JP2010226223A - Communication apparatus and communication method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To achieve reliable information transmission even when a main power supply of a device to which information is notified, is not running in a communication system transmitting abnormality information relating to device failures and recalls. <P>SOLUTION: The communication apparatus includes: an information generation unit which detects abnormal states of the device and generates the abnormality information; a power supply state storage unit which stores the power supply state of another device which is a partner notified the abnormality information; an information type storage unit which stores abnormality information by types; a determining unit which determines the transmission method of the abnormality information from the power supply state and the abnormality information type; and a communication processing unit which transmits the abnormality information to the device of the notification partner using the transmission method. Because of this configuration, reliable information transmission and device control is performed while the power-saving ability of the device is considered. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&amp;INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a communication device and a communication method.

  Assume a system that transmits and receives information on the occurrence of device abnormality between devices or between a device and a server on the Internet, and finally provides a solution to the user. The abnormality information includes information related to a failure inside the device, error information due to a user's erroneous operation, recall information from a device manufacturer, and the like. In addition, the abnormality information should include log information for sending the operation history inside the device to a server on the Internet and predictive diagnosis of the device failure, and analysis information for presenting the analysis result of the log information to the user. And

  Patent Document 1 proposes a system for automatically starting up a television without user intervention and displaying emergency information when a gas abnormality occurs. Further, Patent Document 2 proposes a system that automatically registers information related to a failure on a server on the Internet without a user of an electric device performing work. However, in these conventional techniques, there is a problem that abnormality information to be notified and a power supply state regarding power saving of each device are not properly taken into consideration. Since there is a limit to the amount of information that can be recorded on devices such as DTV (Digital Television) in homes and white goods, it is desirable to notify other devices including servers on the Internet as soon as information is generated. When notifying information to the other device that has been disconnected from the main power source to save power, there is no need to urgently notify the other device until the partner main power source is activated as in the case of periodic log information. Regarding the transmission of information, it is not possible to cope with situations where processing is wasted or a dangerous situation occurs when the main power supply of the counterpart device is activated, such as a recall accident of white goods . Moreover, in the conventional technique, since it is necessary to continue operation until the transmission side succeeds in information transmission, it may be an inefficient process from the viewpoint of power saving.

  In addition, the conventional technology is based on the premise that a certain amount of power is continuously supplied to the communication processing unit, although the main power supply of the notification destination device is turned off. The information transmission means after reducing the standby power to the maximum is not considered, and there is a problem that the power consumption efficiency is poor. In Patent Document 3, a trigger signal generation device that receives a radio signal and generates a trigger signal for shifting the state of the device has been proposed. In a state where the main power source of the device is turned off, It is characterized by almost no standby power. However, the trigger signal generator itself cannot perform communication processing with other devices.

JP 2002-260133 A JP 2007-34840 A JP 2008-136175 A

  As described above, the prior art has a problem that the abnormality information to be notified and the power supply state regarding the power saving of each device are not properly taken into consideration. In addition, since it is assumed that the power is continuously supplied to the communication processing unit of the device in the prior art, the information transmission means after reducing the standby power of the device to the limit is not considered, and the power consumption There was a problem with inefficiency.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problem, and determines a method for transmitting abnormality information based on a power supply state of a counterpart device that notifies abnormality information and a notification priority of abnormality information. It is an object of the present invention to provide a communication device and a communication method that can realize reliable information transmission even when the power of a destination device to be transmitted is cut off.

  In order to solve the above problems, the present invention detects an abnormal state of a device and generates abnormal information, a power state storage unit that stores a power state of a device that is a notification partner of the abnormal information, An information type storage unit that stores the abnormality information for each type, a determination unit that determines a transmission method of the abnormality information from the power supply state and the type of the abnormality information, and the abnormality with respect to the notification counterpart device using the transmission method And a communication processing unit for transmitting information.

  According to the present invention, the determination method of the abnormality information is determined based on the power supply state of the partner device that notifies the abnormality information and the notification priority of the abnormality information, so that even when the power of the partner device is turned off Information transmission becomes possible.

The block diagram concerning the transmission system of abnormal information in a 1st embodiment. The table figure which shows the determination conditions of the write instruction determination part of a transmission side communication apparatus. The figure which shows operation | movement when the other party apparatus of notification of abnormality information is in a main power activation state. The figure which shows the operation | movement in case it is the abnormal information which requires the notification counterpart apparatus of abnormality information to operate | move only a communication adapter, and to require notification. The figure which shows operation | movement in case it is the abnormal information which the notification apparatus of abnormality information is operating only a communication adapter and does not require emergency for notification. The figure which shows operation | movement in case abnormal information is notified of abnormal information to the standby power 0 state. The operation | movement flowchart figure of a transmission side and a receiving side communication apparatus. The block diagram concerning the transmission system of abnormal information in a 2nd embodiment.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 shows a configuration of a communication system related to transmission of abnormality information in the present embodiment. DTVs and white goods each have a communication interface and can send and receive messages to and from other devices. Here, ECHONET (TM) exists as a communication standard for white goods such as refrigerators, washing machines, and air conditioners. By following the procedure of the ECHONET (TM) standard, it becomes possible to perform remote control, monitoring, cooperative operation, and the like of lighting and air conditioners via a network. Also, DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance) (TM) exists as a communication standard for AV (Audio Visual) home appliances such as DTV, PC (Personal Computer), HDD (Hard Disk Drive) recorder and the like. By complying with the DLNA (TM) standard, video content stored in an HDD recorder on a network can be streamed and played on a DTV. DLNA (TM) uses UPnP (TM) for transmission / reception of control system messages, and the UPnP (TM) has a basic framework for control commands between devices and notification of event information. It is impossible for DTV compatible with DLNA (TM) and white goods compatible with ECHONET (TM) to exchange messages directly, so different protocols called HGW (Home Gateway) are mutually converted. Gateway device is required. In FIG. 1A, for example, the user can control the white goods 102 such as a home lighting device and an air conditioner via the display screen of the DTV 101. In this case, the UPnP (TM) message transmitted from the DTV 101 is once received by the HGW 103, and after the protocol information is analyzed and converted into an ECHONET (TM) message, the corresponding white goods 102 are notified. Perform the process.

  In the present embodiment, a system is assumed in which information related to the occurrence of an abnormality in an apparatus is transmitted between the apparatuses or between the apparatus and a server on the Internet, and a solution means for the abnormality is presented to the user. Therefore, the configuration of the communication system shown in FIG. When the white goods (for example, washing machine) 102 detects an abnormality in the device, the abnormality information is notified to the HGW 103. The HGW 103 notifies the ASP (Application Service Provider) server 104 on the Internet using either means of transmitting abnormal information after accumulating information for a certain period, or transmitting abnormal information immediately when an event occurs. . On the ASP server 104 side, the abnormality type included in the abnormality information transmitted from the HGW 103 is analyzed, and analysis processing is performed to determine whether an abnormality has occurred due to a component failure of the device or an abnormality has occurred due to an erroneous operation by the user. The analysis information that is the analysis result of the server is transmitted from the ASP server 104 to the HGW 103 by any means that the HGW 103 makes an inquiry at regular intervals or notifies the ASP server 104 to the HGW 103 side. Based on the received analysis information, the HGW 103 displays detailed analysis result information on the DTV 101, for example, and presents a solution to the user to the abnormality. In this case, a URL (Uniform Resource Locator) may be presented as a public resource on the Internet, and detailed information may be displayed on a Web browser. When notifying the recall information, the HGW 103 directly notifies the corresponding device, and notifies the user that the device has a problem through blinking of the LED lamp of the device, ringing of the buzzer, or the like. Furthermore, an application in which the operation log information of the device is analyzed on the ASP server 104 side and used for predictive failure diagnosis may be considered. Also in this case, transmission of analysis information from the ASP server to the HGW and notification to a display device such as a DTV can be similarly performed.

  In this manner, by transmitting / receiving device abnormality information, operation log information, and recall information between devices or between a device and a server on the Internet, it is possible to contribute to improving the quality of home appliances. However, there are many devices such as a DTV that start up only when used. In a scene where the power of the device to which information is transmitted is cut off, it is impossible to carry out the information transmission described above. In view of such problems, by applying the means of this embodiment, the device on the abnormal information transmission side transmits the abnormal information based on the power status of the counterpart device that notifies the information and the notification priority of the abnormal information. By determining the method, it is possible to reliably transmit information even when the power of the counterpart device is turned off. Details regarding the present embodiment will be described using an apparatus configuration, a communication sequence, and an operation flowchart.

  FIG. 1B is a block diagram illustrating the transmission-side communication apparatus 110 according to the present embodiment. The transmission side communication device 110 includes an information generation unit 111, an information type storage unit 112, a power state storage unit 113, a determination unit 114, a protocol processing unit 115, a write instruction unit 117, an activation instruction unit 116, a communication unit 118, a first unit. A communication processing unit 118a and a second communication processing unit 118b are provided. When the transmission-side communication device 110 is a DTV or a white household electrical appliance, the information generation unit 11 detects an error due to a component failure inside the device or a user's erroneous operation, and generates abnormality information. In addition, the operation status of the device is periodically acquired to generate log information. On the other hand, when the communication device 110 on the transmission side is an ASP server, analysis processing is performed based on the received abnormality information, and a solution method for the abnormality is generated as analysis information. Information for control is also generated. Furthermore, when the transmission side communication device 110 is an HGW, in addition to abnormality information including failures and errors of the HGW itself, abnormality information collected from DTV and white goods, and analysis information collected from the ASP server are generated. It becomes.

  The information type storage unit 112 stores the abnormality information generated by the information generation unit 111 for each type. For example, abnormality information is classified into three types: information that requires urgent notification (information A), information that does not require urgent notification (information B), and information that prohibits power activation (information C). The information A is, for example, a recall notification from an ASP server, abnormality information when an abnormality occurs in a home appliance, or the like. In addition, analysis information that is analyzed and generated based on abnormality information is also preferably classified as information A when it is necessary to urgently deal with such as failure repair. As information B, if there is no problem even if the corresponding timing is postponed after a certain time, such as log information of each device that is periodically collected by the device and notified to the ASP server via the HGW, the information B It is desirable to classify. The information C is used to forcibly stop the use of the corresponding home appliance when a recall that requires a thorough response that leads to a serious accident occurs. The association between the abnormality information and the type need not be limited to the above-described ones, and can be applied to a method in which the abnormality information transmission-side communication apparatus 110 determines according to the situation.

  The power supply status storage unit 113 stores the power supply status of the counterpart device that should be notified of the abnormality information. In the present embodiment, the power state is classified into three types of states: main power start, only communication adapter start, and standby power 0 state. In the case of main power activation, in addition to communication protocol processing by UPnP (TM) or ECHONET (TM), analysis processing by the information generation unit 111 can be executed. When only the communication adapter is activated, for example, only wired communication processing according to IEEE802.3 and wireless communication processing according to IEEE802.11 can be basically performed, and the main functions of the device including the OS (Operating System) are in a sleep state. Thus, it is impossible to perform complicated protocol processing and application processing. The protocol processing in the present invention means message communication processing by UPnP (TM) or ECHONET (TM). Even when only the communication adapter is activated, it is possible to send and receive information. However, it is assumed that a receiving device in which only the communication adapter is activated cannot analyze complicated message information such as an XML (eXtensible Markup Language) document in UPnP (TM). In the standby power 0 state, as in the system disclosed in Patent Document 3, only a trigger device that receives a specific signal and generates a trigger signal for shifting the state of the device is operating. Is almost negligible, but it is impossible to carry out the transmission procedure by the above-described wired communication processing by IEEE802.3 or wireless communication processing by IEEE802.11. The main power supply is also being disconnected. For example, in the case of communication by UPnP (TM), the method for acquiring the power status of another device can be realized by adding the power status to the end message of the device. In the case of communication using ECHONET (TM), information related to the power supply state of the main unit can be acquired from the communication adapter unit by using a message related to operation state acquisition. In addition, there is a method of notifying between the HGW and the ASP server by using message transmission / reception by HTTP (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol).

  The determination unit 114 determines an abnormality information transmission method from the information of the information type storage unit 112 and the power supply state storage unit 113. Here, FIG. 2 shows a determination table used by the determination unit 114 of the transmission side communication device 110. The information transmission method is uniquely determined from the information in the power state storage unit and the information in the information type storage unit. Each transmission method in FIG. 2 will be described later with reference to FIGS.

  The protocol processing unit 115 transmits abnormality information by generating and transmitting a protocol message by UPnP (TM) or ECHONET (TM). The write instructing unit 117 generates a message for instructing recording of the abnormality information in the nonvolatile storage unit when the main power of the partner device for notifying the abnormality information is cut off and only the communication adapter is activated. Send. The message instructing recording to the non-volatile storage unit is composed of fixed information elements and does not require analysis of complicated contents, and therefore, intervention of the protocol processing unit is unnecessary. The counterpart device only records the error information received via the communication adapter without activating the main power supply of the device.When the main power source is activated by a user operation or when the main power source is activated at regular intervals, Perform acquisition and protocol processing, or application processing. The activation instruction unit 116 generates and transmits a specific signal as in the system disclosed in Patent Document 3, and performs control to shift the state of the counterpart device. That is, in the counterpart device, a first communication processing unit that receives a specific signal and generates a trigger signal, and a second communication processing unit that performs transmission control by wired communication processing by IEEE802.3 or wireless communication processing by IEEE802.11. The transmission side communication device 110 is configured to activate the second communication processing unit of the counterpart device when the counterpart device is in the standby power 0 state (both the main power supply and the second communication processing unit are in a sleep state). Is transmitted to the first communication processing unit of the counterpart device. The first communication processing unit and the second communication processing unit do not necessarily have to be physically separated elements, and the operation state in one communication processing unit is “transmission / reception enabled state” “trigger signal only reception enabled state”. In addition, a method of configuring the communication unit is also conceivable.

  The first communication processing unit 118a of the transmission-side communication device 110 communicates with the first communication processing unit of the counterpart device. That is, when a specific signal is received, the specific signal is generated and transmitted to the communication processing unit that generates a trigger for changing the state of the device. The first communication processing unit 118a may perform wireless signal transmission or wired signal transmission. The second communication processing unit 118b performs wired communication processing according to IEEE802.3 and wireless communication processing according to IEEE802.11. That is, abnormal message transmission / reception is performed via the second communication processing unit 118b. However, it is not limited to IEEE802.3 or IEEE802.11, and it goes without saying that other communication means such as FDDI (Fiber Distributed Data Interface) may be used. The first communication processing unit 118 a and the second communication processing unit 118 b are controlled by the communication unit 118. Specifically, the first communication processing unit 118a is selected and transmitted when transmitting abnormal information or an abnormal information writing instruction request, and the second communication processing unit 118b is selected when transmitting an activation instruction message of the counterpart device. Then send.

  FIG. 1C is a block diagram showing the receiving side communication apparatus 120 according to the present embodiment. The receiving communication device 120 includes an information processing unit 121, a protocol processing unit 122, a nonvolatile storage unit 123, a write control unit 124, a main power control unit 125, a communication unit 126, a first communication processing unit 126a, and a second communication process. Part 126b. When the information processing unit 121 receives a recall notification, abnormality information, analysis information, periodic log, or information prohibiting power activation received from the transmission-side communication device 120, the information processing unit 121 performs processing corresponding to each information. That is, when abnormality information is received, analysis processing is performed. When the analysis information is received, for example, if the DTV is the receiving-side communication device 120, processing for displaying the analysis result on the screen is performed. If a periodic log is received, the log information is analyzed and a failure diagnosis is performed. When the information prohibiting the power activation is received, the main power supply disconnection process is started.

  The protocol processing unit 122 performs generation, analysis, and transmission / reception processing of protocol messages by UPnP (TM), ECHONET (TM), and the like, as with the transmission-side communication device 120. The nonvolatile storage unit is realized by, for example, a NAND flash memory. The writing control unit 124 records a protocol message including abnormality information in the nonvolatile storage unit 123 according to an instruction from the transmission-side communication device 120. Since the writing control unit does not perform complicated protocol processing, the content analysis is not performed and only the processing for recording the received message is performed. The main power supply control unit 125 performs processing for starting the main power supply of the device when information including a specific pattern is received, and is realized by, for example, magic packet reception processing by WoL (Wake on LAN). In the present embodiment, the processing by the write control unit 124 and the main power supply control unit 125 can be handled as processing inside the communication adapter and can be performed when the power supply of the communication adapter is activated. The communication unit 126 includes a first communication processing unit 126a and a second communication processing unit 126b. The first communication processing unit 126a operates as the communication unit 126 that generates a trigger signal for changing the state of the device when a specific signal is received. Specifically, control is performed such as starting the power supply of the second communication processing unit 126b that operates as the communication adapter 120a and starting the main power supply of the device main body. The first communication processing unit 126a may use either wireless signal reception or wired signal reception. The second communication processing unit 126b performs wired communication processing according to IEEE802.3 and wireless communication processing according to IEEE802.11, and performs transmission / reception processing of protocol messages including abnormality information. As in the case of the transmission side communication device 110, it is needless to say that not only IEEE802.3 and IEEE802.11 but also other communication methods such as FDDI may be used. In addition, the first communication processing unit and the second communication processing unit do not necessarily need to be physically separated. As described above, one communication processing unit is in a “transmission / reception enabled state” or “a trigger signal can only be received”. It is also possible to operate in a plurality of states. In the present embodiment, the standby power 0 state indicates a state in which only the first communication processing unit 126a is operating. The state in which only the communication adapter is activated means that the communication unit 126 including the first communication processing unit 126a and the second communication processing unit 126b, the write control unit 124, the nonvolatile storage unit 123, and the main power supply control unit 125 are operated. It shows the state. The main power activation state is a state in which main functions such as an information processing unit and a protocol processing unit are in operation and an analysis process for the received abnormality information can be executed.

  With reference to FIG. 3, a basic operation sequence and a communication message configuration in a state in which the main power source of the partner apparatus for notifying abnormality information is activated will be described. This state corresponds to the case where the power supply state of the counterpart device in FIG. 2 is main power activation and the types of abnormality information are information A and information B. FIG. 3A shows a scene in which abnormality information is transmitted from the HGW to the DTV. For example, in the white goods illustrated in FIG. 1, when an error due to a user's erroneous operation or a failure occurs in a device part, the white goods transmit information to the ASP server or DTV via the HGW. Here, the abnormality information in FIG. 3 (a) is handled in a broad sense including information indicating an abnormal state occurring in the device (error or component failure), recall notification from the ASP server, analysis information, and the like. To do. Assuming an example in which a communication procedure defined in the UPnP (TM) standard is followed, a method of transmitting an event registration message for allowing the DTV to transmit event information when an event occurs is first considered. After the event registration message is received by the HGW, when abnormality information (error or malfunction abnormality information, analysis information, recall notification, etc.) occurs, abnormality information transmission processing is performed. In transmitting abnormal information, information is usually transmitted to a plurality of devices waiting to receive the same type of event information by an IP (Internet Protocol) multicast transmission method. In addition, a method of transmitting a control request message from the HGW to the DTV by IP unicast and transmitting information for each individual device may be considered. Similarly, in the case of the ECHONET (TM) standard, implementation forms such as broadcast-based information transmission and unicast-based information acquisition can be applied. In FIG. 3A, after receiving the abnormality information from the HGW, the DTV analyzes the information and performs display processing on the screen as necessary. In FIG. 3A, the abnormality information is transmitted from the HGW to the DTV. However, in the reverse direction, the abnormality information is transmitted from the DTV to the HGW. The same procedure can be used in the situation of transmitting (applicable). When the HGW receives the abnormality information, it transmits information to the ASP server. Furthermore, although it is not the transmission of abnormal information, the same procedure can be applied when notifying a control command (starting of an air conditioner or lighting of an illumination) for a white goods from the DTV.

  FIGS. 3B and 3C show the configuration of a communication message including abnormality information in this embodiment. Although the basic configuration is the same, FIG. 3B is a message including abnormality information due to an error or component failure and analysis information for the abnormality, and FIG. 3C is a message including log information periodically acquired by the device. In FIG. 3B, the communication message is composed of a TCP / IP (Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol) header part and a protocol message part. Actually, when transmitting over a network, physical layer propagation is performed after adding a MAC (Medium Access Control) header part in IEEE802.3, IEEE802.11, etc., but in the description of this embodiment, Will not be described. In the case of the UPnP (TM) standard, the protocol message of FIG. 3B is realized by a structured document by an XML (eXtensible Markup Language) document. A protocol message (XML document) indicating abnormality information in the present embodiment includes information such as a manufacturer ID (IDentifier), a product ID, a manufacturing number, an abnormality ID, an abnormality message, an analysis ID, and an analysis message. The manufacturer ID, product ID, and production number indicate the device type. The manufacturer ID is information for uniquely identifying a device manufacturing company. The product ID is information for identifying the product form of a device such as a DTV, an air conditioner, or an HGW. The production number is a series of numbers given to the products to be shipped, and a unique number is assigned to each product. It is used for the purpose of managing the owner on the manufacturer side and preventing impersonation of the product. It is also used as a reference when problems such as recall occur. The abnormality ID and the abnormality message indicate an abnormality type. The abnormality ID is used to specify an error code determined for each manufacturer. The abnormal message is composed of character information such as information related to a component failure of the device. The analysis ID and the analysis message indicate the analysis type. The analysis ID is an identification code that defines a diagnosis result for an abnormality for each manufacturer. For example, in the case of abnormality information related to the occurrence of equipment failure, analysis result information such as whether the equipment can be used continuously or whether it is necessary to contact the support center corresponds. The analysis message is information about the analysis ID configured by text information, and includes, for example, analysis information displayed on the DTV, URL (Uniform Resource Locator) information to a Web server for browsing more detailed information, and the like. It is. The information regarding the abnormality type and the information regarding the analysis type may be combined to form one communication message, or one of them may be omitted. In the case of communication based on the UPnP (TM) standard, variable length messages can be used using XML. However, in the case of performing communication based on the ECHONET (TM) standard, a message configuration composed of fixed-length fields is used. May be. FIG. 3C shows a communication message including log information periodically acquired by the device, and is composed of a log ID for identifying a log level determined for each manufacturer and character information of the log message. The Considering that the device stores a plurality of log information, a plurality of log IDs and log messages in FIG. 3C can be included. Information regarding the device type has the same meaning in FIGS. 3B and 3C.

  With reference to FIG. 4, a description will be given of an operation sequence and a communication message that require urgent notification when the main power source of the partner device for abnormality information is in a sleep state and only the communication adapter is activated. In this case, only the communication adapter is activated in the partner device power state in FIG. It is desirable to promptly notify the user of abnormal information with high urgency such as recall and equipment component failure. However, in actual operation, there are few situations where all devices are always in the main power supply operating state. If the main power supply is activated, main processing such as application processing and protocol processing can be performed. However, more power consumption is required. Therefore, a method is effective in which only the communication adapter is operated, the main power supply of the device is activated as necessary, and then abnormality information is notified. As a means for realizing this, WoL technology can be cited. WoL is a technology for remotely operating power control (main power supply activation, main power disconnection) of a computer connected to a computer network. When the communication adapter is supplied with the minimum necessary power and receives a communication message including a specific pattern, the main power supply is activated or disconnected.

  FIG. 4A shows an operation sequence in the case where the main power supply of the partner device for notifying abnormality information is cut off and urgent notification is required. In the upper part of FIG. 4A, as in the case of FIG. 3A, the event message is transmitted from the HGW while the main power source of the DTV that is the notification partner device is activated. Thereafter, when the main power supply of the DTV is turned off by the user's operation, an end notification is transmitted before the disconnection process is completed. When performing communication according to the UPnP (TM) standard, a message notifying that a device is absent from the network is realized by IP multicast with a plurality of devices as destination targets. At this time, it is desirable to add more detailed information regarding the power supply state to the protocol message. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 4A, in addition to the state where the main power supply is sleeping and only the communication adapter is operating, details will be described later, but in this embodiment, communication with the main power supply is performed. Since there is a state where both adapters sleep and wait only for a specific trigger signal, it is useful to add power supply state information to distinguish these. In FIG. 4A, the HGW that has received the end notification message from the DTV updates the information in the power supply state storage unit and stores the state of the DTV as the operating state only for the communication adapter. As described above, the end notification message may be realized based on IP multicast, but a method of notifying information by IP unicast for each device may be used as a control message.

  In FIG. 4A, when abnormality information occurs on the HGW after the main power of the DTV is turned off, the determination unit 114 performs determination processing based on information in the information type storage unit 112 and the power state storage unit 113. The HGW generates and transmits a message for instructing the DTV communication adapter to start the main power supply. FIG. 4B shows the structure of a WoL magic packet as an example of a communication message for starting the main power supply of the counterpart device. The WoL magic packet includes a UDP / IP (User Datagram Protocol / Internet Protocol) header part, a synchronization identifier, and an activation device MAC address. The communication adapter 120a of the receiving-side communication device 120 with the main power turned off performs communication message reception processing, and determines whether or not there is a synchronization identifier composed of a specific sequence for WoL control included in the message. To analyze. When the synchronization identifier does not exist, processing relating to power control is not performed. When the identifier for synchronization is recognized, the MAC address of the communication adapter to be controlled is continuously added for a specific number of times following the identifier. Even when the MAC address of the communication adapter does not match the activation device MAC address, the processing related to power control is not performed. Here, the MAC address of the communication adapter indicates the MAC address of the second communication processing unit 126b. When the communication adapter recognizes the activation device MAC address that matches its own MAC address following the synchronization identifier, the main power supply activation process is started. In FIG. 4A, the DTV whose main power source is activated performs event registration processing for receiving an event notification message to the HGW. On the HGW side, since the abnormal information to be notified is accumulated at that time, an event notification message is immediately transmitted. The DTV that has received the abnormality information performs display on the screen after performing the information analysis processing, as in the embodiment in FIG. As described above, the notification of the abnormality information may use an IP multicast based transmission method when an event occurs, or may use a method of transmitting a control message to each device on an IP unicast basis. Similarly, in the case of the ECHONET (TM) standard, implementation forms such as broadcast-based information transmission and unicast-based information acquisition can be applied. In addition, when an end notification message transmitted before the DTV disconnects the main power source is discarded due to an error on the transmission path, or when the DTV power source is unexpectedly disconnected due to a power failure or the like, the power source grasped by the transmitting communication device If the protocol message transmission fails because the status and the actual power status cannot be matched, the power status of the counterpart device is regarded as the standby power 0 status in which only the power saving adapter is operating. It is desirable to carry out processing.

  FIG. 5 shows a configuration of an operation sequence and a communication message in a case where information that does not require urgent notification is transmitted in a state where the main power source of the counterpart device of the abnormality information is sleeping and only the communication adapter is operating. ing. Log information related to the operating state of the device, error analysis information caused by an erroneous operation by the user, and the like are considered to be information that does not need to be notified until the main power source of the notification destination device is activated. Here, there is a problem that a dangerous situation exists when the main power supply of the counterpart device is activated like a recall of white goods. In addition, since the transmission side continues to store information until information transmission is successful, and in some cases retransmission is continued, there is a problem of inefficiency from the viewpoint of information storage reliability and power saving. Conceivable. Therefore, the determination unit 114 of the transmission-side communication device 110 according to the present embodiment determines that the partner device power supply state is the state in which only the communication adapter is activated and the type of abnormality information is information B or information C. Without starting the main power supply of the device, a message for instructing to write information to the nonvolatile storage unit 123 inside the receiving communication device 120 is generated and transmitted.

  FIG. 5A shows an operation sequence in the case of instructing information writing to the nonvolatile storage unit 123 without starting the main power supply of the counterpart device. As in the case of the main power supply start instruction to the counterpart device in FIG. 4A, the transmitting-side communication device 110 recognizes that the power status of the counterpart device changes together with the reception of the end notification message, and stores the power status storage. The information in the unit 113 is updated. The power state storage unit 113 stores a device identifier such as a MAC address and power state information in association with each other. After that, if abnormal information such as log information that does not require urgent notification or information that prohibits the main power supply of the other device from being generated (or received from another device), an information write request message is generated. Send. FIG. 5B shows the structure of the information write request message. The information write request message includes a UDP / IP header, a synchronization identifier, an information write request identifier, and a protocol message. The UDP / IP header and the synchronization identifier are handled in the same manner as the WoL magic packet in FIG. That is, after receiving the synchronization identifier in the receiving-side communication device 120 in a state where the main power supply is sleeping and only the communication adapter is operating, whether or not the device is a device to be written is determined as the information write request identifier. When the determination is made based on the information and the device is recognized as the corresponding device, the subsequent protocol message is recorded in the nonvolatile storage unit 123. The information write identifier is a target device that records information in the WoL magic packet of FIG. 4B, as in the method of adding a start device MAC address for a specific number of times to identify a target device for main power supply start. It may be realized by a method of consecutive MAC addresses in order to identify After recognizing the information write request identifier, the communication adapter 120a performs control to write a protocol message following the information in the nonvolatile storage unit 123. By specifying the MAC broadcast address as the information write identifier, it is possible to record information on all the receiving side communication devices on the same network. In order to write information, the nonvolatile storage unit 123 and the write control unit 124 in the communication adapter of the receiving-side communication device 120 shown in FIG. It is necessary to become. However, the non-volatile storage unit 123 and the write control unit 124 are not necessarily built in the communication adapter, and are recorded based on the received information write request message when power is supplied and the operation is in progress. Implement the process. In the state where only the communication adapter is activated, the protocol processor of the receiving communication device has stopped operating, so the protocol message content analysis processing is not performed.

  FIG. 5C shows the configuration of an information write confirmation message returned from the receiving side communication device 120 to the transmitting side communication device 110 after the abnormal information is written in the nonvolatile storage unit 123. The information write confirmation message is composed of a UDP / IP header and an information write response identifier. The information write response identifier is used to identify that the message is an information write confirmation message. 5B and 5C, the write process may be managed using the sequence number, and the number information may be included in the information write request message and the information write confirmation message. When the transmission side communication device 120 receives the information write confirmation message, the communication unit 126 (second communication processing unit 126a), the nonvolatile storage unit 123, and the write control unit 124 of the notification destination device operate normally. It is possible to confirm that

  FIG. 6 shows an operation sequence and a communication message configuration at the time of information transmission when both the main power source of the notification partner device and the communication adapter are in a sleep state. This state is realized, for example, by a communication unit (power saving adapter) corresponding to a device that generates a trigger signal that changes the operation state of the device when a specific signal is received. In the state where the main power supply of the device is cut off and only the communication adapter is operating as shown in FIGS. 4A and 5A, the wired communication processing according to IEEE802.3 or IEEE802.11 is used. Although it is possible to perform wireless communication processing, it is necessary to always supply constant power to the communication adapter, and it cannot be said that the effect on power saving is necessarily high. Therefore, the power supply to the non-volatile storage unit 123, the write control unit 124, the main power supply control unit 125, and the second communication processing unit 126b that plays a central role in the communication processing is cut off in the communication adapter 120a shown in FIG. In this state, only the power saving adapter can receive a specific signal (wireless or wired). As a result, the device to which the abnormality information is notified shifts to extremely low standby power (hereinafter referred to as “standby power 0 state”), and the effect on power saving can be enhanced. However, in this state, the power-saving adapter cannot perform wired communication processing according to IEEE802.3 or wireless communication processing according to IEEE802.11. Only start control can be performed. Accordingly, in FIG. 1C, when the first communication processing unit 126a that operates as a power saving adapter detects a specific signal, the second communication processing unit 126b or the nonvolatile storage unit 123 that plays a central role in communication processing. Then, the activation processing for the write control unit 124 and the main power supply control unit 125 is performed. Alternatively, when the first communication processing unit 126a detects a specific signal, it performs control to automatically start the main power supply of the device in conjunction with the start of the communication adapter including the second communication processing unit 126b. Also good.

  FIG. 6A shows an operation sequence when both the main power source and the communication adapter of the notification partner device are in a sleep state. This state corresponds to the case where the power supply state of the counterpart device in FIG. Similar to the description so far related to the present embodiment, the case where information is notified from the HGW to the DTV will be described. However, the information notification from the DTV in the reverse direction to the HGW can be similarly performed. In FIG. 6A, the DTV shifts from the main power supply activation state to the standby power zero state in which only the power saving adapter is operated by a user operation. Alternatively, it may be possible to automatically shift to a standby power 0 state after a certain time has elapsed from a state in which only the communication adapter is operating instead of the main power supply activation state. In this case, when the user presses the power button of the remote controller on the device, the operation states may be associated with each other so that only the two states of the main power supply operating state and the standby power 0 state transition, or only the communication adapter. The three states including the operating state may be associated with each other so as to be sequentially changed by the operation of the remote controller. Alternatively, control may be performed so that the device automatically switches to the standby power 0 state after a certain period of time after the device is switched from the main power supply activation state to a state where only the communication adapter is operating. When performing communication using the UPnP (TM) standard, when the power state of the DTV is switched, power state information is added to the end notification message and transmitted. In the case of FIG. 6 (a), it is notified that the standby power is shifted to the zero state. When performing communication using the ECHONET (TM) standard, a method is conceivable in which the transmission-side communication apparatus 110 confirms the power supply state of the counterpart device at regular intervals without using an end notification message. The HGW that has received the end notification message updates information in the power state storage unit 113. After that, the HGW has a wide range of abnormality information including information A, B, and C, such as recall notification, abnormality information regarding errors and failures, analysis information for abnormality, periodic log information on devices, and information prohibiting power activation. If acquired, a message for starting the power supply of the second communication processing unit 126b responsible for the communication processing for the DTV is generated and transmitted to the first communication processing unit of the counterpart device.

  FIG. 6B shows a configuration of a second communication processing unit activation request message generated by the transmission side communication device. The second communication processing unit activation request message includes an activation code, a counterpart device identifier, and a transmission device identifier. The activation code is used to generate a trigger signal that changes the state of the device when the power saving adapter receives the activation code. For example, only the activation code is transmitted by the transmission-side communication device 110, and the reception-side communication device 120 performs main power control of the device along with signal reception. In the present embodiment as well, the second communication processing unit activation request message can be realized only by the activation code, but the partner device identifier for identifying the activation target device and the device that transmitted the activation message are identified. The power-saving adapter receives and processes such minimum information, and sends the information to the main unit and communication adapter that are powered on via the memory (volatile storage unit). A notification method may be used. When the second communication processing unit activation request message is realized only by the activation code unit, it is not possible to specify a device to be activated, so a broadcast-based notification is given. When information is included, unicast-based notification can be realized. The power saving adapter may be realized by a wireless signal or a wired signal. In FIG. 6A, the second communication processing unit activation request message is transmitted from the HGW to the DTV, and the reception of the message causes the first communication processing unit 126a operating as a power saving adapter to perform communication control. The start-up process of the second communication processing unit 126b serving as the subject is performed. Thereafter, the second communication processing unit 126b notifies that it has been activated by transmitting a second communication processing unit activation completion message in FIG. 6C. Since the first communication processing unit 126a operating as a power saving adapter basically performs only signal reception processing, the second communication processing unit 126b transmits the second communication processing unit activation completion message. The second communication processing unit activation completion message includes a UDP / IP header and an activation completion code. The activation completion code is an identifier uniquely determined to indicate that the message is a second communication processing unit activation completion message. Also, if the partner device identifier and the transmitting device identifier are included in the second communication processing unit activation request message shown in FIG. 6B, the second communication processing unit activation completion message in FIG. Although transmission on an IP unicast basis is possible, in other cases, transmission is performed on an IP broadcast (multicast) basis. After confirming that the communication adapter of the counterpart device has been activated, the HGW of the transmission-side communication device 110 can update the power supply state information regarding the destination device and transmit a protocol message. In FIG. 6A, after that, based on FIG. 4A and FIG. 5A, it is determined which method should be selected, and then information transmission processing is performed. That is, when the type of abnormality information is information A, the main power supply of the counterpart device is then activated in the same manner as the operation sequence of FIG. Further, when the type of the abnormality information is information B or information C, information is written to the nonvolatile storage unit 123 without starting the main power supply of the counterpart device thereafter, as in the operation sequence of FIG. Regarding the transmission of the protocol message, a communication procedure according to the UPnP (TM) standard or the ECHONET (TM) standard is carried out, and other main power supply start requests, information write request messages, information write confirmation messages, 2 Since the communication processing unit activation request message and the like are directly exchanged between the communication processing units, it is necessary for the communication processing unit itself to perform control according to the analysis content of such a message. When the standby power is in the 0 state, only the communication adapter is activated, and when the communication adapter is activated, the main power source is activated. In each case, a message indicating a change in the power state of the device is sent from the receiving communication device to the transmitting communication device. It is desirable to send to.

  FIG. 7A is an operation flowchart of the transmission side communication apparatus 110 according to the present embodiment. In FIG. 7A, the determination unit 114 of the transmission-side communication device 110 determines a method for transmitting abnormality information to the counterpart device based on the determination condition of FIG. The determination unit 114 selects the power state of the counterpart device (reception-side communication device 120) from the power state of each device stored in the power state storage unit 113 (S701). The determination unit 114 further selects the type of abnormality information to be notified from the abnormality information for each type stored in the information type storage unit 112. If the determination unit 114 determines that the power state is the main power supply activation state and the type of abnormality information is information A or information B (S702a), the determination unit 114 transmits abnormality information by protocol processing (S703). On the other hand, if it is determined that the type of abnormality information is information C (S702a), a main power-off instruction for the counterpart device is issued (S704). If the determination unit 114 determines that the power supply state is the state in which only the communication adapter is activated and the type of the abnormality information is information A (S702b), as illustrated in FIG. Abnormal information is transmitted by protocol processing (S705). On the other hand, if it is determined that the type of abnormality information is information B or information C (S702b), the main power supply of the counterpart device is not activated as shown in FIG. A message for instructing to write abnormality information to the unit 123 is transmitted (S706). In S706, the content analysis of the abnormality information, that is, the protocol processing is not performed in the counterpart device. If the determination unit 114 determines that the power state is the standby power 0 state and the abnormality information type is information A (S702c), the determination unit 114 instructs the activation of the communication adapter of the counterpart device as illustrated in FIG. In the same way as in FIG. 4, an instruction to start the main power supply of the counterpart device is sent and abnormality information is transmitted by protocol processing (S707). On the other hand, if it is determined that the type of the abnormality information is information B or information C (S702c), after instructing activation of the communication adapter of the counterpart device as shown in FIG. 6, the main power source of the counterpart device is turned on as in FIG. Without starting, a message for instructing the writing of abnormality information to the nonvolatile storage unit 123 inside the receiving communication device 120 is generated and transmitted (S708). In S708, the content analysis of the abnormality information, that is, the protocol processing is not performed in the counterpart device.

FIG. 7B is an operation flowchart of the receiving-side communication apparatus 120 according to this embodiment.
In FIG.7 (b), the receiving side communication apparatus 120 controls starting control and writing control from the power supply state of apparatus itself, and the classification of the received abnormality information. The information processing unit 121 performs processing corresponding to each information from the power supply state (S711) of the reception-side communication device 120 and the abnormality information received from the transmission-side communication device 110. If the power state is the main power source activation state and the type of the received abnormality information is information A or information B (S712a), the abnormality information by the protocol processing is received (S713). On the other hand, if the type of abnormality information is information C (S712a), the main power supply control unit 125 performs control so that the main power supply of the receiving-side communication device 120 is turned off (S714). Assuming that the power supply state is a state where only the communication adapter is activated and the type of the received abnormality information is information A (S712b), the main power supply control unit 125 performs control so that the main power supply is activated as shown in FIG. Then, the abnormality information by the protocol processing is received (S715). On the other hand, if the type of the received abnormality information is information B or information C (S712b), the abnormality information message is received and the writing control unit 124 has detected an abnormality in the volatile storage unit 123 as shown in FIG. Information writing processing is performed (S716). In S716, content analysis of the received message, that is, protocol processing is not performed. If the power state is the standby power 0 state and the type of abnormality information is information A (S712c), after starting the communication adapter 120a as shown in FIG. After controlling to activate the main power supply, it receives abnormality information by protocol processing (S717). On the other hand, if the type of abnormality information is information B or information C (S712c), after instructing activation of the communication adapter 120a as shown in FIG. 6, reception of abnormality information and write control are performed as in FIG. The abnormal information is written into the volatile storage unit 123 by the unit 124 "(S718). In S718, the content analysis of the received message, that is, the protocol processing is not performed.

  In the description of the operation example in this embodiment, the HGW is connected to the transmission side communication device 110 and the DTV as shown in FIGS. 3 (a), 4 (a), 5 (a), and 6 (a). Although the details have been described as the reception side communication device 120, in the implementation, each device has a configuration of both the transmission side communication device 110 in FIG. 1B and the reception side communication device 120 in FIG. 1C. It may be. For example, in addition to notifying abnormality information from the HGW to the DTV and white goods, the means described in the present embodiment is also used when notifying abnormality information from the DTV and white goods to the HGW. It is possible. As described above, according to the communication apparatus according to the first embodiment, the power of the partner device is cut off by determining the method of transmitting the abnormality information from the power state of the partner device that notifies the abnormality information and the type of the abnormality information. Even if it is done, reliable information transmission becomes possible.

(Second Embodiment)
The present embodiment relates to an ASP server on the Internet that distributes recall information and analyzes abnormality information, and an abnormality information transmission system including AV / white home appliances in the house. FIG. 8A shows an example of a basic operation sequence when the recall information is distributed. In FIG. 8A, when the recall information is transmitted from the ASP server to the HGW, the ASP server operates as the transmission side communication device 110 in FIG. 1B, and the HGW operates as the reception side communication device 120 in FIG. . When the recall information is transmitted from the HGW to the white goods, the HGW operates as the transmission side communication device 110 in FIG. 1B, and the white goods as the reception side communication device 120 in FIG. 1C. . In addition, the recall information in FIG. 8A is recall information that is highly urgent and leads to a serious accident, and together with the information notification to the user, the use of the corresponding home appliance is stopped.

  In FIG. 8A, when a white goods (for example, an air conditioner) is turned off by a user operation, end notification information is transmitted. In general, white home appliances perform communication processing according to the ECHONET (TM) standard, transmit state information on a broadcast (multicast) basis, and notify power state information. After receiving the end notification message from the white goods, the HGW updates the information in the power supply state storage unit. In FIG. 8A, the HGW confirms whether or not the latest information exists for the ASP server at regular intervals. At this time, a method using SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol) mainly using HTTP may be used. In FIG. 8A, the HGW acquires the recall information on the ASP server, and confirms that the corresponding device exists in the home managed by the HGW. Therefore, based on the acquired recall information, a process of notifying the relevant home appliance (white appliance in the example in the figure) is performed. For this reason, it is desirable for the HGW to store device information of DTV and white goods in the house. In the example of FIG. 8A, the white home appliance is in a state where the main power supply is sleeping and only the communication adapter is operating, and the type of abnormality information to be notified is information prohibiting the power activation of the counterpart device. Therefore, a message for instructing information recording to the non-volatile storage unit of the white goods is generated and transmitted.

  FIG. 8B is a diagram illustrating a communication message for transmitting the recall information transmitted by the ASP server. The recall information message includes a TCP / IP header and a protocol message. The protocol message includes a manufacturer ID, a product ID, a manufacturing number, a recall ID, a recall rank, and operation prohibition information. The manufacturer ID, product ID, and production number indicate the device type, and are used to specify the device in the same manner as in FIGS. The recall ID, recall rank, and operation prohibition information indicate the recall type. The recall ID is an identification code that is uniquely assigned every time a recall occurs. The recall rank indicates information related to safety and notification thoroughness. The operation prohibition information is used to forcibly stop the use of the device when it is dangerous to operate the device. For example, the operation prohibition is enabled in the valid state and the operation is permitted in the invalid state. Switch control. The operation prohibition information is indicated by a bit value, and is designated as a value of “1” in the valid state and a value of “0” in the invalid state. It goes without saying that negative logic may be used in addition to positive logic. In FIG. 8A, after the abnormality information in which the operation prohibition information is valid is recorded in the non-volatile storage unit of the white goods, the device is non-volatile during the start-up process when the user operates or starts up with a timer. When the information in the sexual storage unit is confirmed and it is confirmed that the abnormality information (protocol message) in which the operation prohibition information is valid is recorded, the operation is immediately prohibited and the main power supply is turned off.

  The present embodiment is not limited to the above-described configuration, and can be applied even when the components are modified in the implementation stage without departing from the scope of the invention. Various inventions can be formed by appropriately combining a plurality of constituent elements described in the above embodiments. Moreover, you may delete some components from all the components shown by embodiment. Furthermore, constituent elements over different embodiments may be appropriately combined. For example, as shown in FIG. 8C, the present embodiment is a communication between AV / white appliances (eg, home communication) centered on HGW-A, B, and C, HGWA, B, C, and an ASP server. It has been shown that it can be applied to communication between the two. Although FIG. (A) shows that the HGW is always in the power supply operating state, in reality, the HGW can be shifted to the sleep state, and status information is sent to the ASP server each time the power supply state transitions. Notification, power activation control from the ASP server via the Internet, and information writing to the nonvolatile storage unit may be performed. Further, the HGW exists as an independent device, and may be realized as a software program incorporated in a home appliance such as a DTV. In FIG. 8C, items 7 to 11 show an implementation form in which the HGW function is incorporated in the DTV as communication when not passing through the HGW device. In this case, the ASP server notifies the recall information and the analysis information on the abnormality to the DTV having the HGW function, and performs the notification from the DTV to the white goods or the display processing of the analysis result on its own screen. As shown in FIG. 8C, the present embodiment can be applied comprehensively in communication between devices and between a device and a server on the Internet. Also disclosed in the present invention is a system that transmits control instruction information such as a reservation operation in addition to abnormality information such as device failure and recall, and executes predetermined processing when the power of the device is activated. It is possible to apply the method.

  101: DTV, 102: White goods, 103: HGW, 104: ASP server, 110: Transmission side communication device, 111: Information generation unit, 112: Information type storage unit, 113: Power supply state storage unit, 114: Determination unit 115, 122: Protocol processing unit, 116: Activation instruction unit, 118: Communication unit, 120: Receiving side communication device, 121: Information processing unit, 123: Non-volatile storage unit, 124: Write control unit, 125: Main Power control unit, 126: communication unit

Claims (9)

An information generator for detecting an abnormal state of the device and generating abnormal information;
A power supply state storage unit that stores a power supply state of a device that is a notification partner of the abnormality information;
An information type storage unit for storing the abnormality information for each type;
A determination unit that determines a transmission method of the abnormality information from the power supply state and the type of the abnormality information;
A communication processing unit for transmitting the abnormality information to the notification counterpart device in the transmission method;
A communication apparatus comprising: The power state stored in the power state storage unit is classified into a main power source start state, a communication adapter only start state, and a standby power zero state.
The type of abnormality information stored in the information type storage unit is classified into information that requires urgent notification, information that does not require urgent notification, and information that prohibits power activation. The communication device described.   The communication apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a protocol processing unit that transmits a message of the abnormality information to the notification partner device by communication protocol control.   When the state of main power activation of the notification partner and the type of abnormality information is information prohibiting power activation, the protocol processing unit transmits the abnormality information by communication protocol control, and the main power of the partner device is The communication apparatus according to claim 3, wherein an instruction to disconnect is issued.   When only the communication partner communication adapter is activated and the abnormality information is information to be notified urgently, the abnormality information is transmitted after the protocol processing unit transmits an activation message for activating the main power supply of the partner device. 4. The communication apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the communication is transmitted by communication protocol control.   Further, in the case where only the communication adapter of the notification partner is activated, and information that should not be notified of the abnormality information urgently or information that prohibits power activation, an instruction message for causing the partner device to record the abnormality information is displayed. The communication apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising a writing instruction unit for transmitting. When both the main power supply and communication adapter of the notification partner are turned off and the abnormality information is to be notified urgently, a startup message for starting the power supply of the communication adapter of the counterpart device is transmitted. A start instruction unit;
4. The protocol processing unit transmits an activation message for activating a main power source of the counterpart device after the communication adapter of the counterpart device is activated, and transmits the abnormality information by communication protocol control. Communication equipment. When both the main power supply and the communication adapter of the notification partner are turned off and the abnormality information should not be urgently notified or the power activation is prohibited, the communication adapter power supply of the counterpart device is started. A start instruction unit for transmitting a start message for
4. The communication according to claim 3, further comprising a writing instruction unit that transmits an instruction message for recording the abnormality information in a nonvolatile storage unit of the counterpart device after the communication adapter of the counterpart device is activated. apparatus. Selecting a power supply state of a device to be notified of abnormality information from the power supply state stored in the power supply state storage unit;
The step of selecting the type of abnormality information to be notified from the type of abnormality information stored in the information type storage unit and the determination unit determine the transmission method of the abnormality information from the power supply state and the type of abnormality information A determining step;
A communication method, comprising: a transmission step in which the communication processing unit transmits the abnormality information to the notification counterpart device by the transmission method.

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