JP2006121390A - Device, server and its program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve the problem that in a conventional remote control, the content for controlling a device utilized at the outdoor terminals, such as a portable telephone, etc. is managed by a server and all the contents, such as, setting for every user, every model of each device must be managed by the server; and the other problem that a facility device especially has many control items and monitor items, the setting and the contents are different by type of each device and the unified management in the server is actually difficult. <P>SOLUTION: The device 1 in the house includes a content memory 12 for holding content information for controlling the device for displaying on the terminals 4, such as the portable telephone, etc., an instruction execution part 13 which executes the instruction for the device control, and a WEB server function, and includes a communication part 10 which performs the communication of the server 3, content information, and a device control instruction. Moreover, to the server, the communication is performed with the device 1 and the terminal 4. The content for the device control acquired from the device 1 is transmitted to the terminal 4. The server is provided with the relay server part 20 which transmits the instruction for the device control returned thereto the terminal 4 to the device 1. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a server that communicates control information and display information with a device that can be remotely controlled from inside or outside the house, and a program therefor.

  Conventionally, this type of system has many configurations as disclosed in Patent Document 1, for example. FIG. 6 shows a configuration of a conventional system described in Patent Document 1.

  FIG. 6 shows an example in which a plurality of devices 100 are installed in the house. The device 100 is a normal home appliance such as a bath, a water heater, and a refrigerator. The mobile phone 103 has a WEB browser function.

The WEB server unit 102 stores content for device control to be displayed in the mobile phone 103. The user operates the WEB browser in the mobile phone 103 to connect to the WEB server unit 102 and display the stored content. The user gives instructions regarding device control / monitoring by operating the displayed content. This instruction is converted into a control signal by the WEB server unit 102 and transmitted to the device 100 via the router 101 in the home. The device 100 receives this signal and performs an operation according to the control instruction. Out-of-home control is realized by the operation as described above.
JP 2002-186057 A

  However, in the above-described conventional configuration, the WEB server unit 102 collectively stores and manages device control content displayed on the mobile phone 103. Settings for each user and each device, content for each model, and the like All of these must be managed by the server. In particular, equipment such as a water heater, bath, floor heating, and air conditioner has many control items and monitor items, and settings and contents differ depending on the type of each device. In reality, it is extremely difficult to manage all of this information centrally on a server.

  In order to solve the conventional problems, in the present invention, on the device side, a content storage unit for storing and managing content information for operating the device from a terminal such as a mobile phone, transmission of content information to the server, and A communication unit having a WEB server function for receiving a device control command from the server is provided.

  In addition, the server side has a relay server unit that communicates with the device and the terminal, transmits the device control content acquired from the device to the terminal, and transmits a device control command transmitted from the terminal to the device. Provide.

  As a result, it is only necessary for the server side to relay the content for device control stored in the device, and it is not necessary to manage settings and content for each user, for each device, for each model.

  By using the device, the server, and the program of the present invention, it is possible to manage the content for device control used in a terminal outside the home such as a mobile phone on the device side. This can greatly reduce content management on the server.

  In addition, the device control content stored in the device can be used not only in the out-of-home terminal but also in the device main body, and can also be used from the WEB browser function of the device main body. By having device control content in the device in this way, more flexible remote control and remote monitoring can be realized.

  The first invention includes a content storage unit that stores and manages content information for operating a device from an out-of-home terminal in the device, and an ID storage unit that stores device ID information that is unique to each device. A command execution unit that executes a device control command included in the content information to perform device control and device monitoring, and a communication unit that communicates with the server about the content information, the device ID information, and the device control command information. Since the content for out-of-home control is stored in the device, content management on the server side can be reduced.

  According to a second aspect, in the first aspect, the content storage unit is a file, an image file, an audio file, or a script program described in a markup language such as HTML or XML for displaying a user interface screen on the terminal. The communication unit has a WEB server function, and the instruction execution unit stores a WEB application such as a CGI program for controlling the device control unit in conjunction with the content in the content storage unit. Execute. By using a file such as HTML generally used on the Internet or a mechanism such as CGI, device control from a larger number of terminals becomes possible.

  The third invention communicates with a terminal such as a mobile phone and a device at home, transmits the content for device operation acquired from the device to the terminal, and in response to the command related to device control and device monitoring transmitted from the terminal And a relay server unit for transmitting requests to devices. Thereby, the content stored and managed on the remote control side can be accessed from a terminal such as a mobile phone.

  According to a fourth invention, in the third invention, an authentication information management unit for storing authentication information for a user, and an authentication server unit for performing user authentication using information stored in the authentication information management unit when the server is accessed from a terminal And a device information management unit that stores user information and device ID information and the relationship between them, and the relay server unit (1) searches the user information obtained by the user authentication to search the authentication information management unit and Device ID information of a device owned by the device, (2) acquisition of content information by communication from a device having the acquired device ID information and transmission to the terminal, and (3) device control generated by user terminal operation And a command related to device monitoring is transmitted to a device having device ID information. Thereby, it is possible to specify the device to be controlled from the information obtained by the user authentication, and it is possible to realize easy-to-use and reliable remote control that does not require the user to directly input device ID information and the like. .

  In a fifth invention according to the third or fourth invention, the device information management unit stores and manages user information, device ID information, device communication destination information (IP address, port number, etc.) in association with each other, The relay server unit searches the device information management unit from the user information obtained by the authentication server unit to acquire the communication destination information of the device, acquires content information from the device, and sends instructions related to device control and device monitoring to the remote control. Send. With this mechanism, the relay server unit can easily obtain the communication destination information of the device.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the third to fifth aspects of the invention, the relay server unit selects a device selection menu screen described in a markup language such as HTML or XML from the device ID information and the communication destination information in the authentication information management unit. Is generated and transmitted to the terminal. Thereby, when the user has a plurality of devices, the device selection menu can be displayed on a terminal such as a mobile phone, and the device to be controlled can be selected more easily.

  A seventh invention includes a display unit having a WEB browser function on the device side and an input unit that receives an input operation from a user in the first invention or the second invention, and the display unit and the input unit are in the communication unit. The display unit displays the content for device operation in the content storage unit, and the user operates the instruction execution unit by operating the input unit in accordance with the display, thereby controlling the device and It is characterized in that device monitoring is performed. With this configuration, the device control content for out-of-home control can also be used on the device main body side. Therefore, the operation interface for the user can be shared in the house and outside the house, and the same mechanism is used, which is advantageous in terms of cost.

  An eighth invention is a program for causing a computer to realize at least a part of the functions of the device according to any one of the first, second, and seventh inventions. A ninth invention is a program for causing a computer to realize at least part of the functions of the server described in any one of the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth inventions. Since it is a program, some or all of the functions of the present invention can be easily realized by using hardware resources such as electric / information equipment and a computer in cooperation. Also, program distribution and installation can be simplified by recording on a recording medium or distributing a program using a communication line.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to the embodiment.

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of the present invention. In FIG. 1, a device 1 is a general device or device installed in a user's home. In the present embodiment, a case where a bath water heater (heat source machine) is used as an example of the device 1 will be described. The device 1 may be another device, for example, (a) other equipment such as a floor heater, a drying heater, a gas meter, a power meter, a water meter, (b) an air conditioner, a ventilation fan, a blower, a fan heater, etc. (C) White goods such as washing machines, refrigerators, and microwave ovens may be used. Also, a plurality of different types of devices may be installed as shown in the figure.

  The home higher-level communication device 2 is a device such as a modem or a router for connecting the device 1 to an external communication network such as the Internet. Specific examples include an ADSL router, a CATV modem, an ISDN dialup router, an optical fiber line termination device, a media converter, a home PNA device, a gateway, a router, and a switching hub.

  In FIG. 1, the home higher-level communication device 2 is illustrated as a single configuration, but the configuration may be divided into a plurality of units, such as a splitter and an ADSL router. In addition, although the apparatus 1 and the in-home higher-level communication apparatus 2 are wired communication (LAN line, lamp line, twisted pair line, etc.) in FIG. 1, they may be wireless communication (infrared, low power wireless, wireless LAN, etc.). If the communication protocol used in the outside communication network such as the Internet and the communication protocol between the device 1 and the in-home communication device 2 are different, the in-home communication device 2 needs to have a function for performing protocol conversion. .

  The server 3 communicates with a plurality of devices 1 and terminals 4 to provide a service related to device control to the user. Basically, processing relating to user authentication and processing for relaying communication between the device 1 and the terminal 4 are performed.

  The terminal 4 indicates a terminal device such as a mobile phone having a WEB browser function, a PHS, a PDA, a personal computer (PC), or a workstation. These are basically operated outside the house, and control of the equipment 1 in the house and state monitoring are performed by the operation. Note that the WEB browser function of the terminal 4 means a function for appropriately displaying a file described in a markup language such as HTML, compact HTML, XML, or WML.

  The device 1 is composed of the following seven elements.

  (A1) A communication unit 10 that has a WEB server function and communicates with the server 3.

  (A2) An ID storage unit 11 that stores device ID information uniquely set for each device.

  (A3) A content storage unit 12 that stores device control content to be displayed by the WEB browser function of the terminal 4. The device control content is described in a markup language such as HTML, XML, compact HTML, WML, etc., and stores and manages image files, audio files, script programs, and the like as necessary. These constitute a user interface screen (GUI) displayed on the terminal 4.

  (A4) A command execution unit 13 that executes commands related to device control and device status monitoring included in the content. Specifically, it is a part for storing and executing a CGI program called from the content. The CGI program is a program written in C language, Perl, or the like, and the instruction execution unit 13 executes it. In this embodiment, description is made using CGI, but other WEB applications such as PHP, ASP, and servlet may be used. Since these are called by the user's operation for content display on the terminal 4, as a result, they operate in conjunction with the content.

  (A5) The device control unit 14 that performs the actual operation of the device 1. In the present embodiment, a bath water heater (heat source machine) is employed as an example of the device 1. Therefore, the device control unit 14 means a function of heating water using energy such as gas or electricity and supplying hot water appropriately to a bath or kitchen. The configuration of the device control unit 14 varies depending on which device the device 1 is used for. The operation of the device control unit 14 changes according to an instruction from the instruction execution unit 13. In the present embodiment, the start and stop of bath water supply, temperature setting, and the like are controlled by the instruction execution unit 13.

  (A6) Display unit 15 having a WEB browser function. The display unit 15 includes a display unit such as a liquid crystal device and its control circuit (the control circuit unit includes a WEB browser function). It communicates with the content storage unit 12 and the command execution unit 13 via the communication unit 10 to display the acquired content information, a guide screen for controlling the device 1, and a control result. Note that the display unit 15 may use other display devices such as an EL device and a CRT device instead of a liquid crystal device.

  (A7) An input unit that allows the user to input in cooperation with the WEB browser function of the display unit 15. Specifically, it is composed of push buttons, a keyboard, and the like. The display unit 15 and the input unit 16 may be integrated to form a configuration like a touch panel.

  The server 3 is composed of the following four elements.

  (B1) The relay server unit 20 that relays and communicates content (device control content) for device 1 control and status monitoring and device control command information between the device 1 and the terminal 4.

  (B2) An authentication server unit 21 that authenticates a user when accessing from the terminal 4.

  (B3) The device information management unit 22 that manages the device ID information of the device 1 and the communication destination information of the device 1 held by the user authenticated by the authentication server unit 21. Specifically, the device information management unit 22 manages device ID information and communication destination information (IP address, port number, etc.) in association with the user ID.

  (B4) An authentication information management unit 23 that stores and manages authentication information used in the authentication server unit 21. Specifically, the authentication information management unit 23 manages information such as a user ID and a password. Authentication information such as a user ID and a password is input by an operator before the use of the device is started. Note that the authentication server unit 21 may have a function such as billing using these pieces of authentication information.

  The operation of the device and server of the present invention configured as described above will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. This flowchart shows the operation of each unit when the remote control is performed from the terminal 4.

  (Step A1) The authentication server unit 21 in the server 3 is accessed using the WEB browser function in the terminal 4. Specifically, the user connects the terminal 4 to the authentication server unit 21 by inputting predetermined URL information into a WEB browser function such as a mobile phone.

  (Step A2) The authentication server unit 21 returns input screen information (HTML file) for user authentication to the terminal 4 and prompts the user to input ID information and the like.

  A specific example of an authentication screen on the terminal 4 is shown in FIG. In the figure, the user is requested to input a “user ID” and a “password”. As shown in FIG. 4A, the content displayed on the terminal 4 here is the content in the authentication server unit 21.

  (Step A3) The user operates the terminal 4 to input authentication information such as “user ID” and “password”. The input information is transmitted to the authentication server unit 21.

  (Step A4) The authentication server unit 21 accesses the authentication information management unit 23, and compares the user information (user ID, password) registered in advance with the information transmitted in step A3.

  (Step A5) In the comparison at Step A4, the processing is branched depending on whether or not the user having the information input at the terminal 4 is already registered in the authentication information management unit 23. If it is not registered, the process returns to step A2 to allow the user to re-enter authentication information. If registered, the process proceeds to the next step A6.

  (Step A6) The authenticated user ID is transmitted to the relay server unit 20. The relay server unit 20 accesses the device information management unit 22 and acquires device ID information of the device 1 corresponding to the user ID and communication destination information such as an IP address / port number. The device ID information is the same as that stored in the ID storage unit 11 inside the device 1. Such information may be registered in advance by an operator, or may be registered via the relay server unit 20 by communicating when the device 1 is installed.

  The relay server unit 20 generates a device selection menu screen from the acquired device ID information and communication destination information (see FIG. 4B). The device selection menu screen is a screen for allowing the user to select a device to be controlled. Specifically, the device type name is determined from the device ID information, and an HTML file is created and transmitted to the terminal 4 in a form in which the device type name and communication destination information (link destination URL) are paired. On this screen, a list of devices owned by the user is output. The user selects a device to be controlled from these.

  As a method for determining the device type name from the device ID information, a code that has a one-to-one correspondence with the device type may be assigned to the upper bits of the device ID information. It may be possible to store which device type the ID information corresponds to and retrieve and acquire it.

  (Step A7) The user operates the terminal 4 to select a device for which control or status monitoring is to be performed (FIG. 4B illustrates an example in which the user selects “bath hot water supply”). .

  (Step A8) The relay server unit 20 starts access to the communication destination acquired in Step A6, connects to the device 1 via the home higher-level communication device 2, and transmits content for device control from the content storage unit 12 ( Device control content to be displayed on the terminal 4 is acquired.

  Specifically, the relay server unit 20 performs HTTP communication with the communication unit 10 (WEB server function) in the device 1, issues a request regarding acquisition of device control content, and sends it to the content storage unit 12 in the device 1. The stored device control content is acquired. The acquired content information is immediately transmitted to the terminal 4 as it is.

  A display example on the terminal 4 is shown in FIG. In this example, two options of “operation status display” and “device control” are displayed. In this example, the content in the device 1 is relayed by the relay server unit 20 and displayed on the terminal 4. Note that this option differs for each device 1.

  (Step A9) The user operates the terminal 4 to select one of the remote control functions of the device 1. Here, the operation when “operation state display” is selected in FIG. 4C will be described.

  (Step A10) According to the link information set in the content, the relay server unit 20 transmits information such as screen transition and control command issuance (CGI call) to the device 1. Specifically, when the “operation status display” function is selected in FIG. 4C, the information linked to the content is transmitted from the terminal 4 to the relay server unit 20 by HTTP communication. In this case, the link information is command information regarding device status monitoring and result display, and more specifically, is a command for calling a program (CGI) for device monitoring. The relay server unit 20 receives this link information (CGI call) and transmits it to the device 1 selected in steps A7 to A8 as it is. Thereby, the command issued by the terminal 4 is relayed to the device 1 owned by the user.

  (Step A11) The communication unit 10 in the device 1 accepts command information (CGI call) related to device control and monitoring from the relay server unit 20 by the WEB server function, and transmits the information to the command execution unit 13. The instruction execution unit 13 interprets and executes the instruction information and controls the device control unit 14 to perform actual control and status monitoring. When the “operation state display” function is selected in FIG. 4C, first, the hot water supply state is acquired by the device control unit 14.

  (Step A12) The instruction execution unit 13 acquires the device control result and the state monitor result of the device 1 as the control result of the device control unit 14, and generates HTML content for displaying the result on the terminal 4 according to the CGI program. To do. This content information is returned to the relay server unit 20 using the WEB server function in the communication unit 10. When the “operation state display” function is selected in FIG. 4C, the instruction execution unit 13 creates HTML content as shown in FIG. 3D based on the hot water supply state acquisition result in step A11. , To the relay server unit 20.

  Note that the CGI program body related to device control, status monitoring, and HTML content conversion as a result is stored in the instruction execution unit 13. Usually, the command information received from the relay server unit 20 is centered on the CGI program call and arguments of the command execution unit 13. Depending on which CGI is called with which argument, the contents of device control / status monitoring and content generation as a result differ.

  (Step A13) The relay server unit 20 receives content information related to the results of control and status monitoring from the communication unit 10 in the device 1, and transmits it to the terminal 4 as it is. Thereby, it is possible to display the result of device monitoring and device control on the terminal 4 (see FIG. 4D: In FIG. 4D, the current operating state of the bath water heater is “OFF”. This content is content generated by the device 1).

  In addition, examples of the result display screen when “device control” is selected in FIG. 4C are shown in FIGS.

  When “device control” is selected in FIG. 4C, first, a command regarding screen transition is transmitted from the terminal 4 to the command execution unit 13 of the device 1 via the relay server unit 20 (step A10). The screen control command (CGI call) received by the communication unit 10 of the device 1 is executed by the command execution unit 13. Specifically, in this case, the command execution unit 13 performs an operation of taking out a screen (HTML) for inputting a control command from the content storage unit 12 (step A11).

  This screen information is returned to the relay server unit 20 as one of the result display screens via the communication unit 10 (step A12).

  The relay server unit 20 transmits this result display screen to the terminal 4 and is displayed on the screen by the WEB browser function of the terminal 4 (step A13). This screen is shown in FIG. Unlike the case where “display operation state” is selected in FIG. 4C, the operation does not end in step A13, and the operation returns to step A9 according to the link destination in the content.

  When selecting a function (setting temperature and pressing the “ON” button) on the screen of FIG. 4E (step A9), the input information is CGI call according to the information described in the content. Along with the command, it is first posted to the relay server unit 20 and then transmitted to the device 1 as it is (step A10).

  The communication unit 10 of the device 1 receives the information by the WEB server function, executes the CGI designated by the command execution unit 13 with the input information (temperature, on), and controls the device control unit 14 ( Step A11).

  The control result is generated in the form of an HTML file by the instruction execution unit 13 and returned to the relay server unit 20 (step A12).

  The result information is transmitted from the relay server unit 20 to the terminal 4 and displayed in the form as shown in FIG. 4F (step A13). By such an operation, device control from the terminal 4 is also possible.

  By the operation as described above, even when the content to be displayed on the terminal 4 is held in the device 1, the relay server unit 20 is provided so that the device 4 can be controlled and the status can be monitored from the terminal 4. .

  In addition, although the relay server unit 20 of the present embodiment transmits the content information from the device 1 to the terminal 4 as it is, the content conversion process may be performed. For example, depending on the type of terminal 4 (for example, in the case of a mobile phone, the carrier, the display method (compact HTML, WML, etc.), the screen size, the number of colors, the model, and the corresponding HTML tag, etc.) The content may be converted so that it can be appropriately displayed on the terminal 4.

  Further, the server 3 of the present embodiment performs the same function even if it is functionally divided into two as shown in FIG. The first is a server 3 ′ including an authentication server unit 21 and an authentication information management unit 23, and the other is a server 3 ″ including a relay server unit 20 and a device information management unit 22.

  The former server 3 ′ manages user information, performs membership / unsubscription, personal information management, billing, etc., and does not manage information about devices. On the other hand, the latter server 3 ″ does not manage user information, but mainly manages device information such as remote controller ID information and transmission destination IP address. These servers 3 ′, 3 ″ may be physically separated from each other, and the management entities may be different.

  Further, the communication between the relay server 20 and the communication unit 10 may be HTTP communication or communication using another protocol such as SOAP. Further, although the terminal 4 has been described as an out-of-home terminal operated outside the home, the same effect can be obtained even when operated inside the home.

  Note that each unit described in the present embodiment is a program for causing a hardware resource such as a CPU (or microcomputer), RAM, ROM, storage / recording device, electrical / information device including I / O, a computer, and the like to cooperate with each other. You may implement with a form. In the form of a program, new functions can be easily distributed / updated and installed by recording them on a recording medium such as magnetic media or optical media or distributing them via a communication line such as the Internet.

  As described above, in the device, the server, and the program according to the present invention, the content used for remote control is managed on the device side, whereby the management content on the server can be simplified. This can be applied not only to equipment but also to other home appliances, NCU devices, and the like.

The figure which shows the whole structure in Embodiment 1 of this invention. First flowchart showing an out-of-home control operation according to the first embodiment of the present invention. Second flowchart showing the out-of-home control operation according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The figure which shows the example of a screen display at the time of remote control of Embodiment 1 of this invention The figure which shows the example of the server division | segmentation in Embodiment 1 of this invention The figure which shows the whole structure of a prior art example

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Apparatus 2 Home high-order communication apparatus 3 Server 4 Terminal 10 Communication part 11 ID memory | storage part 12 Content memory | storage part 13 Instruction execution part 14 Equipment control part 15 Display part 16 Input part 20 Relay server part 21 Authentication server part 22 Equipment information management part 23 Authentication Information Management Department

Claims (9)

A content storage unit that stores and manages content information for operating devices from a terminal, an ID storage unit that stores device ID information that is unique to each device, and executes a device control instruction included in the content information And a command execution unit that performs device control and device monitoring, and a communication unit that communicates with the server regarding the content information, the device ID information, and the device control command information. The content storage unit stores and manages at least one of files, image files, audio files, and script programs written in markup languages such as HTML and XML, the communication unit has a WEB server function, and the instruction execution unit The device according to claim 1, wherein a WEB application such as a device control CGI program called from content in the content storage unit is stored and executed. It is provided with a relay server unit that transmits content for device operation acquired from a device to a terminal by communication, and transmits a command or request related to device control or device monitoring transmitted from the terminal to the device. server. An authentication information management unit that stores authentication information for a user, an authentication server unit that performs user authentication using information stored in the authentication information management unit when accessing a server from a terminal, and both user information and device ID information. A device information management unit that stores the relationship, and the relay server unit acquires (1) device ID information of a device owned by the user by searching the authentication information management unit from the user information obtained by the user authentication. (2) Acquisition of content information by communication from a device having the acquired device ID information and transmission to the terminal, and (3) device control generated by a user's terminal operation to the device having the acquired device ID information 4. The server according to claim 3, wherein the server transmits a command relating to device monitoring. The authentication information management unit stores and manages user information, device ID information, and device communication destination information (IP address, port number, etc.) in association with each other, and the relay server unit obtains the authentication information from the user information obtained by the authentication server unit. 5. The communication unit information is acquired by searching the management unit, content information is acquired from the device, and instructions related to device control and device monitoring are transmitted to the remote controller. server. The relay server unit creates a device selection menu screen described in a markup language such as HTML or XML from the device ID information and the communication destination information in the authentication information management unit, and transmits the device selection menu screen to the terminal. Item 6. The server according to any one of items 3 to 5. A display unit having a WEB browser function; and an input unit that receives an input operation from a user. The display unit and the input unit access a WEB server function in a communication unit, and the display unit is in a content storage unit. 3. The apparatus control and the apparatus monitoring according to claim 1, wherein the apparatus operation content is displayed, and the instruction execution unit is operated by a user operation of the input unit performed according to the display. The equipment described. The program for making a computer implement | achieve at least one part of the function of the apparatus of any one of Claims 1, 2, and 7. The program for making a computer implement | achieve at least one part of the function of the server of any one of Claim 3, 4, 5, 6.

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