control items vary for each service.

The present invention aims to solve the above-mentioned problems and other problems. Another purpose is to provide an integrated terminal for home services that integrates multiple service terminals used in the home into one physical device and allows integrated management and control through a terminal management server.

Another purpose is to provide an integrated terminal for home service that can match different communication protocols used between the terminal management server and each service agent using a predefined mapping table.

Another purpose is to provide an integrated terminal for home services capable of individual control and common control of a plurality of service agents based on identifier information for each service agent.

According to one aspect of the present invention to achieve the above or other objects, there is provided a plurality of service agents using different communication protocols; and an integration agent that manages and controls the plurality of service agents according to a control command of the terminal management server, wherein the integration agent uses a predefined mapping table to use a predefined mapping table between the terminal management server and each service agent. An integrated terminal for home services is provided, characterized by mapping different communication protocols.

More preferably, the plurality of service agents include at least two of an AP agent, a G/W agent, an STB agent, and a modem agent. Additionally, the communication protocols include TR-069 protocol and SNMP protocol.

More preferably, the integrated agent performs a client role when communicating with a terminal management server, and performs a server role when communicating with a plurality of service agents. Additionally, the integrated agent is characterized in that it schedules communication between the terminal management server and each service agent.

More preferably, the integrated agent transmits data received from the terminal management server to at least one of the service agents, and transmits data received from at least one of the service agents to the terminal management server. do. In addition, the integrated agent is characterized by individual control or common control of service agents based on identifier information received from the terminal management server.

More preferably, the integrated agent is characterized by converting STB opening-related data transmitted and received between the terminal management server and the STB agent to suit the communication protocol to enable self-opening of the STB agent. Additionally, the integrated agent supports one communication protocol for communication with the terminal management server and supports two or more communication protocols for communication with the service agents.

More preferably, the integrated agent includes a client unit communicating with a terminal management server, a plurality of server units communicating with a plurality of service agents, a memory storing a predefined mapping table, and controlling the operation of the integrated agent. Characterized by including a processor.

The effects of the integrated terminal for home services according to embodiments of the present invention will be described as follows.

According to at least one of the embodiments of the present invention, there is an advantage that remote service management and control is possible through a terminal management server by integrating a plurality of service terminals used in the home into one physical device.

According to at least one of the embodiments of the present invention, the advantage is that integrated management and control is possible through the terminal management server by mapping different communication protocols used between the terminal management server and each service agent using a predefined mapping table. There is.

According to at least one of the embodiments of the present invention, there is an advantage in that individual control and common control of the AP agent, G/W agent, and STB agent can be performed by using the identifier information for each service agent received from the terminal management server. .

However, the effects that can be achieved by the integrated terminal for home services according to the embodiments of the present invention are not limited to those mentioned above, and other effects not mentioned are commonly known in the technical field to which the present invention belongs from the description below. It will be clearly understandable to those who have the knowledge of.

1 is a configuration diagram of a home service terminal management system according to the prior art;
Figure 2 is a configuration diagram of a home service terminal management system according to an embodiment of the present invention;
Figure 3 is a configuration diagram of an integrated terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention;
Figure 4 is a diagram illustrating a protocol mapping table stored in memory;
Figure 5 is a diagram illustrating an integrated terminal control method using a unique identifier for each service agent;
Figure 6 is a diagram illustrating a self-opening procedure between a terminal management server and a set-top box according to the prior art.
Figure 7 is a diagram illustrating a self-opening procedure between a terminal management server and an integrated terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, embodiments disclosed in the present specification will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings. However, identical or similar components will be assigned the same reference numbers regardless of reference numerals, and duplicate descriptions thereof will be omitted. The suffixes “module” and “part” for components used in the following description are given or used interchangeably only for the ease of preparing the specification, and do not have distinct meanings or roles in themselves. That is, the term 'unit' used in the present invention refers to a hardware component such as software, FPGA, or ASIC, and the 'unit' performs certain roles. However, 'wealth' is not limited to software or hardware. The 'part' may be configured to reside on an addressable storage medium and may be configured to run on one or more processors. Therefore, as an example, 'part' refers to components such as software components, object-oriented software components, class components and task components, processes, functions, properties, procedures, Includes subroutines, segments of program code, drivers, firmware, microcode, circuits, data, databases, data structures, tables, arrays, and variables. The functionality provided within the components and 'parts' may be combined into a smaller number of components and 'parts' or may be further separated into additional components and 'parts'.

Additionally, in describing the embodiments disclosed in this specification, if it is determined that detailed descriptions of related known technologies may obscure the gist of the embodiments disclosed in this specification, the detailed descriptions will be omitted. In addition, the attached drawings are only for easy understanding of the embodiments disclosed in this specification, and the technical idea disclosed in this specification is not limited by the attached drawings, and all changes included in the spirit and technical scope of the present invention are not limited. , should be understood to include equivalents or substitutes.

The present invention proposes an integrated terminal for home services in which multiple service terminals used in the home are integrated into one physical device, allowing integrated management and control through a terminal management server. Additionally, the present invention provides an integrated terminal for home service that can map different communication protocols used between a terminal management server and each service agent using a predefined mapping table. Additionally, the present invention provides an integrated terminal for home service capable of individual control and common control of a plurality of service agents based on identifier information for each service agent.

Hereinafter, various embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

Figure 2 is a configuration diagram of a home service terminal management system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 2, the home service terminal management system 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes an integrated terminal 110 located within the home, a communication network 120 located outside the home, and a terminal management server 130. ) may include.

The integrated terminal 110 is a terminal that integrates a plurality of service terminals used in the home into one device and provides various home service functions through a plurality of service agents corresponding to the plurality of service terminals. As an example, the integrated terminal 110 may provide an AP service function, a G/W service function, and an STB service function.

The integrated terminal 110 may include an integrated agent 111, an AP agent 113, a G/W agent 115, and an STB agent 117. Meanwhile, in another embodiment, the integrated terminal 110 may additionally include a communication modem.

The AP agent 113 can provide an AP service that connects wireless communication devices existing in the home to a wireless network. Additionally, the AP agent 113 can provide an IP sharing service that allows terminals in the home to share an Internet address (IP address) provided by an Internet service provider. The AP agent 113 may use the TR (Technical Report)-069 protocol as a network management protocol.

The G/W agent 115 can provide a G/W service that connects IoT devices existing in the home to the Internet. Additionally, the G/W agent 115 can function as a router that connects different networks. The G/W agent 115 may use the SNMP protocol as a network management protocol.

The STB agent 117 is connected to a television (TV) and can provide an STB service that appropriately converts signals coming from the outside and displays video content on the television. In addition, the STB agent 117 can provide various interactive multimedia services such as video on demand (VOD), IPTV, home shopping, Internet, YouTube, network games, etc. The STB agent 115 may use the SNMP protocol as a network management protocol.

The integrated agent 111 can perform operations to manage and control the AP agent 113, G/W agent 115, and STB agent 117 according to the remote control command of the terminal management server 130. .

The integrated agent 111 may relay or schedule communication between the terminal management server 130 and each service agent 113, 115, and 117. For example, the integrated agent 111 delivers data received from the terminal management server 130 to each service agent 113, 115, and 117, and manages the data received from each service agent 113, 115, and 117. It can be transmitted to the server 130.

The integration agent 111 may support two or more different communication protocols. In addition, the integrated agent 111 can perform a client role when communicating with the terminal management server 130, and can perform a server role when communicating with each service agent (113, 115, and 117). can do.

The integration agent 111 may perform an operation of mapping different communication protocols used between the terminal management server and each service agent by referring to the protocol mapping table stored in the memory. This is because the communication protocol used between the terminal management server 130 and the integrated agent 111 and the communication protocol used between the integrated agent 111 and the specific service agents 115 and 117 are different.

For example, a first communication protocol (TR-069) may be used between the terminal management server 130 and the integrated agent 111, and a first communication protocol may be used between the integrated agent 111 and each service agent (113, 115, and 117). (TR-069) and a second communication protocol (SNMP) may be used.

The TR-069 (Technical Report 069) protocol is a technical specification of the DSL Forum named Customer Premise Equipment (CPE) WAN Management Protocol (CWMP). TR-069 protocol is defined as an application layer protocol for remote management of terminal devices. The TR-069 protocol is a two-way SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol)/HTTP that provides communication between CPE and ACS (Automatic Configuration System). In general, the TR-069 protocol can support home network management more flexibly and reliably than SNMP.

Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) is one of the management protocols adopted as a standard communication protocol in Transmission Control Protocol (TCP)/Internet Protocol (IP). SNMP is a protocol for network management by automatically collecting various information in a TCP/IP-based network, and is widely used in TCP/IP-based networks.

The integrated agent 111 performs individual control and common control of the AP agent 113, G/W agent 115, and STB agent 117 based on the identifier information for each service agent received from the terminal management server 130. can do.

The integrated agent 111 converts and delivers data related to STB opening transmitted and received between the terminal management server 130 and the STB agent 117 in accordance with the communication protocol, allowing self-opening of the STB through remote control in the integrated terminal. You can.

The terminal management server 130 may be connected to the integrated terminal 110 through the communication network 120. In order for the terminal management server 130 to recognize the integrated terminal 110 as one system, it must be managed using one protocol. The terminal management server 130 may use the TR-069 protocol, which is easy to manage and control, as a network management protocol.

The terminal management server 130 can remotely integratedly manage and collectively control the AP agent 113, G/W agent 115, and STB agent 117 through communication with the integrated agent 111. Additionally, the terminal management server 130 can automatically open the STB agent 117 in the integrated terminal 110 through communication with the integrated agent 111.

The terminal management server 130 can integrate and manage AP information, G/W information, and STB information for each subscriber in the home. The existing terminal management server manages AP information, G/W information, and STB information through different databases, but the terminal management server according to the present invention integrates AP information, G/W information, and STB information through one database. You can manage it by doing this.

Figure 3 is a configuration diagram of an integrated terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to Figure 3, the integrated terminal 110 according to an embodiment of the present invention may include an integrated agent (111, 200), an AP agent (113), a G/W agent (115), and an STB agent (117). You can.

The integrated agent 111 and 200 may include a client unit 210, a processor 220, a memory 230, a first server unit 240, and a second server unit 250. The components shown in FIG. 3 are not essential for implementing the integrated agent, so the integrated agent described herein may have more or fewer components than those listed above.

The client unit 210 may perform a client function for communicating with the terminal management server 130. The client unit 210 can communicate with the terminal management server 130 using the TR-069 protocol.

The client unit 210 transmits the data received from the terminal management server 130 to at least one of the first and second server units 240 and 250, or to at least one of the first and second server units 240 and 250. Data received from one can be transmitted to the terminal management server 130.

The first server unit 240 may perform a server function for communicating with the AP agent 113. The first server unit 240 can communicate with the AP agent 113 using the TR-069 protocol.

The first server unit 240 may transmit data received from the client unit 210 to the AP agent 113 or transmit data received from the AP agent 113 to the client unit 210.

The second server unit 250 may perform a server function for communicating with the G/W agent 115 and STB agent 117. The second server unit 250 can communicate with the G/W agent 115 and the STB agent 117 using the SNMP protocol.

The second server unit 250 transmits the data received from the client unit 210 to at least one of the G/W agent 115 and the STB agent 117, or the G/W agent 115 and the STB agent 117 ) may be transmitted to the client unit 210.

The memory 230 stores data supporting various functions of the integrated agent 200. The memory 230 may store an application program (application program or application) running on the integrated agent 200, data for operation of the integrated agent 200, and commands.

The memory 230 may store a protocol mapping table for mapping different communication protocols. As an example, the memory 230 may store a protocol mapping table for mapping the TR-069 protocol and the SNMP protocol to each other. The management and control items of TR-069 protocol and SNMP protocol are not the same. Therefore, the OID (Object Identifier) of the SNMP protocol corresponding to the MO (Management Object) of the TR-069 protocol must be defined, and then the MO of the TR-069 protocol and the OID of the SNMP protocol must be mapped to each other.

For example, as shown in FIG. 4, the control and management items of the TR-069 protocol used between the terminal management server 130 and the STB agent 117 are mapped to the control and management items of the SNMP protocol to form TR069-SNMP. You can configure a table.

The memory 230 is a flash memory type, hard disk type, solid state disk type, SDD type (Silicon Disk Drive type), and multimedia card micro type. ), card-type memory (e.g. SD or XD memory, etc.), random access memory (RAM), static random access memory (SRAM), read-only memory (ROM), EEPROM (electrically erasable programmable read) -only memory), PROM (programmable read-only memory), magnetic memory, magnetic disk, and optical disk may include at least one type of storage medium.

The processor 220 controls operations related to the application program stored in the memory 230 and generally controls the overall operation of the integrated agent 200. Furthermore, the control unit 220 may control a combination of at least one of the above-described components in order to implement various embodiments described below on the integrated agent 200 according to the present invention.

The processor 220 may perform operations to manage and control the AP agent 113, G/W agent 115, and STB agent 117 according to the remote control command of the terminal management server 130. Additionally, the processor 220 may perform an operation of scheduling communication between the client unit 210 and the first and second server units 240 and 250.

The processor 220 performs an operation of mapping different communication protocols used between the terminal management server 130 and each service agent 113, 115, and 117 by referring to the protocol mapping table stored in the memory 230. can do.

For example, when receiving a packet (or frame) including an OID corresponding to a specific control item from at least one of the G/W agent 115 and the STB agent 117, the processor 220 stores the OID in the memory 230. The MO corresponding to the OID can be detected by referring to the protocol mapping table, and a packet including the MO can be transmitted to the terminal management server 130. Conversely, when receiving a packet including an MO corresponding to a specific control item from the terminal management server 130, the processor 220 detects the OID corresponding to the MO by referring to the protocol mapping table stored in the memory 230. And, the packet including the OID can be transmitted to at least one of the G/W agent 115 and the STB agent 117.

The processor 220 performs individual control and common control of the AP agent 113, G/W agent 115, and STB agent 117 based on the identifier information for each service agent received from the terminal management server 130. You can.

The processor 220 may convert STB opening-related data transmitted and received between the terminal management server 130 and the STB agent 117 to suit the communication protocol so that the STB agent 117 can self-open.

As described above, the integrated terminal according to the present invention integrates a plurality of service terminals used in the home into one physical device, enabling remote service management and control through the terminal management server. Additionally, the integrated terminal maps different communication protocols used between the terminal management server and each service agent using a predefined mapping table, thereby enabling integrated management and control through the terminal management server.

Meanwhile, the existing terminal management server manages service terminals within the home based on representative MAC (Media Access Control) addresses. For example, the terminal management server manages AP devices using the AP MAC address, manages G/W devices using the G/W MAC address, and manages STB devices using the STB MAC address. However, in the case of an integrated terminal, since the MAC address of the integrated agent is the representative MAC address, a problem arises in which the AP agent, G/W agent, and STB agent are managed and controlled without being differentiated from each other. In other words, from the integrated terminal's perspective, a problem arises in which the final destination of the packet received from the terminal management server cannot be known. Therefore, below, we present a method for common and individual control of service agents of an integrated terminal by utilizing identifier information (or product class) for each service agent in the terminal management server.

Figure 5 is a diagram illustrating an integrated terminal control method using a unique identifier for each service agent.

Referring to FIG. 5, the integrated terminal 110 according to an embodiment of the present invention may include an integrated agent 111, an AP agent 113, a G/W agent 115, and an STB agent 117. . The integrated terminal 110 may communicate with the terminal management server 130 through a communication network (not shown).

The terminal management server 130 can commonly manage or control the service agents constituting the integrated terminal 110 using predefined identifier information.

For example, when the terminal management server 130 transmits a packet containing data corresponding to a reset command and identifier information (S0) corresponding to the integrated agent 111 to the integrated terminal 110, The integrated terminal 110 resets all service agents 113, 115, and 117 based on the identifier information (S0).

The terminal management server 130 may individually manage or control each of the service agents constituting the integrated terminal 110 using predefined identifier information.

For example, when the terminal management server 130 transmits a packet including data corresponding to a reset command and identifier information (S1) corresponding to the AP agent 113 to the integrated terminal 110, The integrated terminal 110 resets only the AP agent 113 based on the identifier information (S1).

In addition, when the terminal management server 130 transmits a packet containing data corresponding to a reset command and identifier information (S2) corresponding to the G/W agent 115 to the integrated terminal 110, The integrated terminal 110 resets only the G/W agent 115 based on the identifier information (S2).

In addition, when the terminal management server 130 transmits a packet including data corresponding to a reset command and identifier information (S3) corresponding to the STB agent 117 to the integrated terminal 110, the integrated terminal (110) resets only the STB agent 117 based on the identifier information (S3).

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a self-opening procedure between a terminal management server and a set-top box according to the prior art, and FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a self-opening procedure between a terminal management server and an integrated terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 6, conventionally, when the STB agent 20 is installed for the first time in a home, the STB agent 20 can perform STB self-opening through communication with the terminal management server 10.

More specifically, when power is input while the STB agent 20 is connected to the Internet, the STB agent 20 enters the STB initialization state (S610). When the STB initialization state is completed, the STB agent 20 transmits an opening request message indicating that it is in an unregistered state to the terminal management server 10 using the SNMP protocol (S620). In response, the terminal management server 10 transmits an opening command message containing information necessary for opening and authentication to the STB agent 20 using the SNMP protocol (S630). The STB agent 20 that receives this automatically proceeds with the STB opening procedure based on the information required for self-opening and authentication (S640).

Meanwhile, in the case of the integrated terminal according to the present invention, STB self-opening can be performed by mapping different communication protocols used between the terminal management server 130 and the STB agent 117. That is, when the integrated terminal 110 is installed for the first time in your home, the STB agent 117 of the integrated terminal 110 performs STB self-opening through communication with the terminal management server 130 through the integrated agent 111. can do.

As shown in FIG. 7, when power is input while the integrated terminal 110 is connected to the Internet, the STB agent 117 of the integrated terminal 110 proceeds to the STB initialization state (S710). Upon completion of the STB initialization state, the STB agent 117 sends a first opening request message containing a control item (Coldstart SNMP TRAP (CPEID: not-registered)) of the SNMP protocol corresponding to the opening request command to the integration agent 111. It is transmitted (S720). The integration agent 111 may detect the control item of the TR-069 protocol corresponding to the control item of the SNMP protocol by referring to the predefined mapping table (S730).

The integration agent 111 transmits a second opening request message including a control item (0 BOOTSTRAP (TR069 inform)) of the TR-069 protocol corresponding to the opening request command to the terminal management server 130 (S740). In response, the terminal management server 130 transmits a first opening command message including control items (CPEID, user pin, opening start request) of the TR-069 protocol corresponding to the opening start command to the integrated agent 110. It is done (S750).

The integration agent 111 may detect the control item of the SNMP protocol corresponding to the control item of the TR-069 protocol by referring to the predefined mapping table (S760). The integrated agent 111 transmits a second opening command message including control items (CPEID, userpin, hdsRequestSet) of the SNMP protocol corresponding to the opening start command to the STB agent 117 (S770). The STB agent 117 that receives this automatically proceeds with the STB opening procedure based on the information required for self-opening and authentication (S780).

The present invention described above can be implemented as computer-readable code on a program-recorded medium. Computer-readable media includes all types of recording devices that store data that can be read by a computer system. Examples of computer-readable media include HDD (Hard Disk Drive), SSD (Solid State Disk), SDD (Silicon Disk Drive), ROM, RAM, CD-ROM, magnetic tape, floppy disk, optical data storage device, etc. There is. Additionally, the computer may include a terminal control unit. Accordingly, the above detailed description should not be construed as restrictive in all respects and should be considered illustrative. The scope of the present invention should be determined by reasonable interpretation of the appended claims, and all changes within the equivalent scope of the present invention are included in the scope of the present invention.

100: Home service terminal management system 110: Integrated terminal
111/200: Unified Agent 113: AP Agent
115: G/W agent 117: STB agent
120: communication network 130: terminal management server
210: client unit 220: processor
230: memory 240: first server unit
250: second server unit

Claims (10)

In an integrated terminal for home service in which a plurality of service terminals are integrated into one physical device,
multiple service agents using different communication protocols; and
Including an integrated agent that manages and controls the plurality of service agents according to control commands of the terminal management server,
The integrated agent maps different communication protocols used between the terminal management server and each service agent using a predefined mapping table,
The integrated terminal for home service, wherein the integrated agent receives identifier information corresponding to the integrated agent from the terminal management server and commonly controls the plurality of service agents based on the received identifier information. According to paragraph 1,
The integrated terminal for home service, wherein the plurality of service agents include at least two of an AP agent, a G/W agent, an STB agent, and a modem agent. According to paragraph 1,
The communication protocols include a TR (Technical Report)-069 protocol and an SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) protocol. According to paragraph 1,
The integrated agent is an integrated terminal for home service, characterized in that it performs a client role when communicating with the terminal management server and a server role when communicating with the plurality of service agents.
According to paragraph 1,
The integrated agent is an integrated terminal for home service, wherein the integrated agent schedules communication between the terminal management server and each service agent. According to paragraph 1,
The integrated agent transmits data received from the terminal management server to at least one of the service agents, and transmits data received from at least one of the service agents to the terminal management server. Integrated terminal. According to paragraph 1,
The integrated agent receives identifier information for each service agent from the terminal management server, and individually controls the plurality of service agents based on the received identifier information. According to paragraph 2,
The integrated agent is an integrated terminal for home service, characterized in that the STB opening-related data transmitted and received between the terminal management server and the STB agent is converted to a communication protocol to enable self-opening of the STB agent. According to paragraph 1,
The integrated agent supports one communication protocol for communication with the terminal management server and supports two or more communication protocols for communication with the service agents. According to paragraph 1,
The integrated agent includes a client unit communicating with the terminal management server, a plurality of server units communicating with the service agents, a memory storing the mapping table, and a processor controlling the operation of the integrated agent. An integrated terminal for home services.

Images