JP2008258689A - Channel management system for facility device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a channel management system for facility device which manages channels so that a channel that a facility device uses is not set to a facility device which need not join cooperative operation. <P>SOLUTION: In the channel management system, facility device 1 communicates over a channel 4 formed on a communication network 3. Channel information of a channel that the facility device 1 uses for communication is managed by a channel managing device 2. The channel managing device 2 includes a managing server device 2a that a manufacturer manages, a channel managing device 2b for construction that a constructor manages, and a channel master device 2c that an operator manages. The facility device 1 is provided with a channel information holding unit 11 where the channel information is registered, and the channel information holding unit 1 is provided with an operation information holding unit 11a stored with operation channel information during the operation, a construction information holding unit 11b stored with construction channel information during the construction, and an operation information holding unit 11c stored with the operation channel information during the operation. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a channel management system for equipment that manages channels used when the equipment communicates with each other in equipment that operates in cooperation by communicating via a communication network.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, facility devices that operate in cooperation by communicating via a communication network are known. For example, it is conceivable to connect a facility device having a switch and a facility device to which a load is connected to a communication network and control the load by operating the switch. Since this type of equipment uses a single communication network as a transmission path with a plurality of equipment, in order to use a single communication network as a plurality of transmission paths, the time and frequency for each equipment to use the communication network are limited. The technique of multiplexing by making it different is used.

As a technique for multiplexing communication channels, for example, a multiplexing technique by frequency division is known as in a cordless telephone communication system (see Patent Document 1). The technique described in Patent Document 1 communicates between a connection device and a slave using radio waves, and forms a zone in the space based on the reach of radio waves. Also, multiple channels that can be used for each zone are allocated, and when a call is made by a slave unit, a channel that is not used among the available channels is allocated, so that the channel is moved to each slave unit. Assigned.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-244093

  By the way, in addition to equipment that operates the switch and load in cooperation with the equipment, the fire detector and the alarm device are operated in cooperation, and the music data and video data transmission device and the reception device equipped with a speaker and display are linked. Something to make it work is considered. In this type of equipment, it is necessary to be able to change the combination to be linked in accordance with the purpose, but the combination to be linked in operation is fixed and used without being dynamically changed.

  Further, in this type of equipment, the switch and the speaker normally do not operate in cooperation with each other, and even when the switch and the load are associated with each other, the switch used for dimming control of the illumination load is used as the electric shutter. Do not link with. Furthermore, even with a combination of a switch and a load, it is not normally possible to link a switch installed in a bedroom with a lighting load in a bathroom.

  As described above, there are combinations of equipment that can perform a cooperative operation and combinations that cannot perform a cooperative operation. In the conventional equipment, since a work is performed to assign a channel to the equipment to be operated in cooperation with each other at the time of construction, a bedroom switch and a bathroom can be used as in the above example unless an incorrect setting is made at the time of construction. However, if the number of types of equipment is increased, it is difficult for the user to know whether each equipment is capable of cooperative operation, and the combination is not possible. There is also a possibility that the user will try to set the relation of cooperative action forcibly.

  For equipment that enables cooperative operation, it is required to set the channel in common, but it is necessary to set a channel different from equipment that does not require cooperative operation. It is important to manage the equipment so that the channels do not overlap, especially in equipment that does not perform cooperative operation.

  In other words, when a new channel is issued in order to operate a facility device in a coordinated manner, if a channel that has already been issued is issued to another facility device that is not operated in a coordinated manner, Inconvenience that equipment that is not intended to operate inadvertently occurs. Therefore, when a new channel is issued, channel uniqueness (this uniqueness is referred to as one channel for one facility device) so that the same channel is not used for facility devices that are not intended for cooperative operation. This means that it is not a meaning but a meaning of one type of channel in equipment intended for cooperative operation).

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned reasons, and its purpose is to manage the channel of equipment that manages the channels so that the channels used in the equipment do not overlap in equipment that is not intended for cooperative operation. To provide a system.

  The invention of claim 1 has a plurality of equipment devices that operate in cooperation by communicating through channels formed in a communication network, and a channel management device that manages channel information of channels used by each equipment device for communication. Equipment communication communicates with a channel information holding unit in which channel information for forming a channel at the time of communication is registered, and a channel formed in a communication network using the channel information registered in the channel information holding unit A channel storage unit that issues channel information that does not overlap with channel information stored in the channel storage unit when issuing new channel information. And the management communication that communicates with the equipment through the communication network when registering the channel information in the channel information holding section of the equipment. And having a part.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, the channel issuing unit has a function of issuing manufacturing channel information specified by a manufacturer of the equipment at a manufacturing stage, and the channel information holding unit is a manufacturing channel. A manufacturing information holding unit in which information is registered in a non-rewritable manner is provided.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect of the invention, the channel issuing unit has a function of issuing construction channel information specified by a constructor of the equipment at a construction stage, and the channel information is retained. The section is characterized in that the construction channel information is registered so as to be rewritable and the construction information holding section is provided.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to any one of the first to third aspects, the channel issuing unit has a function of issuing operational channel information specified by an operator of the facility device at an operational stage, The channel information holding unit includes an operation information holding unit in which operation channel information is rewritably registered.

  The invention of claim 5 is characterized in that, in the invention of claim 1, the channel information holding unit has a plurality of information holding units for storing partial channel information which is a part of the channel information.

  According to a sixth aspect of the invention, in the fifth aspect of the invention, the partial channel information represents a section of a specific range, and the specific range indicated by each partial channel information is hierarchized.

  According to a seventh aspect of the invention, in the fifth or sixth aspect of the invention, each of the information holding units can individually store the partial channel information at different timings.

  The invention according to claim 8 is the invention according to any one of claims 5 to 7, wherein the number of the partial channel information constituting the channel information is variable, and at least one of the partial channel information is variable length. It is characterized by being.

  According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to any one of the fifth to eighth aspects, the channel issuing unit specifies the manufacturing channel information specified by the manufacturer of the equipment at the manufacturing stage and the installer at the construction stage. The construction channel information and the operation channel information specified by the operator at the operation stage are issued as partial channel information, and the channel information holding unit holds the manufacturing information in which the manufacturing channel information is registered so as not to be rewritten. And a construction information holding unit in which operation channel information is rewritably registered and an operation information holding unit in which operation channel information is rewritably registered.

  According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the fifth to ninth aspects, the channel issuing unit is provided with a plurality of the channel management devices, and issues each partial channel information registered in each information holding unit. Are distributed in two or more channel management apparatuses.

  In the invention of claim 11, in the invention of any one of claims 5 to 10, the channel issuing unit automatically issues non-overlapping partial channel information according to a rule, and the partial channel information holds the information It is stored in a part of the sections.

  According to a twelfth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the fifth to tenth aspects of the present invention, the channel issuing unit has a DHCP function for issuing an IP address to be assigned to the equipment, and is one of the information holding units. The section is characterized in that the IP address issued by the channel issuing section is used as partial channel information.

  According to the configuration of the invention of claim 1, a channel management device for registering channel information is provided in the channel information holding unit of the equipment, and the channel management device includes a channel storage unit for storing already issued channel information; Since the channel issuing unit that issues channel information that does not overlap with the channel information stored in the channel storage unit when issuing new channel information is provided, the channel information that is newly issued channel information has already been issued And non-overlapping channel information can be issued to equipment that is not intended for cooperative operation. In the following, it is said that channels are unique in this sense that channels do not overlap.

  According to the configuration of the invention of claim 2, the manufacturer channel information specified by the manufacturer of the equipment in the manufacturing stage is registered in the channel information holding unit (manufacturing information holding unit) of the equipment in an unrewritable manner. Can use the manufacturer name, type of equipment, product name, use of equipment, etc. as production channel information, so that equipment that can be physically linked can be identified at the manufacturing stage. In addition, since the manufacturer manages the manufacturing channel information to be given to equipment that cannot physically operate in a collaborative manner, it is ensured that a channel is formed between equipment that cannot perform the collaborative operation. Can be prevented. In addition, since the manufacturing channel information is not rewritable, the installer or operator does not inadvertently rewrite the manufacturing channel information, and it is guaranteed whether or not a physical cooperative operation is possible.

  According to the configuration of the invention of claim 3, the construction channel information specified at the construction stage by the facility equipment installer who performs the installation work of the equipment can be rewritten to the equipment information channel information holding section (construction information holding section). Therefore, by using the installation location managed by the installer as the construction channel information, even if the installation equipment has the same function, different channels can be used if the installation location is different. Therefore, it is possible to group the equipment to be operated in a coordinated manner according to the construction location. In addition, since the construction channel information issued once at the time of construction will not be issued twice, the installer can set the construction channel information according to the construction status in the equipment and operate the equipment in a coordinated manner. it can.

  According to the configuration of the invention of claim 4, the operation channel information specified in the operation stage by the operator of the facility equipment (the manager or user of the facility equipment) is the channel information holding section (operation information holding section) of the facility equipment. Therefore, the channel can be appropriately set according to the change in the arrangement of the equipment and the addition / deletion. Further, since the operation channel information once issued at the time of operation is not issued redundantly, the operator can use non-overlapping channel information without special consideration.

  According to the configuration of the fifth aspect of the invention, the channel information holding unit includes a plurality of information holding units for storing partial channel information that is a part of the channel information, so that uniqueness can be ensured for each partial channel information. For example, the uniqueness of the entire channel information is ensured. If uniqueness is to be ensured as a whole without dividing channel information, it is necessary to collect and manage many types of channel information. On the other hand, in the configuration of the invention of claim 5, it is possible to ensure the uniqueness of the entire channel information only by ensuring the uniqueness of each of the partial channel information of fewer types compared to the entire channel information. Management of channel information becomes easy.

  For example, if a configuration is adopted in which partial channel information is stored in each information holding unit at each stage of equipment manufacturing, construction, operation, etc., partial channel information is not duplicated in equipment that is not intended for cooperative operation at each stage. The channel information obtained by combining the partial channel information is not duplicated in equipment that does not intend the cooperative operation. In other words, the uniqueness of the entire channel information is ensured as long as the uniqueness of the partial channel information is maintained even if the person who sets each partial channel information in the equipment is different at each stage as described above. Therefore, the partial channel information can be set according to the classification method at each stage, which increases convenience.

  According to the configuration of the invention of claim 6, since the partial channel information represents a specific range section and the specific range indicated by each partial channel information is hierarchized, each partial channel information has a relatively long bit length. While it is possible to configure channel information having a long bit length while setting short partial channel information, channel information obtained by combining partial channel information has a hierarchical structure and is easy to manage. In other words, the facility devices that operate in cooperation with each other can be classified at a necessary level according to the hierarchical structure. For example, subclassification in which only two of a large number of facility devices operate in cooperation with each other is possible.

  According to the configuration of the invention of claim 7, since each partial channel information can be individually stored in each information holding unit at different timings, for example, the partial channel information stored in the information holding unit is manufactured, constructed and operated. Can be stored at the timing of each stage. That is, when setting partial channel information at each stage, it is possible to set partial channel information independently of other partial channels.

  According to the configuration of the eighth aspect of the invention, since the number of partial channel information constituting the channel information is variable and at least one of the partial channel information has a variable length, the channel information depends on the usage mode of the equipment. Can be set flexibly. For example, by increasing the number of pieces of partial channel information, it becomes possible to increase the number of facilities equipment and construct various types of systems.

  According to the configuration of the invention of claim 9, partial channel information is issued at the manufacturing stage, the construction stage, and the operation stage, and each partial channel information is divided and registered in the channel information holding unit. The channel information is managed for each process of manufacturing, construction, and operation, and the channel information is hierarchized to facilitate the management of the channel information. In addition, channel information may be set in units of equipment devices that are to be linked to each other. When communication is performed by issuing identification information that is unique to each equipment device and linking each piece of identification information. As compared with the above, the bit length of the information included in the header of the transmission format can be shortened. Moreover, since the association of the equipment devices to be operated in cooperation can be performed at each stage of manufacturing, construction, and operation, it is possible to flexibly set the cooperation relationship of the equipment devices according to the system to be operated.

  According to the configuration of the tenth aspect of the invention, since the channel management apparatus having a scale corresponding to the stage of setting the partial channel information can be used by providing the channel management apparatus in a distributed manner, each partial channel information to be issued Management becomes easier.

  According to the configuration of the invention of claim 11, when version information or the like is included in the partial channel information, version information can be obtained without being aware of the issue of new partial channel information by automatically issuing this type of information. Can be generated. That is, it is not necessary for the manager of channel information to issue new partial channel information, and labor required for issuing channel information is saved. It is also possible to use the issue time as the partial channel information.

  According to the configuration of the twelfth aspect of the invention, since the IP address issued by the DHCP function is used for the partial channel information, channel information without duplication can be automatically set during operation.

  The following embodiment will be described using the system having the configuration shown in FIG. The equipment 1 is, for example, various devices arranged in a house, and cooperates by communicating through a channel 4 formed in a home network 3b as a communication network 3. The specification of the home network 3b is not particularly limited, but for example Ethernet (registered trademark) is used.

  Examples of equipment 1 include lighting equipment, ventilation fans, air conditioning equipment, devices that store music and video data, speakers (for doorphones, music appreciation, etc.), monitor devices (for camera-equipped doorphones, video buffers, etc.) ), Switches, controllers (for lighting fixtures, air-conditioning equipment, music and video adjustments, etc.). Some of the equipment 1 can be easily added and deleted by the user.

  A channel master device 2c is connected to the home network 3b. As will be described later, the channel master device 2c functions as the channel management device 2 for the other equipment 1 connected to the home network 3b, but is treated as the equipment 1 from the host system.

  During operation, the equipment 1 can be used simply by being connected to the home network 3b. For example, the home network 3b is connected to the host system in order to manage the lamp replacement timing of the lighting fixtures. In this case, the home network 3b is connected via a gateway device to a wide area network 3a such as the Internet that constructs a host system (not shown).

  In the illustrated example, a construction channel management device 2 b operated by the installer of the equipment 1 is connected to the communication network 3 as the channel management device 2. The construction channel management device 2b may be connected to either the home network 3b or the wide area network 3a, but when connected to the home network 3b, the construction channel management device 2b is disconnected from the home network 3b when the equipment 1 is operated. Even when connecting to the wide area network 3a, it is not always necessary to always connect to the communication network 3.

  A management server device 2a as a channel management device 2 managed by the manufacturer of the equipment 1 is connected to the wide area network 3a. The management server device 2a is always connected to the wide area network 3a. If the facility device 1, the channel master device 2c, and the construction channel management device 2b are connected to the communication network 3, they become clients of the management server device 2a. However, since the wide area network 3a and the home network 3b do not necessarily have to be connected, it is not essential for the management server device 2a to communicate with the equipment 1 when the equipment 1 is operated.

  In addition, a management device (not shown) is connected to the wide area network 3a in order to monitor the operation of the equipment device 1 during operation of the equipment device 1, and the operation state of the equipment device 1 is monitored or maintained by communication with the equipment device 1. You may make it collect information required for. However, this function is an example of operation and is not the gist of the present invention, so it will not be described in detail.

  In the illustrated example, a management server operating device 2d is provided so as to be communicable with the management server device 2a. That is, the management server operating device 2d is a client of the management server device 2a. However, if the management server device 2a has a data operation and display function, the management server operation device 2d may not be provided as a client.

  By the way, the transmission format used by the equipment 1 for communication includes a header HD and data DT as shown in FIG. 3, and information contained in the header HD is used as channel information as a communication path to the communication network 3. Channel 4 is formed. The channel information of the header HD is divided into a plurality of partial channel information CHa, CHb, and CHc. In addition, each partial channel information CHa, CHb, and CHc may include information used in an application (program) as well as information that forms a channel 4 serving as a communication path in the communication network 3. That is, although communication is performed using information forming the channel 4, information such as a version that does not need to be used for forming the channel 4 may be determined by the application.

  The partial channel information CHa, CHb, and CHc shown in the figure are manufacturing channel information specified by the manufacturer of the equipment device 1 using the management server device 2a at the manufacturing stage, and the construction channel management of the equipment equipment 1 at the construction stage. The construction channel information specified using the device 2b and the operation channel information specified by the operator of the equipment 1 using the channel master device 2c in the operation stage are meant.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the equipment device 1 is provided with a channel information holding unit 11 in which channel information is registered. The number of channel information that can be registered in one equipment device 1 is not limited to one, and a plurality of channel information can be registered, so that various linkage relationships can be set.

  Each channel information holding unit 11 is provided with a plurality of information holding units 11a, 11b, and 11c in which the partial channel information CHa, CHb, and CHc are registered. However, it is not necessary for every channel information holding unit 11 to have three information holding units 11a, 11b, and 11c. If necessary, some of the three information holding units 11a, 11b. , 11c may be employed, or four or more information holding units may be provided.

  Here, since the manufacturing channel information CHa, the construction channel information CHb, and the operation channel information CHc are used as the partial channel information, the manufacturing information holding unit 11a in which the manufacturing channel information CHa is registered in the channel information holding unit 11 in an unrewritable manner. The construction information holding unit 11b in which the construction channel information CHb is rewritably registered and the operation information holding unit 11c in which the operation channel information CHc is rewritably registered are provided as information holding units.

  The manufacturing channel information CHa is information that is registered by the manufacturer at the time of manufacturing the equipment 1 and is retained from when the equipment 1 is manufactured until it is discarded, and is changed while the equipment 1 is used. Therefore, the manufacturing information holding unit 11a is not rewritable. The non-rewritable manufacturing information holding unit 11a can be formed using a conductive pattern of a printed circuit board on which electronic components are mounted, or can be set using a mask ROM. However, as described above, the manufacturing channel information CHa Is registered by the management server apparatus 2a, the channel information holding unit 11 may be constituted by a nonvolatile memory, and the manufacturing information holding unit 11a may be prohibited from being rewritten.

  In addition to the channel information holding unit 11, the equipment 1 includes a functional unit 12 having a function of performing an original operation other than communication as the equipment 1, and a communication network using the channel information held in the channel information holding unit 11. 3 controls the operation of the device communication unit 13, the channel information holding unit 11, the function unit 12, and the device communication unit 13 that communicate with other equipment 1 and the channel management device 2 using this channel. Device processing unit 10. The device processing unit 10 is composed of a microcomputer. The equipment processing unit 10 includes unique (unique) identification information (such as a manufacturing number) for each equipment device 1, and the equipment information 1 can be individually specified by using the identification information. Yes.

  On the other hand, the management server device 2a, the construction channel management device 2b, and the channel master device 2c as the channel management device 2 have the following common configuration. That is, when issuing the new channel information with the channel storage unit 21 that stores the channel information, the new channel information is compared with the channel information stored in the channel storage unit 21. A channel issuing unit 20 that issues channel information and a management communication unit 22 that communicates with the equipment device 1 through the communication network 3 when registering the channel information in the channel information holding unit 11 of the equipment device are provided. By issuing channel information that does not overlap channel information that has been issued by the channel issuing unit 20, it is possible to prevent erroneous registration in which the same channel information is registered in the equipment 1 that has different functions. The channel issuing unit 20 is composed of a microcomputer. When the channel information to be issued overlaps with the channel information stored in the channel storage unit 21, the channel light emitting unit 20 is notified to the user by an appropriate notification means without adopting the channel information. .

  When new channel information is issued by the channel issuing unit 20 of the channel management device 2, new channel information is manually input using the input unit 23 that can be operated and displayed, as described later. There are cases where the channel management device 2 automatically issues new channel information. Since each channel management device 2 registers the partial channel information CHa, CHb, and CHc in each information holding unit 11a, 11b, and 11c of the facility device 1, the new channel information in the channel management device 2 is the facility device. 1 represents each partial channel information CHa, CHb, CHc. Therefore, even when the channel management device 2 automatically issues the channel information, the automatically issued channel information is a part of the channel information of the equipment device 1 and the remaining part of the channel information of the equipment device 1 is the manual. It is input with.

  Further, in the management server device 2 a shown in FIG. 2, the management server operation device 2 d functions as the input unit 23 of the channel management device 2. In the construction channel management device 2b and the channel master device 2c, which are the other channel management devices 2, the input unit 23 is housed in one container together with the channel issuing unit 20, the channel storage unit 21, and the management communication unit 22. .

  By the way, in the manufacturing server device 2, the manufacturing channel information CHa registered in the manufacturing information holding unit 11a of the equipment 1 manufactured in the past does not change, and all the manufacturing channel information CHa can be grasped. All issued production channel information CHa can be stored in the channel storage unit 21. On the other hand, the construction channel management device 2b and the channel master device 2c issue the construction channel information CHb and the operation channel information CHc according to the installation status of the equipment 1 so that the construction channel information CHb and the operation channel information CHc It is dynamically changed by adding, deleting or changing the device 1.

  Therefore, the channel issuing unit 20 of the construction channel management device 2b and the channel master device 2c collects the construction channel information CHb and the operation channel information CHc used in the managed equipment 1 and stores them in the channel storage unit 21. It has a function to register (channel discovery function). When collecting construction channel information CHb and operation channel information CHc, communication with other systems is prohibited so as not to collect information of other systems constructed using the equipment 1. It is necessary to keep. Further, since the construction channel information CHb and the operation channel information CHc cannot be used in collecting the channel information, the broadcast communication is performed using the production channel information CHa.

  Further, the construction channel management device 2b and the channel master device 2c are clients to the management server device 2a, and in particular, the channel master device 2c is always connected to the home network 3b. From the management channel management device 2b, it is treated as equivalent to the equipment 1. Accordingly, the channel master device 2c has a function as the equipment device 1 (function corresponding to the device processing unit 10, the channel information holding unit 11, and the device communication unit 13) in addition to the configuration having the function as the channel management device 2. Provided.

  The manufacturing channel information CHa, the construction channel information CHb, and the operation channel information CHc are registered in the facility device 1 in the following procedure. First, the manufacturer of the equipment 1 inputs the manufacturing channel information CHa using the management server operating device 2d. The manufacturing channel information CHa input from the management server operating device 2d is compared with the contents of the channel storage unit 21 of the management server device 2a and registered in the channel storage unit 21 if there is no duplication. The manufacturing channel information CHa registered in the channel storage unit 21 is registered in the channel information holding unit 11 for each equipment device 1 capable of cooperative operation. That is, the manufacturing channel information CHa registered in the channel storage unit 21 is not duplicated, but the same manufacturing channel information CHa is registered in a plurality of facility devices 1 capable of cooperative operation.

  For example, the management server apparatus 2a has the manufacturing channel information CHa called (crime prevention) for the crime prevention equipment 1 capable of cooperative operation and the manufacturing channel information CHa called (lighting) for the lighting equipment 1 capable of cooperative operation. It is assumed that the channel storage unit 21 is registered. Since (crime prevention) and (lighting) are different, manufacturing channel information CHa that does not overlap can be registered in the channel storage unit 21. On the other hand, if the production channel information CHa (security) is stored in the facility information holding unit 11a of the channel information holding unit 11 in the plurality of crime prevention facility devices 1 capable of cooperative operation, these facility devices 1 are ), And it is guaranteed that the cooperative operation is possible without distinguishing whether the type of the equipment 1 is a sensor or a notification device. In other words, the manufacturer guarantees whether or not the cooperative operation is physically possible by giving the same manufacturing channel information CHa indicating the application and the like for each equipment device 1 capable of the cooperative operation. Since the management server device 2a regards the channel master device 2c as the equipment device 1, the production channel information CHa is also given to the channel master device 2c.

  At the time of construction for constructing a system in which the facility equipment 1 in which the manufacturing channel information CHa is registered is arranged in the house and operated in cooperation, the construction channel management device 2b is connected to the communication network 3 and all the systems in the system to be constructed are constructed. Collect channel information from the equipment 1 (channel discovery). The construction channel management device 2b is realized by executing an appropriate program by, for example, a notebook personal computer. Whether a channel for broadcast communication is prepared in the equipment 1 for channel discovery. In the newly installed equipment 1, only the production channel information CHa is held as the channel information. If the system is an existing system, the equipment 1 will have the construction channel information CHb and the operation channel information CHb in addition to the production channel information CHa. Also possess. Further, the construction channel management device 2b acquires unique identification information of each facility device 1 in association with the channel information at the time of channel discovery, and registers the identification information together with the acquired channel information in the channel storage unit 21. . Further, the identification information is collected in units of the equipment group of the equipment 1 that is operated in cooperation.

  Since the existing channel information is stored in the channel storage unit 21, the contents of the channel storage unit 21 are edited according to the construction conditions of the equipment 1. Here, when new construction channel information CHb is input, it is compared with the existing construction channel information CHb. When the new construction channel information CHb is duplicated with the existing construction channel information CHb, it is not adopted and used. The person is informed of the duplication. Specifically, the construction channel information CHb is information indicating the installation location of the equipment 1 corresponding to the floor or room name in the house. Here, the types of construction channel information CHb are (first floor), (second floor) ).

  Of the channel information obtained by channel discovery, there are two types of production channel information CHa (crime prevention) and (lighting), and there are two types of construction channel information CHb (first floor) and (second floor). After the construction channel information CHb is edited by the construction channel management apparatus 2b, the construction channel information CHb is sent to the construction information holding unit 11b based on the identification information of each equipment device 1 with the equipment group of the equipment devices 1 operating in cooperation as a unit. Register.

When the contents of both the manufacturing channel information CHa and the construction channel information CHb in a plurality of different equipment groups overlap with each other for the equipment group consisting of the equipment equipment 1 that operates in cooperation, a warning is given as invalid for the relevant contents. And warn until different settings are made. For example, in the following three sets of examples, in [No.3], [Manufacturing channel information CHa: Construction channel information CHb] is both [(crime prevention): (1st floor)], and therefore, the contents of one are You are warned until it changes. Further, when the changed content matches with other channel information, the warning is made for the equipment 1 having the overlapping contents without being released.
No1 [(Security): (1st floor)] and [(Security): (2nd floor)] → Effective No2 [(Security): (1st floor)] and [(Lighting): (1st floor)] → Effective No3 [ (Crime prevention): (first floor)] and [(crime prevention): (first floor)] → invalid As described above, when the construction channel management device 2b edits and updates the construction channel information CHb, the production channel By verifying duplication of both information CHa and construction channel information CHb, duplication of channel information is prevented in units of devices that are to be linked.

  After the equipment device 1 is arranged at a desired position and the construction channel information CHb is set by the construction channel management device 2b, the equipment device 1 can be actually operated by the user or the operator. At the time of operation, the management server device 2a and the construction channel management device 2b are not interposed, and communication is performed between the facility devices 1 or between the facility device 1 and the channel master device 2c. The channel master device 2 c can edit (add, delete, change) the contents of the operation information holding unit 11 c in the channel information holding unit 11 of the equipment device 1.

  The channel master device 2c collaborates with, for example, the equipment 1 provided with a touch panel monitor, and collects channel information from all the equipment 1 in the system in the same manner as the construction channel management device 2b (channel discovery function). have. Similarly to the construction channel management device 2b, the channel master device 2c stores the channel information together with the identification information in the channel storage unit 21 with the device group of the facility device 1 operating in cooperation as a unit.

  By the way, since manufacturing channel information CHa and construction channel information CHb are registered in each equipment 1, the equipment 1 that operates in cooperation can communicate through the channel. In some cases, the user may further subdivide the method of combining the equipment 1 to be performed. In such a case, by using the channel master device 2c, by generating operation channel information CHc that is lower than the construction channel information CHb, a plurality of channel information composed of the manufacturing channel information CHa and the construction channel information CHb is obtained. To divide.

  In the channel master device 2c, the channel information collected as described above is displayed on the equipment 1 equipped with a monitor, and the channel information to be divided can be specified. When the operator (administrator or user) designates channel information to be divided from the channel information displayed on the equipment device 1 and designates the number of divisions to request division, the channel master device 2c designates the channel information. Operation channel information CHc is generated according to the number of divisions.

  For example, when the channel information [(crime) :( entrance)] in which the manufacturing channel information CHa is (crime prevention) and the construction channel information CHb is (entrance) is divided into two, the two pieces of channel information with the operation channel information CHc added [ (Crime prevention): (entrance): (1)], [(crime prevention): (entrance): (2)] are generated. Thereafter, the channel master device 2c performs [(crime prevention) :( entrance) :( 1)], [(crime prevention): for all the equipment devices 1 whose channel information is [(crime prevention) :( entrance)]. (Entrance): Request to participate in one of the channels of (2)]. When the operation channel information CHc is determined by operating the equipment device 1 that has received this request, the operation information holding unit 11c of each equipment device 1 whose channel information is [(crime prevention) :( entrance)] has (1 ) And (2) are stored. The channel master device 2c, like the other channel management devices 2, prohibits duplication of channel information, so the operator can use non-overlapping channel information without special consideration.

  The above-described operations are collectively shown in FIG. The channel master device 2c collects channel information from the equipment device 1 and displays the channel information on the equipment device 1 including a monitor. At this time, if there is a division request for any channel information, the channel master device 2c generates operation channel information CHc corresponding to the number of divisions, and makes a participation request to the equipment device 1 having the channel information. Based on the response to the participation request, the operation channel information CHc to be assigned to each equipment device 1 is determined, and the operation channel information CHc is registered by designating each equipment device 1.

  As described above, since the channel information holding unit 11 includes a plurality of information holding units 11a, 11b, and 11c, each information holding unit 11 has a partial channel at each stage of manufacturing, construction, and operation of the equipment device 1. Information CHa, CHb, and CHc can be stored. In addition, since the partial channel information CHa, CHb, and CHc is managed so as not to overlap in the equipment device 1 that cannot perform the cooperative operation at each stage, the channel information including the partial channel information CHa, CHb, and CHc cannot be cooperatively operated. There is no overlap in the equipment 1. In addition, in each stage, it is possible to configure the channel information having a long bit length while enabling the setting of the partial channel information CHa, CHb, and CHc having a relatively short bit length. In addition, the partial channel information CHa, CHb can be configured. , CHc combined channel information each represents a specific range, and since this range has a hierarchical structure, management is easy.

  In the above example, the partial channel information CHa, CHb, CHc is changed to (crime prevention), (lighting), (first floor), (second floor), (entrance), (1), (2), etc. The partial channel information CHa, CHb, and CHc that are represented by character strings that are easily recognized by humans and that are used for display by each channel management device 2 adopt such a format, but the data used for the header HD uses bit strings. The channel management device 2 requires means such as a data table for converting character strings and bit strings.

  Incidentally, as shown in FIG. 5, it is desirable that the manufacturing channel information CHa includes a manufacturer (maker) D1, a product type (manufacturer's handling department) D2, a product number D3, and a version D4. This type of information is information that is generated when the equipment 1 is manufactured, and does not need to be prepared specifically for the manufacturing channel CHa. Usually, duplication is prohibited by the product number D3. When channel information of such a format is set in each equipment device 1 at the time of manufacture, the setting at the time of construction becomes unnecessary in a system that does not require the construction channel information CHb and the operation channel information CHc. In addition to the above information, the manufacturing channel information CHa may use the type of equipment, the name of the product, the use of the equipment, the order number generated according to the specified rule, a random number, and the like.

  In the above example, it is assumed that the header HD has a fixed length, but the header HD may have a variable length. Also, as shown in FIG. 6, headers HD of various formats may be used, and type information TY indicating the format type may be added to the header HD. The type information TY represents a type in which the manufacturing channel information CHa, the construction channel information CHb, and the operation channel information CHc have different bit lengths. It is also possible to use a header HD that does not have the operation channel information CHc as in the example in which the type information TY is (D). That is, when a part of the information holding units 11a, 11b, and 11c is omitted, the corresponding partial channel information is also omitted in the header HD. In FIG. 6, the entire bit length of the header HD is fixed. However, if the type information TY is added to the head or the bit length of the header HD is included, the total bit length of the header HD is changed. A variable length is also possible. In this case, the size of the channel information holding unit 11 is also set according to the bit length of the header HD.

  When the type information TY is included in the header HD, the type information TY is also information for distinguishing channels. Therefore, when the channel management apparatus 2 verifies channel duplication, the type information TY is also verified.

  In the management server device 2a, in addition to the manufacturing channel information CHa in the header HD, the time when the manufacturing channel information CHa is issued using the management server operating device 2d can be managed. If the issuance time is registered in the management server apparatus 2a together with the manufacturing channel information CHa, and the issuance time is also verified when verifying duplication of the manufacturing channel information CHa, the management server operating apparatus 2d can generate new production channel information CHa. Is input to the management server device 2a, even if the same manufacturing channel information CHa is stored in the channel storage unit 21, it is registered normally if the time at the time of registration is different. The time is counted in the management server device 2a. In the management server device 2a, the time is used for verification of duplication of channel information, but is not used as a component of the header HD.

  In each configuration example described above, there is one system constructed by the equipment 1, but in the following, as shown in FIG. 7, a plurality (two in the illustrated example) of systems Sya and SYb are provided. In addition, each system SYa, SYb has the equipment information 1 having the same channel information (for example, [(crime) :( entrance) :( 1)]), and both systems SYa, SYb are integrated. Each system SYa, SYb is a communication network 3 in which an integrated channel master device 2e as a channel monitoring device 2 is connected via gateway devices 5a, 5b each incorporating a function of the channel master device 2c. In other words, the facility equipment 1 is not directly connected to the integrated network 3c to which the integrated channel master device 2e is connected, but is connected to the integrated network 3c. The home network 3b, which is the communication network 3 of the systems SYa and SYb, which are subsystems, is connected via the gateway devices 5a and 5b. This is effective for separating the network 3 into a plurality of systems.

  In the systems SYa and SYb, the cooperative operation is possible based on the channel information given to the equipment device 1, and different channel information is given to the equipment device 1 that does not operate cooperatively. However, in different systems SYa and SYb, the same channel information may be given regardless of whether or not the cooperative operation is performed. If the systems SYa and SYb are independent, the equipment device 1 does not operate cooperatively in different systems SYa and SYb even if the same channel information is given, but as described above, via the gateway devices 5a and 5b. If the two systems SYa and SYb are communicable, the unintentional equipment 1 included in the different systems SYa and SYb may operate in cooperation.

  For example, in FIG. 7, when the second terminal device 1 from the left of the system SYb transmits a command and tries to operate the third terminal device 1 from the left of the system SYb, the terminal device at the right end of the system SYa 1 may collaborate. Here, the communication using the channel 4 is such that the establishment of the communication can be confirmed by returning a response to the equipment device 1 that transmitted the command, and the terminal device 1 that operates in cooperation as described above is different. Since the unscheduled response is sent back, the equipment device 1 that has transmitted the command can detect the abnormality of the cooperative operation by monitoring the response.

  Therefore, in order not to cause this type of malfunction, the integrated channel master device 2e is provided with a DHCP function for issuing an IP address so that the issued IP address can be used as partial channel information. That is, since the equipment 1 that has transmitted the command detects an abnormality in the response, the equipment 1 notifies the gateway device 5b that the abnormality has been received. The gateway device 5b that has been notified of the abnormal response notifies the integrated channel master device 2e.

  Here, the integrated channel master device 2e and the gateway devices 5a and 5b can communicate with each other via a common communication channel, and the general channel master 2e that receives the notification of the abnormal response from the gateway device 5b The gateway devices 5a and 5b are requested to perform channel discovery of the equipment device 1. Each gateway device 5a, 5b (that is, channel master device 2c) has a channel discovery function for the equipment 1 in each system SYa, SYb, and the integrated channel master device 2e only inquires the gateway devices 5a, 5b. Thus, the channel information of the equipment 1 included in each system SYa, SYb can be acquired.

  In the integrated channel master device 2e, when the matching channel information is acquired from the different gateway devices 5a and 5b (when the manufacturing channel information CHa, the construction channel information CHb, and the operation channel information CHc match), the integrated channel master device 2e uses the DHCP function to issue different IP addresses to the gateway devices 5a and 5b. This IP address is transmitted to the gateway devices 5a and 5b, and the channel information is requested to be updated.

  On the other hand, in the gateway devices 5a and 5b requested to update the channel information from the integrated channel master device 2e, the IP address is used as partial channel information, and the partial channel information is stored in the channel information holding unit 11 of each equipment device 1. If the IP address is used for the partial channel information, the number of bits increases. Therefore, in the integrated channel master device 2e or the gateway devices 5a and 5b, the IP address is converted into another partial channel information such as an order number or a random number according to the rules. May be.

  Now, it is assumed that channel information [[crime prevention] :( entrance) :( 1)] is set in the channel information holding unit 11 of the equipment 1 provided in each system SYa, SYb, and each gateway device 5a, 5b. Assuming that (00.00.0B) and (00.00.0C) are generated as partial channel information, each facility device 1 has [(crime) :( entrance) :( 1) :( 00 .0.0B)] and [(crime prevention) :( entrance) :( 1) :( 00.00.0C)] are set. In this way, even if a plurality of systems SYa and SYb are integrated, it is possible to prevent inconvenience that the respective equipment devices 1 operate in cooperation between different systems SYa and SYb.

  The header HD using this channel information is as shown in FIG. That is, separated channel information DH based on the IP address is added in addition to manufacturing channel information CHa, construction channel information CHb, and operation channel information CHc.

  In the configuration example described above, a different channel management device 2 (management server device 2a, construction channel management device 2b, each partial information holding unit 11a, 11b, 11c provided in the channel information holding unit 11 of the equipment device 1 is provided. The channel master device 2c) is used to store partial channel information (manufacturing channel information CHa, construction channel information CHb, operation channel information CHc), but one channel for a plurality of partial information holding units 11a, 11b, and 11c. It is also possible to use the management device 2. For example, the construction channel management device 2b may be omitted, and the construction channel information CHb may be stored in the construction information holding unit 11b by the channel master device 2c.

  Further, if the channel information holding unit 11 has at least one information holding unit, it is possible to access the equipment device 1 in the hierarchy, and for example, equipment that stores only the manufacturing channel information CHa. The device 1 can perform broadcast communication using the manufacturing channel information CHa. Therefore, when the communication network 3 of the equipment 1 includes the wide area network 3a, notification by broadcast communication is possible for each layer of the partial channel information through the wide area network 3a. For example, this function can be used when updating firmware. In the above configuration example, it is assumed that the communication network 3 is wired, but the technical idea of the present invention can be applied even if the communication network 3 is wireless.

It is a block diagram which shows embodiment. It is a system block diagram same as the above. It is a figure which shows an example of the transmission format used for the same as the above. It is operation | movement explanatory drawing which shows the communication procedure of the channel master apparatus and installation apparatus in the same as the above. It is a figure which shows the structural example of the manufacture channel information used for the same as the above. It is a figure which shows the structural example of the header of the transmission format used for the same as the above. It is another system block diagram same as the above. It is a figure which shows an example of the transmission format used for the system of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Facility apparatus 2 Channel management apparatus 2a Management server apparatus 2b Construction channel management apparatus 2c Channel master apparatus 2d Management server operation apparatus 2e Integrated channel master apparatus 3 Communication network 3a Wide area network 3b Home network 4 Channel 10 Equipment processing part 11 Channel information holding Section 11a Manufacturing information holding section 11b Construction information holding section 11c Operation information holding section 12 Function section 13 Equipment communication section 20 Channel issuing section 21 Channel storage section 22 Input section 23 Management communication section CHa Manufacturing channel information CHb Construction channel information CHc Operation channel information

Claims (12)

  It has a plurality of facility devices that operate in cooperation by communicating through channels formed in a communication network, and a channel management device that manages channel information of channels used by each facility device for communication. A channel information holding unit in which channel information for forming a channel is registered, and a device communication unit that communicates by a channel formed in a communication network using the channel information registered in the channel information holding unit. The management apparatus includes: a channel storage unit that stores channel information; a channel issuing unit that issues channel information that does not overlap with channel information stored in the channel storage unit when issuing new channel information; Having a management communication unit that communicates with equipment through the communication network when registering channel information in the information holding unit Channel management system of the equipment, characterized.   The channel issuing unit has a function of issuing manufacturing channel information specified by a manufacturer of the equipment in the manufacturing stage, and the channel information holding unit includes a manufacturing information holding unit in which the manufacturing channel information is registered so as not to be rewritten. The channel management system for facility equipment according to claim 1.   The channel issuing unit has a function of issuing construction channel information specified by a constructor of the equipment in the construction stage, and the channel information holding unit includes a construction information holding unit in which the construction channel information is registered so as to be rewritable. The channel management system for facility equipment according to claim 1 or 2.   The channel issuing unit has a function of issuing operation channel information specified by an operator of the equipment device at an operation stage, and the channel information holding unit includes an operation information holding unit in which the operation channel information is registered so as to be rewritable. The equipment channel management system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein   2. The channel management system for equipment according to claim 1, wherein the channel information holding unit includes a plurality of information holding units for storing partial channel information that is a part of the channel information.   6. The equipment channel management system according to claim 5, wherein the partial channel information represents a section of a specific range, and the specific range indicated by each partial channel information is hierarchized.   7. The equipment device channel management system according to claim 5, wherein each of the information holding units is capable of individually storing the partial channel information at different timings.   The number of the partial channel information constituting the channel information is variable, and at least one of the partial channel information has a variable length. Equipment management channel management system.   The channel issuing unit includes partial channel information on manufacturing channel information specified by the manufacturer of the equipment in the manufacturing stage, construction channel information specified by the installer in the construction stage, and operating channel information specified by the operator in the operation stage. The channel information holding unit has a manufacturing information holding unit in which manufacturing channel information is registered in an unrewritable manner, a construction information holding unit in which construction channel information is registered in a rewritable manner, and an operation channel information. An equipment information channel management system according to any one of claims 5 to 8, further comprising an operation information holding unit registered so as to be rewritable.   A plurality of the channel management devices are provided, and the channel issuing units that issue each partial channel information to be registered in each information holding unit are distributed in two or more channel management devices. The equipment management channel management system according to any one of claims 5 to 9.   6. The channel issuing unit automatically issues partial channel information that does not overlap each other according to a rule, and the partial channel information is stored in a part of the information holding unit. The equipment device channel management system according to any one of 10.   The channel issuing unit has a DHCP function for issuing an IP address to be assigned to the equipment, and a part of the information holding unit uses the IP address issued by the channel issuing unit as partial channel information. The channel management system for facility equipment according to any one of claims 5 to 10.

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