JP2011077713A - Device management system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a device management system that reduces traffic of communication with an area management device in a center server. <P>SOLUTION: A center server 4 comprises a measuring means 40 for measuring traffic of communication with an area unit 2, and a suppression means 41 for transmitting a suppression signal for limiting notification of event contents for the area unit 2 if a measurement result of the measuring means 40 exceeds a predetermined threshold. The area unit 2 comprises an event notification means 20 for notifying the center server 4 of the contents of the event if the event occurs within each subarea A, and a switching means 21 for switching an operation mode of the event notification means 20 from normal mode to suppression mode when receiving the suppression signal. The event notification means 20 spontaneously gives notification in an event drive system when an event occurs in the normal mode, and stops notification of a specific kind of event in the suppression mode. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  According to the present invention, a plurality of local management devices are arranged for each subarea, which is a small area obtained by dividing a predetermined management area into a plurality of areas, and communication is performed with the local management apparatus in each subarea. The present invention relates to an equipment management system comprising an area management device that performs at least one of monitoring and control of a local management device, and a center server that centrally manages information of all area management devices in a management area through communication with the area management device. It is.

  Conventionally, a plurality of terminal devices each connected to a device such as a lighting fixture and a local management device for managing (monitoring / controlling) the terminal devices by communicating with these terminal devices are provided. Various device management systems have been proposed.

  Furthermore, in recent years, information on all local management devices in the management area can be obtained by communication with the local management device so that the terminal device can be managed even when the terminal devices are scattered over a relatively wide management area. A large-scale device management system having a center server that centrally manages the devices has also been proposed. In this type of device management system, a plurality of terminal devices and local management devices are installed for each sub-area (building, park, hospital, etc.), which is a small area obtained by dividing a predetermined management area into a plurality of communication networks. (See, for example, Patent Document 1). In the device management system of Patent Document 1, an area management device (area unit) that integrally manages a plurality of local management devices provided in the same subarea is provided for each subarea.

  In the above-described device management system, the area management device and the center server are configured to be communicable via a network, and information can be exchanged between the local management device and the center server via the area management device. Become. In communication between the area management device and the center server, when an event related to monitoring or control of the local management device under the area management device occurs, the area management device sends the contents of the event to the center server. An event-driven system that notifies spontaneously is adopted.

JP 2009-60570 A

  However, in a large-scale device management system in which a large number of local management devices are distributed in a wide management area, the number of area management devices increases, and events occur simultaneously in multiple subareas. The communication traffic with the area management device in the center server also increases. For this reason, a communication error may occur between some area management apparatuses and the center server, so that there is a possibility that an important event requiring an immediate response such as an alarm cannot be notified.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above reasons, and an object thereof is to provide a device management system capable of reducing traffic of communication with an area management device in a center server.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, a plurality of local management devices are arranged for each sub-area, which is a small area obtained by dividing a predetermined management area into a plurality of areas, and a local management device is arranged for each sub-area in each sub-area. Management with an area management device that performs at least one of monitoring and control of the local management device by communication and a center server that centrally manages information of all area management devices in the management region by communication with the area management device A system in which a center server measures traffic for communication with an area management device, and when a measurement result of the measurement unit exceeds a predetermined threshold, a suppression signal is sent to at least one area management device. The area management device has an event related to monitoring or control of the local management device in each sub-area. The event notification means for notifying the center server of the contents of the event and the switching means for switching the operation mode of the event notification means from the normal mode to the suppression mode when the suppression signal is received. In the normal mode, when the event occurs, the means voluntarily notifies the event content in an event-driven manner, and in the suppression mode, the event-driven event content notification is stopped for a specific type of event. .

  According to this configuration, when the traffic of communication with the area management device exceeds a predetermined threshold, the center server transmits a suppression signal to at least one area management device and receives the suppression signal. The event notification means is switched from the normal mode in which the operation mode of the event notification means by the switching means voluntarily notifies the contents of the event by the event driving method when the event occurs. Switch to suppression mode to stop. As a result, when the traffic of communication between the center server and the area management device exceeds a predetermined threshold, spontaneous notification of a specific type of event is restricted in at least one area management device. There is an advantage that traffic for communication with the apparatus can be reduced. That is, in the suppression mode, it is possible to reliably notify the contents of other events with high importance by postponing the notification of the contents of a specific type of event with low importance. As a result, it is possible to avoid a problem that a communication error occurs between some area management apparatuses and the center server, and an important event requiring an immediate response such as an alarm cannot be notified.

  The invention of claim 2 is characterized in that, in the invention of claim 1, the event notification means does not notify the contents of the specific type of event while operating in the suppression mode.

  According to this configuration, since the event notification unit only has to switch whether or not to notify a specific type of event according to the operation mode, the invention of claim 1 can be realized with a relatively simple configuration. .

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, when the event notification means is operating in the suppression mode, the content of the event regarding the specific type of event is returned in response to a request from the center server. Notification is made by a polling method.

  According to this configuration, in the suppression mode, the event notification means performs notification of a specific type of event by a polling method. Therefore, the timing for notifying the content of the event can be designated on the center server side, and a plurality of units can be designated. Concentration of notifications from the area management device to the center server can be avoided. As a result, communication traffic between the center server and the area management device can be reduced. In addition, the event notification means has an advantage that it can notify the contents of a specific type of event even when operating in the suppression mode.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to any one of the first to third aspects, the event notifying unit operates in the suppression mode when the measurement result of the measurement unit falls below a predetermined threshold. A recovery signal is transmitted to the area management device, and when the recovery signal is received, the switching unit switches the operation mode of the event notification unit from the suppression mode to the normal mode.

  According to this configuration, when the traffic of communication between the center server and the area management device falls below a predetermined threshold, the operation mode of the event notification unit is switched from the suppression mode to the normal mode by the switching unit. Therefore, if the traffic of communication between the center server and the area management device is reduced, the event notification means can be notified to the center server immediately after the event even with respect to a specific type of event by restoring the normal mode.

  The present invention limits the spontaneous notification of a specific type of event in at least one area management device when the communication traffic between the center server and the area management device exceeds a predetermined threshold. There is an advantage that the traffic of communication with the area management apparatus can be reduced.

1 is a schematic system configuration diagram of a device management system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of an area unit same as the above.

  In the following embodiments, the entire area in which terminal devices that are targets of management (at least one of monitoring and control) of the device management system are distributed is called a “management area”, and a plurality of management areas are defined as a plurality of management areas. Each small area when divided into small areas is called a “sub-area”. Here, a section of a city including a plurality of office buildings, parks, hospitals, and the like is set as a management area, and each of the office buildings, parks, hospitals, and the like is set as a sub-area. The division of the management area and the sub-area is not limited to this example, and is appropriately determined according to the size of the management area, for example, a part of the floor of the office building or a corner of the park as a sub-area.

(Embodiment 1)
As shown in FIG. 1, the device management system according to the present embodiment includes a plurality of terminal devices (see FIG. 1) for each of sub-areas A1 to An (hereinafter referred to as sub-area A unless otherwise distinguished). And a lighting control unit 1a and a measurement management unit 1b for monitoring and controlling the terminal device by communication with the terminal device in each sub-area A. Hereinafter, when the lighting control unit 1a and the measurement management unit 1b are not particularly distinguished, they are collectively referred to as a local management device 1. In FIG. 1, the local management device 1 and the like are illustrated only for the subarea Am, but the local management device 1 and the like are also provided in the other subareas A1 to A (m−1) and A (m + 1) to An, respectively. It is assumed that

  In this device management system, a relatively large-scale system (area management system) is configured by using a communication network hierarchized into three layers of an upper layer, an intermediate layer, and a lower layer. A center server 4 and a management personal computer (personal computer) 5 are connected to a first network NT1 that is an upper layer, and a plurality of area units 2 installed for each subarea A are connected. The area unit 2 constitutes an area management device and is configured to be able to communicate with the center server 4 via the first network NT1. The center server 4 and the management personal computer 5 constitute a higher-level management device 3 and centrally manage information of all area units 2 in the management area by communication with the area unit 2.

  Each area unit 2 is connected to a plurality of lighting control units 1a and measurement management units 1b as local management devices 1 via a second network NT2 as an intermediate layer. These area units 2 monitor and control the illumination control unit 1a and the measurement management unit 1b by using a control signal exchanged between the illumination control unit 1a and the measurement management unit 1b as the local management device 1. Further, since the area unit 2 also communicates with the upper management apparatus 3, information can be exchanged between the local management apparatus 1 and the upper management apparatus 3 via the area unit 2.

  The lighting control unit 1a is connected via a third network (not shown), which is a lower layer of terminal equipment including a control terminal connected to the lighting fixture and an operation terminal equipped with switches and sensors. Thus, for example, a lighting control system applied to each floor of the building is constructed. The lighting control unit 1a is configured to be able to control and monitor the lighting state (on / off, dimming level) of the lighting fixture in the lighting control system. Here, every time the lighting state of the lighting fixture in the lighting control system changes, the lighting state of the lighting fixture is transmitted from the lighting control unit 1a to the area unit 2, whereby the area unit 2 operates the lighting control system (the lighting fixture). Can be monitored constantly.

  In the present embodiment, a transmission unit (not shown) is connected on the third network, and the lighting control system is configured as a well-known centralized control system using the transmission unit as a center device. That is, the transmission unit constructs a time-division multiplex transmission communication network using a fixed-length transmission signal transmitted through a two-wire signal line, and monitors and controls the terminal device using the transmission signal. Here, an address is individually set for each terminal device, and the transmission unit identifies each terminal device separately using the address. The transmission unit includes a memory that stores a control table in which an operation terminal and a control terminal are associated with each other by an address. When a switch is turned on or off by any of the operation terminals, the operation terminal is The lighting device is controlled to be turned on / off by the control terminal associated with the.

  The measurement management unit 1b constructs a measurement device management system that is applied to each floor of a building, for example, by connecting terminal devices including measurement devices to the measurement management unit 1b via a third network. The weighing device is composed of a watt hour meter or the like that measures voltage, current, power, etc., and the weighing management unit 1b is configured to monitor (collect and accumulate) the measurement results of the weighing device within the weighing device management system. The Here, the measurement results collected by the measurement management unit 1b are transmitted from the measurement management unit 1b to the area unit 2 at regular intervals. As a result, the area unit 2 can monitor the operation of the weighing device management system (measurement result of the weighing device).

  In short, the area unit 2 communicates with the local management device 1 via the second network NT2 to centralize the terminal devices constituting the lighting control system and the weighing device management system built under each. to manage. Therefore, by providing the area unit 2 for each subarea A, the area unit 2 has a function of centrally managing the lighting control system and the weighing device management system in each subarea A. Further, a plurality of area units 2 are provided in the entire device management system having a plurality of sub-areas A as management areas, and the plurality of area units 2 are connected to the upper management apparatus 3 via the first network NT1. Is communicated with the host management apparatus 3 in a centralized manner.

  In addition, one management unit 6 is connected to the first network NT1 for each subarea A. Similar to the area unit 2, the management unit 6 is also connected to the second network NT2. The management unit 6 stores a backup of data set in the subordinate local management devices (lighting control unit, measurement management unit) 1 and area unit 2 managed by each area unit 2. Furthermore, the management unit 6 manages the alarm history in the sub-area A and has a communication function with the higher-level management device 3 using a unique protocol, and forwards the alarm generated in the sub-area A to the higher-level management device 3. It has the function to do.

  Here, the management unit 6, the area unit 2, and the local management device (lighting control unit, measurement management unit) 1 installed in the same subarea A are stored in one storage board (not shown) in principle. The The first network NT1 uses an IP protocol corresponding to IPv6 in the network layer, and uses a unique protocol as an upper layer protocol. The second network NT2 uses an IP protocol in the network layer, and a BACnet (Building Automation and Control Network) protocol, which is a standard open protocol for equipment, as an upper layer protocol.

  By the way, in the device management system described above, when an event related to monitoring or control of the local management device 1 occurs in each subarea A to which the area unit 2 belongs as shown in FIG. 4 has an event notification means 20 for notifying 4. That is, when the area unit 2 acquires the lighting state of the lighting fixture, the measurement result of the weighing device, etc. from the subordinate lighting control unit 1a or the measurement management unit 1b, the content of the event (the lighting fixture's content) The center server 4 is notified of the lighting state and the measurement result of the weighing device. The lighting state of the lighting fixtures obtained by these area units 2 and the measurement results of the measuring devices are transmitted to the area unit 2 when there is some change on the local management device 1 side, and regularly ( Some are transmitted to the area unit 2 every 30 minutes, for example.

  Here, the event notification means 20 basically notifies the center server 4 by an event driving method (event driven method) that voluntarily notifies the contents of the event when the event occurs. However, if notification is always sent to the center server 4 by the event driving method, when events occur simultaneously in a plurality of sub-areas A, communication to the center server 4 is concentrated and the center server 4 and the area unit 2 are concentrated. The communication traffic between the two increases. This may cause a communication error between some area units 2 and the center server 4.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, with the configuration described below, communication traffic between the center server 4 and the area unit 2 is monitored, and when the traffic exceeds a predetermined threshold, the area unit 2 to the center server 4 Limit notification of event content.

  That is, the center server 4 includes a measurement unit 40 that measures traffic of communication with the area unit 2 and a suppression unit 41 that transmits a suppression signal for limiting the notification of event contents to the area unit 2. Here, the measuring means 40 monitors the load factor of the CPU (central processing unit) of the center server 4 and the load factor of the first network NT1, and determines between the center server 4 and the area unit 2 from these load factors. Measure communication traffic. When the measurement result (communication traffic) of the measurement unit 40 exceeds a predetermined threshold, the suppression unit 41 sends a suppression signal to all of the plurality of area units 2 connected to the first network NT1. Send.

  On the other hand, the area unit 2 includes a switching unit 21 that switches the operation mode of the event notification unit 20 from the normal mode to the suppression mode when a suppression signal is received from the suppression unit 41. In the normal mode, the event notification unit 20 voluntarily notifies the center server 4 of the event contents in the event driving method, and in the suppression mode, the event notification unit 20 notifies the center server 4 in the event driving method regarding a specific type of event. Stop notification of event contents. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that the event notification unit 20 does not notify the center server 4 of the content of an event for a specific type of event while the operation mode is the suppression mode. Thus, in the area unit 2 that has received the suppression signal, the operation mode of the event notification unit 20 is switched from the normal mode to the suppression mode by the switching unit 21, and the notification to the center server 4 regarding the specific type of event is stopped. It will be.

  Here, an upper limit value of communication traffic is set as the threshold value in advance in the center server 4, and a specific type of event that restricts notification when communication traffic increases is designated. The specific type of event is not an important event that requires an immediate response such as an alarm, but an event with a relatively low importance such as a measurement result of a weighing device that is acquired periodically. The event type specified in this way is notified to the area unit 2 from the suppression means 41 by a suppression signal.

  Further, the suppression means 41 of the center server 4 causes the area unit 2 to restore the operation mode of the event notification means 20 to the normal mode when the measurement result of the measurement means 40 falls below a predetermined threshold after transmission of the suppression signal. Send a recovery signal. Upon receiving the recovery signal, the area unit 2 switches the operation mode of the event notification unit 20 from the suppression mode to the normal mode by the switching unit 21 and resumes the notification to the center server 4 regarding all events. Here, the threshold value that triggers the transmission of the recovery signal is the same value as the threshold value that triggers the transmission of the suppression signal, but the threshold value that triggers the transmission of the recovery signal is not limited to this. You may set lower than the threshold value used as the trigger of transmission. Thereby, it can prevent that the operation mode of the event notification means 20 switches frequently between normal mode and suppression mode.

  Next, the operation of the area unit 2 of the device management system described above will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  When the traffic of communication between the center server 4 and the area unit 2 falls below the threshold, the event notification means 20 of the area unit 2 is in the normal mode. Therefore, when an event occurs in the sub-area A at the normal time (S1: Y), the event unit 20 in the sub-area A operates in the normal mode (S2: Y), so that the event that has occurred is generated. Regardless of the type of event, the contents of the event are voluntarily notified to the center server 4 (S4), and the process returns to step S1.

  On the other hand, when the traffic of communication between the center server 4 and the area unit 2 increases and exceeds the threshold value, a suppression signal is transmitted from the suppression means 41 of the center server 4 to the area unit 2, and the event of the area unit 2 The operation mode of the notification means 20 is switched to the suppression mode. Therefore, when an event occurs in the sub-area A in this state (S1: Y), the area unit 2 in the sub-area A has occurred because the event notification unit 20 operates in the suppression mode (S2: N). It is determined whether the event is a specific type of event designated by the suppression signal (S3). Here, if it is determined that the event is not of a specific type (S3: N), the contents of the event that has occurred in the same manner as in the normal state are notified to the center server 4 (S4), and the process returns to step S1. On the other hand, if it is determined that the event is of a specific type (S3: Y), the process returns to step S1 without notifying the center server 4 of the contents of the event.

  Thereafter, when the traffic of communication between the center server 4 and the area unit 2 decreases and falls below the threshold value, a recovery signal is transmitted from the suppression means 41 of the center server 4 to the area unit 2, and the event notification means of the area unit 2 The 20 operation modes are switched to the normal mode. Accordingly, the subsequent operation is the same as that in the steady state described above.

  According to the device management system described above, when the traffic of communication between the center server 4 and the area unit 2 increases and exceeds the threshold, notification of the event content from the area unit 2 to the center server 4 is limited. Therefore, the traffic can be reduced. That is, the area unit 2 does not always notify the center server 4 in an event-driven manner, but temporarily stops notification of the contents of a specific type of event of relatively low importance when communication traffic increases. The traffic of communication with the center server 4 is reduced. In short, by deferring notification of specific types of events with low importance, for high-importance events that require immediate response such as alarms, communication errors will not occur due to communication traffic exceeding the upper limit. It becomes possible to notify the center server 4 reliably.

  In addition, priorities are assigned for each event type, and communication traffic thresholds are set in a plurality of stages so as to correspond to the priorities, respectively. The communication to the center server 4 may be restricted. In this case, as the communication traffic increases, notifications to the center server 4 are restricted in a step-by-step manner from the event with the lowest priority, and an appropriate restriction according to the communication traffic can be applied. .

  Furthermore, here, an example is shown in which the suppression unit 41 switches the event notification unit 20 to the suppression mode in all the area units 2 by transmitting a suppression signal to all the area units 2 connected to the first network NT1. However, the present invention is not limited to this example. That is, the suppression means 41 transmits the suppression signal to at least one of the area units 2 connected to the first network NT1, so that only the area unit 2 that has received the suppression signal causes the event notification means 20 to enter the suppression mode. It is good also as a structure which can be switched. Even in this case, communication traffic with the area unit 2 in the center server 4 can be reduced as compared with the case where the event notification means 20 of all the area units 2 is operated in the normal mode.

(Embodiment 2)
The device management system of the present embodiment is that the event notification means 20 of the area unit 2 notifies the center server 4 of the contents of a specific type of event in the suppression mode by a polling method. Is different.

  That is, the event notification means 20 of this embodiment does not notify the content of a specific type of event at all in the suppression mode, but polls to return the content of the specific type of event in response to a request from the center server 4. It is assumed that the center server 4 is notified by the method. In other words, the switching unit 21 switches the event notification unit 20 to the suppression mode when receiving the suppression signal from the suppression unit 41, thereby notifying the center server 4 of the content of the specific type of event in the event driving method. Stop and switch to polling notification.

  For each subarea A, a router may be provided between the area unit 2 and the management unit 6 and the first network NT1, but in this case, the router is connected to the area unit 2 by polling from the center server 4. It is configured not to disturb the communication.

  In this way, by using a polling system in which notification of the contents of some events is performed after waiting for polling (request) from the center server 4, the timing of acquiring the contents of events from the area unit 2 is set on the center server 4 side. Can be determined. Therefore, even if an event occurs in a plurality of subareas A at the same time, the center server 4 sequentially polls the area units 2 in each subarea A, so that the plurality of area units 2 to the center server 4 at a time. Concentration of communication can be avoided. Therefore, the communication load between the center server 4 and the area unit 2 is distributed in the time axis direction, and the center server 4 and the area unit 2 are compared with the case where each area unit 2 notifies the event content by the event driving method. The traffic of communication with the can be reduced.

  According to the device management system of the present embodiment described above, when the traffic of communication between the center server 4 and the area unit 2 increases and exceeds the threshold, the area unit 2 The notification of the content to the center server 4 can be continued in a polling manner with respect to a specific type of event. In short, in the configuration of the first embodiment, when the event notification unit 20 enters the suppression mode, the notification of the contents of the specific type of event temporarily stops, whereas in the present embodiment, even if the event notification unit 20 enters the suppression mode. Notification of the contents of a specific type of event can be continued.

  Other configurations and functions are the same as those of the first embodiment.

1a Lighting control unit (local management device)
1b Weighing management unit (local management device)
2 Area unit (area management device)
4 Center server 20 Event notification means 21 Switching means 40 Measuring means 41 Control means A1 to An Subarea

Claims (4)

  A local management device arranged in multiple subareas, each of which is a small area divided into a predetermined management area, and a local management device arranged in each subarea by communication with the local management device. An apparatus management system comprising: an area management device that performs at least one of monitoring and control; and a center server that centrally manages information of all area management devices in a management area through communication with the area management device. Has measuring means for measuring traffic for communication with the area management device and suppression means for transmitting a suppression signal to at least one area management device when the measurement result of the measuring means exceeds a predetermined threshold. When an event related to monitoring or control of the local management device occurs in each sub-area, the area management device Event notification means for notifying the center server of the contents of the event, and a switching means for switching the operation mode of the event notification means from the normal mode to the suppression mode when the suppression signal is received. In the device management system, the event content is voluntarily notified when an event occurs, and the event-driven event notification is stopped for a specific type of event in the suppression mode.   The device management system according to claim 1, wherein the event notification unit does not notify the content of the specific type of event during operation in the suppression mode.   2. The event notification means, while operating in the suppression mode, notifies the contents of the event in response to a request from the center server in response to a request from the center server. Equipment management system. When the measurement result of the measurement unit falls below a predetermined threshold, the suppression unit transmits a recovery signal to the area management device operating in the suppression mode, and the switching unit is The apparatus management system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein when the recovery signal is received, the operation mode of the event notification unit is switched from the suppression mode to the normal mode.

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