JP2020027546A - Relay device, facility apparatus equipped therewith, and facility apparatus system - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a relay device capable of easily checking a communication log even without a display unit capable of displaying the communication log, a facility apparatus equipped with the relay device, and a facility apparatus system.SOLUTION: A relay device that relays communication between a facility apparatus and a management device includes: a communication log storage unit that stores a communication log indicating a history of a communication state with the management device in an expression format that can be viewed with a web browser; and a switching unit that enables and disables an access point function for a communication mode capable of direct wireless communication, without passing through the communication network, with a communication terminal including a display unit capable of displaying a web page based on a web browser set differently from a communication mode capable of communicating with the management device via the communication network. In the case of being communicatively connected with the communication terminal when the access point is enabled, the relay device transmits the communication log stored in the communication log storage unit to the communication terminal, and can display the communication log on the display unit of the communication terminal on the basis of the web browser.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a relay device for acquiring information such as an operation state of equipment such as a water heater, an equipment provided with the relay, and an equipment system.

  Conventionally, in an equipment system in which a relay device connected to the equipment and a management device such as a server device are communicatively connected via a communication network, information such as an operation state of the equipment using a communication terminal such as a mobile phone is used. Is known. For example, in Patent Literatures 1 and 2 below, equipment and a center device perform data communication via a communication network, and a terminal device that remotely controls the equipment performs data communication with the center device via a communication network. A configuration in which a center device exchanges data between a terminal device and facility equipment is disclosed. Patent Document 3 below discloses transmitting predetermined information on the cause of a failure of a bath water heater detected by the bath water heater to a portable information processing terminal near the bath water heater through a wireless LAN. Is disclosed.

Japanese Patent No. 4444130 Japanese Patent No. 4695423 JP 2017-44364 A

  In such a configuration, when communication between the relay device and the management device is interrupted, in order to investigate the cause, the history information (communication log) of the communication state stored in the relay device or the equipment is browsed. There is a need.

  However, the relay device is originally a device for relaying communication and does not have a display unit, or a relay device having a display unit having only a limited display capability, for example, having several LED lamps. Also exists. In such a relay device, the communication log cannot be confirmed, and it may take time to determine the cause of the communication interruption. Further, in the configuration as in Patent Literature 3, when the portable information processing terminal is not located near the bath water heater, predetermined information regarding the cause of the failure that occurred during that time is not transmitted to the portable information processing terminal. , The cause of the communication interruption cannot be determined.

  The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-described problems, and has as its object to provide a relay device capable of easily confirming a communication log, an equipment device and an equipment device system including the relay device.

  In order to achieve the above object, a relay device according to an aspect of the present invention is connected to the equipment device for relaying communication between the equipment device and the management device, and is connected via a communication network. A relay device that communicates with the management device, a communication log storage unit that stores a communication log indicating a history of a communication state with the management device in an expression format that can be browsed using a predetermined web browser. A communication terminal having a display unit capable of displaying a web page based on the web browser, which is set separately from a communication mode capable of communicating with the management device via the communication network, and directly without passing through the communication network A switching unit that switches between an enabled state and an disabled state of an access point function for a communication mode in which wireless communication is possible, wherein the communication terminal is connected when the access point function is in an enabled state. When communication-connected, the communication log stored in the communication log storage unit is transmitted to the communication terminal, and the communication log can be displayed on the display unit of the communication terminal based on the web browser. Be composed.

  According to this configuration, the communication log indicating the history of the communication state with the management device is stored in the relay device in an expression format that can be browsed using the web browser. When the access point function is switched to the valid state by the switching unit, the relay device itself functions as an access point, and can directly perform wireless communication with a communication terminal without passing through a communication network. Therefore, by directly wirelessly communicating between the communication terminal configured to be able to display the web page based on the web browser on the display unit and the relay device, the communication log can be viewed on the display unit of the communication terminal. Therefore, even if the relay device does not have a display unit capable of displaying a communication log or has only a display unit with a low display capability, the communication log can be easily confirmed via the communication terminal.

  The management device is connected to a wireless router via the communication network, the wireless router is configured to perform wireless communication with the relay device, and the relay device performs wireless communication with the wireless router. The communication log storage unit may include a measurement unit that measures radio wave intensity, and the communication log storage unit may store the radio wave intensity as the communication log that is transmitted to the communication terminal. According to this configuration, since the radio wave intensity in the wireless communication with the wireless router is stored as the communication log, it is possible to easily determine the quality of the communication status based on the radio wave intensity.

  The switching unit may be configured to disable the access point function after a predetermined time has elapsed since the access point function was switched to the enabled state. According to this configuration, the period during which the access point function is valid is limited to a predetermined time. Thus, it is possible to prevent a third party other than the owner of the equipment or a worker who performs maintenance of the equipment from accessing the relay device.

  An equipment according to another aspect of the present invention includes the relay device, an equipment main body, and a remote controller for remotely operating the equipment main body, wherein the relay device is built in a housing of the remote controller. Is done.

  An equipment device system according to another aspect of the present invention includes the relay device, an equipment device communicatively connected to the relay device, and a management device communicatively connected to the relay device via a communication network. I have.

  The present invention has the configuration described above, and has an effect that a communication log can be easily confirmed.

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an equipment system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a communication log displayed on the communication terminal according to the present embodiment. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing another example of the communication log displayed on the communication terminal in the present embodiment.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following, the same or corresponding elements will be denoted by the same reference symbols throughout the drawings, and redundant description will be omitted. Further, the present invention is not limited to the following embodiments.

(One embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an equipment system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  This equipment system includes a water heater 1 (for example, a combustion heating type water heater), which is an example of equipment, and a relay device dedicated to the water heater, which is communicably connected to a controller 1a built in the water heater 1. 2 and a management device 5 composed of a computer connected to a communication network 4 such as the Internet. The management device 5 communicates with the relay device 2 via a communication network 4 and a wireless router (wireless LAN router) 3 connected to the communication network 4. The communication terminal 6 such as a mobile phone communicates with the management device 5 via the communication network 4 or the like.

  This equipment system uses a communication network 4, a wireless LAN router 3, and a communication terminal 6. The wireless LAN router 3 is owned by a resident (user) of the house where the water heater 1 is installed. The communication terminal 6 is owned by a resident of a house where the water heater 1 is installed or a worker who performs maintenance of the water heater 1 or the like.

  In addition, the number of houses in which the water heater 1 is installed may be one, but usually there are many. The number of water heaters 1 constituting the equipment system may be one, but usually there are many. Here, only one water heater 1 is shown as a representative, and a relay device 2, a wireless LAN router 3, and a communication terminal 6 corresponding to only the water heater 1 are shown. Hereinafter, what is illustrated will be described.

  The water heater 1 is installed at a predetermined place outdoors or indoors in a house, and has a hot water supply function of supplying hot water to a kitchen, a bathtub, or the like. Water heater 1 has a power supply unit (not shown) for converting an AC voltage supplied from an external AC power supply (commercial power supply) to generate a predetermined DC voltage, and internally converts the DC voltage generated by the power supply unit. And supplies it to the relay device 2 via the two-core cable C1 as a power supply voltage for its operation.

  The relay device 2 is installed at a predetermined place outdoors or indoors in a house, and is connected to the controller 1a of the water heater 1 by a two-core cable C1. Thereby, mutual communication (two-way communication) is performed between the relay apparatus 2 and the controller 1a of the water heater 1 via the two-core cable C1. Here, communication information is superimposed on the operation power supply voltage supplied from the power supply unit to the relay device 2 on the two-core cable C1.

  When the connection setting between the wireless LAN router 3 and the wireless LAN is performed, the relay device 2 can perform wireless communication with the wireless LAN router 3 by the wireless LAN. The relay device 2 executes a communication process with the controller 1a of the water heater 1 and a communication process with the management device 5 via the wireless LAN router 3 and the communication network 4. The relay device 2, for example, converts device information transmitted from the controller 1 a of the water heater 1 into a communication format and transmits the device information to the management device 5 via the wireless LAN router 3 and the communication network 4. The information transmitted from the management device 5 via the communication network 4 and the wireless LAN router 3 is converted into a communication format and transmitted to the controller 1a of the water heater 1.

  The wireless LAN router 3 has a 48-bit BSSID (Basic Service Set Identifier) set as its own identification information, and transmits information such as BSSID and SSID (Service Set Identifier) as beacons at predetermined time intervals (for example, 100 ms). are doing.

  The management device 5 includes a storage unit 5a that stores association information. The association information is information in which a user account (user identification information) transmitted from the communication terminal 6 is associated with the serial number of the relay device 2 (identification information of the relay device 2). Further, in the present embodiment, the identification information (BSSID) of the wireless LAN router 3 is included in the association information.

  In addition, the management device 5 includes a storage unit 5b that stores the device information transmitted from the relay device 2. Here, as the device information, the device configuration information transmitted first to the relay device 2 after the power is turned on from the controller 1a of the water heater 1 and the relay device 2 from the controller 1a of the water heater 1 periodically (for example, every one hour). There is operating state information indicating the operating state of the water heater 1 transmitted to the water heater 1, error information, and the like. Here, the device configuration information is information indicating the type of the water heater 1 and the like, and the operation state information is information including the hot water supply set temperature of the water heater 1, the number of combustion operations, the combustion operation time, and the like. The error information is information indicating an abnormality when any abnormality has occurred in the water heater 1, and is information also displayed on a remote controller (not shown) of the water heater 1. This remote controller is connected to the controller 1a by a two-core cable.

  These pieces of device information are transmitted from the relay device 2 to the management device 5 together with the serial number of the relay device 2. Then, the management device 5 stores the received device information in the storage unit 5b in association with the serial number of the relay device 2.

  The communication terminal 6 is a mobile terminal such as a smartphone, and can be connected to the communication network 4 via a base station of a 3G (3rd generation) or 4G (4th generation) mobile telephone network. The communication terminal 6 can be connected to a wireless LAN.

  In the communication terminal 6, if an application program dedicated to the facility equipment system (hereinafter, referred to as “system dedicated application”) is installed, and if the association information is stored in the storage unit 5 a of the management device 5, the communication terminal 6 Using the user account associated with the serial number, remote control of the water heater 1 and status confirmation can be performed via the management device 5 or the like. That is, the management device 5 permits the first communication via the management device 5 between the communication terminal 6 and the relay device 2 associated in the association information stored in the storage unit 5a.

  Further, the relay device 2 has an AP (access point) function, and is provided with an AP button 2a for activating this function. As preparation for performing the first communication, the communication terminal 6 needs to acquire the serial number of the relay device 2. To simplify this, the serial number of the relay device 2 is transmitted from the relay device 2 to the communication terminal 6 by enabling the AP function to enable direct wireless communication between the relay device 2 and the communication terminal 6. It becomes possible. Hereinafter, the direct wireless communication between the relay device 2 and the communication terminal 6 is referred to as second communication.

  More specifically, the resident presses the AP button 2a of the relay device 2 to activate the AP function. When the AP function of the relay device 2 is activated, the second communication between the relay device 2 and the communication terminal 6 is permitted. As a result, the relay device 2 transmits a beacon including the SSID. Specifically, the relay device 2 is selected from a list of access points (SSID list) displayed on the screen of the communication terminal 6, and an encryption key is input. The SSID and the encryption key of the AP function of the relay device 2 are described on a label attached to the relay device 2.

  When the communication terminal 6 is connected to the relay device 2 (second communication is enabled), the communication terminal 6 obtains the serial number of the relay device 2 from the relay device 2 by the system dedicated application, and Store in the storage unit. Specifically, the system-dedicated application transmits a request for a serial number to the relay device 2, and the relay device 2 transmits the serial number to the communication terminal 6 in response to the request. Thereafter, the communication terminal 6 automatically sends a command to the relay device 2 to disable the AP function of the relay device 2 by the system dedicated application. The connection between the communication terminal 6 and the relay device 2 is cut off by disabling the AP function.

  The relay device 2 has an AP function for a communication mode capable of performing a second communication (hereinafter, a second mode) that is set separately from the communication mode capable of performing a first communication as described above (hereinafter, a first mode). And a switching unit 21 for selectively switching between a valid state and an invalid state. When the AP function is in an invalid state, only the first communication is permitted and the second communication is prohibited. When the AP function is enabled, the second communication is allowed in addition to the first communication. Note that, when the AP function is in the valid state, the first communication may be prohibited.

  The relay device 2 includes a microcontroller including a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, and a storage unit and / or a control unit including an integrated circuit. The storage unit is configured by a nonvolatile memory such as a flash memory, for example. The switching unit 21 is configured as a control block of the control unit.

  In addition, the resident also performs a wireless LAN connection setting between the relay device 2 and the wireless LAN router 3 as preparation for performing the first communication. For example, by pressing a WPS (Wi-Fi Protected Setup) button 2w of the relay device 2 and a WPS button 3w of the wireless LAN router 3, connection setting is automatically performed. At this time, the relay device 2 acquires the BSSID (MAC address of the wireless LAN router 3), which is the identification information of the wireless LAN router 3, and stores it in the internal storage unit.

  By enabling the first communication, the resident can remotely control the water heater 1, for example. In this case, the resident operates the communication terminal 6 to log in to the user management site provided by the management device 5 and transmits to the management device 5 remote operation information (command) for remotely controlling the water heater 1. I do. Then, the management device 5 refers to the association information including the user account acquired at the time of login, and transmits the remote operation information to the relay device 2 having the serial number included in the association information. The relay device 2 transmits the received remote operation information to the controller 1a. Controller 1a controls water heater 1 based on the received remote operation information. Examples of the remote operation information include an operation start command, an operation stop command, and hot water temperature setting information of the water heater 1.

  When checking the state of the water heater 1, the resident operates the communication terminal 6 to log in to a user management site provided by the management device 5, and requests information on the state of the water heater 1. The device status request information is transmitted to the management device 5. Then, the management device 5 refers to the association information including the user account acquired at the time of login, and receives the device status information received from the relay device 2 having the serial number included in the association information and stored in the storage unit 5b. To the communication terminal 6. Here, the device state information is information including the above-described operation state information, and may be configured by, for example, only the operation state information, or may be configured by the operation state information and the error information.

  The relay device 2 sequentially obtains a communication state including connection, disconnection, transmission and reception of information between the relay device 2 and the management device 5 for performing the first communication as described above. The relay device 2 includes a communication log storage unit 22 that stores the acquired history of the communication state with the management device 5 as a communication log. The communication log may include information on the current (real-time) communication state. The communication log is stored in an expression format that can be browsed using a predetermined web browser. More specifically, the communication log storage unit 22 is configured by document data such as an HTML (Hyper Text Makeup Language) file, an XML (eXtensible Makeup Language) file, and related image data, audio data, and a web application. A web server for displaying a web page to be displayed on the display unit 61 (see FIG. 2 described later) of the communication terminal 6.

  The communication terminal 6 may be any communication terminal as long as it has a web browser that is software for displaying the web page on the display unit 61. By inputting the web page address (URL) in the web browser of the communication terminal 6, the web page can be accessed and the contents of the web page can be browsed. In the present embodiment, at least the communication terminal 6 of the worker who performs maintenance or the like of the water heater 1 includes the web browser. As the web browser, a known (general-purpose) web browser can be used. There may be only one web browser or a plurality of web browsers that can display a web page based on the web server of the relay device 2.

  The relay device 2 transmits the communication log stored in the communication log storage unit 22 to the communication terminal 6 when the communication function is connected to the communication terminal 6 when the AP function is in the enabled state, and based on the web browser. The communication log can be displayed on the display unit 61 of the communication terminal 6. Communication between the relay device 2 and the communication terminal 6 uses TCP / IP (Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol) which is a protocol generally used in a network. When the relay device 2 transmits a web page to the communication terminal 6, HTTP (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol) is used.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a communication log displayed on the communication terminal according to the present embodiment. In the example illustrated in FIG. 2, the communication log displayed on the display unit 61 includes information indicating the time of occurrence of an event and the content of the event arranged in chronological order. The information indicating the event content includes information for specifying a connection partner or a transmission / reception partner, information indicating the success or failure of connection or transmission / reception, and the like. In the example of FIG. 2, the information indicating the event content is indicated by the name of the event, but may be indicated by a corresponding code or the like.

  According to this configuration, the communication log indicating the history of the communication state with the management device 5 is stored in the relay device 2 in an expression format that can be browsed by the web browser. When the AP function for the second mode different from the first mode in which communication with the management device 5 is possible via the communication network 4 is switched by the switching unit 21, the relay device 2 itself becomes an access point. It functions and can directly perform wireless communication with the communication terminal 6 without passing through the communication network 4. For this reason, the communication log is browsed on the display unit 61 of the communication terminal 6 by directly wirelessly communicating between the relay terminal 2 and the communication terminal 6 configured to display a web page based on the web browser on the display unit 61. Will be possible. Therefore, even if the relay device 2 does not have a display unit capable of displaying a communication log, or has only a display unit having a low display capability, it is easy to check the communication log via the communication terminal 6. Can be. As a result, even if the relay device 2 cannot be connected to the communication network 4 such as the Internet, the cause can be easily specified.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the relay device 2 includes a measuring unit 23 that measures the radio field intensity when performing wireless communication with the wireless LAN router 3 during the first communication. The measuring unit 23 is configured by a circuit for measuring a received signal strength RSSI (Received Signal Strength Indicator).

  The communication log storage unit 22 stores the radio wave intensity of each wireless communication measured by the measurement unit 23 as a communication log transmitted to the communication terminal 6. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing another example of the communication log displayed on the communication terminal in the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 3, the display unit 61 of the communication terminal 6 displays, as a communication log, a history of the radio field intensity (represented as reception level in FIG. 3), its SSID, reception time, and the name of the transmission partner for each wireless communication. Can be displayed. As a result, the radio wave intensity in the wireless communication with the wireless LAN router 3 is stored as the communication log, so that it is possible to easily determine the quality of the communication status based on the radio wave intensity. In addition, since radio wave intensities arranged in a time series of a plurality of times can be acquired as a history, it is possible to easily determine communication stability.

  In the present embodiment, by switching the tab of the web browser, the communication log (history of connection status and the like) shown in FIG. 2 and the communication log (history of radio field intensity) shown in FIG. 3 are switched and displayed. Is configured. Instead of this, the radio wave intensity may be described as one of the items of the communication log shown in FIG.

  In the present embodiment, the switching unit 21 disables the AP function again after a predetermined time has elapsed since the AP function was switched to the enabled state by pressing the AP button 2a when the AP function was disabled. It is configured to be in a state. That is, when a predetermined time elapses after the AP function is switched to the valid state, the second communication between the relay device 2 and the communication terminal 6 is prohibited (blocked).

  According to this configuration, the period during which the AP function is in the valid state (that is, the period during which the second communication is possible) is limited to the predetermined time. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent a third party other than the worker performing the maintenance of the water heater 1 from accessing the relay device 2.

(Other embodiments)
From the above description, many modifications and other embodiments of the present invention are obvious to one skilled in the art. Accordingly, the above description is to be construed as illustrative only and is provided for the purpose of teaching those skilled in the art the best mode of carrying out the invention. Details of its structure and / or function may be substantially changed without departing from the spirit of the invention.

  For example, the relay device 2 in the above embodiment may be configured as an independent device as long as the relay device 2 is communicatively connected to the controller 1a of the water heater 1, or the water heater 1 may be a water heater main body and a water heater main body. In a configuration including a remote controller (not shown) for remotely controlling the remote controller, the remote controller may be provided on the remote controller. Note that the remote controller may be provided with a display unit. However, in general, the display area of the display unit provided on the remote controller is generally limited (small, the number of displayable characters is small) as compared with the display unit 61 of the communication terminal 6. Therefore, even in a configuration provided with a display unit in the water heater 1 or a remote controller attached to the water heater 1, the communication log can be more easily confirmed via the communication terminal 6 by applying the configuration of the present invention. It has the effect of being able to.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, the communication terminal 6 for performing maintenance of the water heater 1 and the like is illustrated as the communication terminal 6 that performs the second communication with the relay device 2. However, the present invention is not limited to this. The second communication may be performed between the communication terminal of the owner and the relay device 2.

  The management device 5 may be divided into a plurality of devices, and the plurality of devices may cooperate to function as the management device 5. For example, the storage units 5a and 5b of the management device 5 may be configured as a device different from a computer that performs various calculations. Further, the equipment system may be configured to perform various calculations of the management device 5 by a plurality of computers.

  Further, in the above embodiment, the history of the connection status and the like (FIG. 2) and the history of the radio wave intensity (FIG. 3) can be browsed as the communication log, but the content of the communication log is not limited to this. . For example, only one of the history of the connection status and the like or the history of the radio field intensity may be made viewable, or in addition to or instead of these, other information related to the communication between the relay device 2 and the management device 5 may be used. Information may be included.

  In addition, the relay device 2 uses not only a communication log but also an operation log of the water heater 1 (information of the water heater 1, for example, device configuration information, operation state information or error information, etc.) using a predetermined web browser. The information may be stored in an expression format that can be browsed and transmitted to the communication terminal 6 by the second communication. By utilizing the access point function of the relay device 2, it is possible to directly communicate with the external communication terminal 6, and it is possible to enhance the convenience for the user. In this case, the present configuration can be applied to an equipment system that is not connected to the management device 5 (does not perform the first communication).

  Although the water heater 1 has been described as an example of the equipment, the present invention is not limited to this, and any equipment that can communicate with the management device 5 via the relay device 2 may be used. For example, the present invention can be applied not only to a household equipment system having a water heater as a household equipment, but also to a commercial bathroom system as a commercial equipment. Further, the facility equipment system may include a router connected to the relay device 2 via a wired LAN, instead of the wireless LAN router 3.

  The present invention is useful for easily confirming a communication log.

1 water heater (equipment)
2 Relay device 3 Wireless LAN router (wireless router)
4 Communication Network 5 Management Device 6 Communication Terminal 21 Switching Unit 22 Communication Log Storage Unit 23 Measurement Unit 61 Display Unit of Communication Terminal

Claims (5)

In order to relay communication between the equipment and the management device, a relay device that is communicatively connected to the equipment and communicates with the management device via a communication network,
A communication log storage unit that stores a communication log indicating a history of a communication state with the management device in an expression format that can be browsed using a predetermined web browser,
A communication terminal having a display unit capable of displaying a web page based on the web browser, which is set separately from a communication mode capable of communicating with the management device via the communication network, and directly wirelessly without passing through the communication network A switching unit that switches between an enabled state and an disabled state of an access point function for a communication mode in which communication is possible, and
When the access point function is enabled, when the communication terminal is connected to the communication terminal, the communication log stored in the communication log storage unit is transmitted to the communication terminal, and based on the web browser, A relay device configured to display the communication log on the display unit of the communication terminal. The management device is connected to a wireless router via the communication network,
The wireless router is configured to perform wireless communication with the relay device,
The relay device includes a measurement unit that measures radio field intensity when performing wireless communication with the wireless router,
The relay device according to claim 1, wherein the communication log storage unit stores the radio wave intensity as the communication log transmitted to the communication terminal.   The relay device according to claim 1, wherein the switching unit is configured to set the access point function to an invalid state after a lapse of a predetermined time after the access point function is switched to an enabled state. A relay device according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
Equipment and equipment,
A remote control for remotely controlling the equipment main body,
Facility equipment, wherein the relay device is built in a housing of the remote controller. A relay device according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
Equipment that is communicatively connected to the relay device,
A management device communicatively connected to the relay device via a communication network.

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