JP2024032311A - Communication device, communication program, communication method - Google Patents

Abstract

An object of the present invention is to reduce consumption of communication amount and occupation of network bandwidth for transmitting and receiving common parameters necessary for communication settings, regardless of the scale of the network. A self-device (communication terminal device 12F) acquires a common parameter acquired from a connected device (communication terminal device 12E). The own device can acquire common parameters for participating in the communication network 10 by accessing the physically closest terminal device (communication terminal device 12E) that has already participated in the communication network 10. This makes it possible to participate in the communication network 10 while consuming the least amount of communication and occupying the network band. This time, the own device that acquired the management parameters from the connected device will be able to become the connected device for communication terminal devices (other devices) that will participate in the communication network 10 connected to the own device in the future. I decided to save it. [Selection diagram] Figure 3

Description

The present invention relates to a communication device, a communication program, and a communication method for transmitting and receiving common parameters necessary for communication settings for mutual communication via a network between communication terminal devices.

Patent Document 1 discloses an automatic configuration system that can easily reconfigure configuration information individually configured by a user in a network device.

Patent Document 1 includes a network device with an automatic configuration function and an automatic configuration server that provides automatic configuration data to the network device, and the network device performs automatic configuration based on the automatic configuration data downloaded from the automatic configuration server. , a setting means for automatically configuring the self-device, and uploading configuration update information indicating updated settings to the automatic configuration server when the configuration of the self-device is updated after the automatic configuration, the automatic configuration server comprising: The configuration includes a management means for updating automatic setting data of the network device based on the setting update information.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2013-149165

However, in the conventional technology including Patent Document 1, a dedicated device (including a functional block) for managing setting values and parameters is prepared in the network, and the parameters are obtained from the dedicated device.

Therefore, communication is required to obtain setting values and parameters from a dedicated device that manages settings. As the scale of the network increases, the amount of communication required to obtain setting values and parameters increases.

In particular, when a device newly joining a network manages settings by relaying between multiple devices in the configured network, it is necessary to communicate via all the relay devices, which occupies a large amount of network bandwidth.

The present invention provides a communication device, a communication program, and a communication method that can reduce consumption of communication amount and occupation of network band for transmitting and receiving common parameters necessary for communication settings, regardless of the scale of the network. is the purpose.

The communication device according to the present invention has a communication control function for controlling communication, an individual parameter management function for managing individual parameters necessary for network participation, and a common parameter including settings and parameters that need to be unified within the network. A communication device is provided with a common parameter management function for managing a network, and the communication control function establishes communication between the own device and a connected device connected to the network and already participating in the network when the own device joins the network. a communication establishment unit; a transmission unit that transmits the individual parameters managed by the individual parameter management function to the connection destination device via the communication control function; and a transmission unit for transmitting the individual parameters from the connection destination device. As a reply, an acquisition unit that acquires the common parameters managed by the connected device via the communication control function, and a common parameter acquired by the acquisition unit that can be managed by the common parameter management function. and a storage section for storing the information.

A communication program according to the present invention is characterized in that it causes a computer to operate as each part of the communication device described above.

The communication method according to the present invention includes a communication control function for controlling communication, an individual parameter management function for managing individual parameters necessary for network participation, and a common parameter including settings and parameters that need to be unified within the network. A communication method using a communication device equipped with a common parameter management function that manages a common parameter management function, wherein when the own device joins a network, the communication control function a second processing step of transmitting the individual parameters managed by the individual parameter management function to the connected device via the communication control function; and transmitting the individual parameters. a third processing step of acquiring the common parameters managed by the connection destination device via the communication control function as a reply from the connection destination device; A fourth processing step of storing the information so as to be manageable by function.

As explained above, according to the present invention, it is possible to reduce the consumption of communication amount and the occupation of network bandwidth for transmitting and receiving common parameters necessary for communication settings, regardless of the scale of the network.

(A) is a communication network system diagram in which a plurality of communication terminal devices according to the first embodiment are connected, (B) is a control block diagram of the communication terminal device, and (C) is a comparative example of FIG. 1 (A). It is a network system diagram showing the. FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram for network communication settings executed by the communication terminal device according to the first embodiment. 2 is a timing chart showing a processing procedure for network communication settings, which is executed by the communication terminal device according to the first embodiment. FIG. 7 is a functional block diagram for network communication settings executed by the communication terminal device according to the second embodiment. 7 is a timing chart showing a processing procedure for network communication settings, which is executed by the communication terminal device according to the second embodiment.

[First embodiment]
FIG. 1A is a communication network system diagram to which a plurality of communication terminal devices are connected according to the first embodiment.

In the communication network 10 of the first embodiment, a plurality of communication terminal devices (here, six communication terminal devices 12A to 12F) are connected in a so-called daisy chain, which is one of the connection configurations of the communication network 10. ing.

Daisy chain connections are easier to wire and maintain than, for example, star wiring. Note that daisy chain connections can be roughly divided into linear type and ring type, and here, the linear type will be exemplified.

In the first embodiment, communication terminal devices 12A to 12E, which have already completed network settings and have joined the network, and a communication terminal device 12F, which newly performs network settings and newly participates, are shown. , the communication terminal device 12F is connected to a communication terminal device 12E. In addition, when using a generic name, the communication terminal device 12 may be simply referred to as the communication terminal device 12.

The communication terminal devices 12A to 12F have the same basic control system configuration, and the control block system will be explained using the communication terminal device 12F as an example in FIG. 1(B).

FIG. 1(B) is a control block diagram showing the configuration of the control system of the communication terminal device 12F. The communication terminal device 12F has a microcomputer 14, and the microcomputer 14 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 16, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 18, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 20, and an input/output unit (I/O unit). 0) 22, and buses 24 such as data buses and control buses that connect these buses.

A keyboard and a mouse (not shown) as input devices can be connected to the I/O 22, respectively. Further, a storage device 26 (for example, a large-scale storage device such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or an SSD (Solid State Drive)) is connected to the I/O 22 .

Further, a communication I/F 28 is connected to the I/O 22, and is connected to an adjacent communication terminal device (here, the communication terminal device 12E).

Here, as a disadvantage of daisy chain connection, management parameters (setting values, parameters, etc.) necessary for making communication settings for participating in the network are transmitted via multiple communication terminal devices 12 to a predetermined communication terminal. You need to trace it back to the device and retrieve it.

For example, in the case of the communication network 30 of the comparative example in FIG. 1(C), it is necessary to obtain the information from a dedicated communication terminal device 32G connected to the communication terminal device 32A among the communication terminal devices 32A to 32F.

The dedicated communication terminal device 32G has a function for executing communication settings, and the newly participating communication terminal device 32F can access the communication terminal device 32E, 32D, and 32A via the communication terminal device 32E, 32D, and 32A. Management parameters etc. will be obtained from the dedicated communication terminal device 32G.

However, in this case, as the scale of the network increases, the communication terminal device 30F that is about to participate in the communication network 30 has multiple communication terminal devices (communication terminal device 32E, communication terminal device 32D, and communication terminal device 32A). The amount of communication required to access the dedicated communication terminal device 12G and obtain common parameters such as settings and parameters that need to be unified within the communication network 30 becomes large.

Therefore, in the first embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1(A), all (or some) communication terminal devices 12 connected in a daisy chain are provided with a common parameter management function. Management parameters that need to be unified are now managed. Specific examples of setting values and parameters that are management parameters include control packet transmission intervals, communication timeout times, and the like.

FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram for network communication settings executed by the CPU 16 of the communication terminal device 12 (see FIG. 1).

In the first embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the processing program that can execute the network communication setting function by the CPU 16 is stored in the ROM 20 or the storage device 26. An ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) or an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) constructed as an I/O 22 may be connected to the I/O 22 and operated.

As shown in FIG. 2, the functions executed by the communication terminal device 12 are classified into a communication control function 50, an individual parameter management function 52, a common parameter management function 54, and an application function 56.

The communication control function 50 is a function for controlling participation in the communication network 10 and communication after participation, and includes a communication establishment section 50A.

The communication establishment unit 50A establishes communication with a connected device (communication terminal device 12E) that has already participated in the network and is connected when the own device (communication terminal device 12F) participates in the network.

The individual parameter management function 52 is a function for managing the minimum necessary settings and parameters for each communication terminal device 12 to participate in and operate the communication network 10 as a single unit, and includes a transmitter 52A.

The transmitter 52A transmits the individual parameters managed by the individual parameter management function 52 to the connected device (communication terminal device 12E) via the communication control function 50.

The common parameter management function 54 is a function for managing common parameters including settings and parameters that need to be unified within the communication network 10, and includes an acquisition section 54A and a storage section 54B.

The acquisition unit 54A sends the common parameters managed by the destination device (communication terminal device 12E) via the communication control function 50 as a reply to the individual parameter transmitted to the destination device (communication terminal device 12E). get.

Further, the storage unit 54B is configured to allow the own device (communication terminal device 12F) to connect to another device (not shown) that will connect to the own device (communication terminal device 12F) and participate in the communication network 10 in the future. The common parameters acquired by the acquisition unit 54A and managed by the common parameter management function 54 are stored in the storage device 26 (see FIG. 1(B)) so that the destination device can be the same as the destination device (communication terminal device 12E) ).

The application function 56 executes application processing within the communication terminal device 12, and also uses the communication control function 50 to execute delivery and reception of various services. Note that the types of services, operations, etc. by the application function 56 are not directly related to the communication control of the first embodiment, so detailed explanations thereof will be omitted here.

The operation of the first embodiment will be explained below according to the timing chart (communication procedure) of FIG. 3.

It is assumed that the following conditions are satisfied in advance when the timing chart of FIG. 3 is executed.

(Condition 1) The communication terminal device 12 connected to the communication network 10 and the devices associated therewith are already configured to have the mechanism described in the first embodiment.

(Condition 2) The minimum settings necessary for participating in the communication network 10 have already been performed by the user or the like in the individual parameter management function 52 of the communication terminal device 12F (hereinafter referred to as the own device) that is newly participating. be.

Based on the above conditions, the following communication procedure is executed.

First, the communication control function 50 of the own device (communication terminal device 12F) requests parameters necessary for network participation from the individual parameter management function 52 in the own device (communication terminal device 12F) (step S100), The communication control function 50 acquires the individual parameters by replying the individual parameters from the individual parameter management function 52 in response to the request (step S102).

The communication establishment unit 50A of the communication control function 50 executes communication connection processing with the communication terminal device 12E (hereinafter referred to as the connection destination device) in the communication network 10 that has already participated in the network, based on the acquired individual parameters. (step S104), and establishes communication with the destination device (communication terminal device 12E).

When the communication control function 50 is connected to the communication control function 50 of the connection destination device (communication terminal device 12E), the mutual communication control function of the own device (communication terminal device 12F) and the connection destination device (communication terminal device 12E) is performed. The common parameter is requested from the own device (communication terminal device 12F) side to the communication terminal device 12E (connection device) side via 50 (step S106).

In response to this request, in the connection destination device (communication terminal device 12E), the communication control function 50 requests the common parameter management function 54 for common parameters (step S108), and as a reply, the common parameter management function 54 provides the stored common parameters to the communication control function 50 (step S110).

Thereafter, the connection destination device (communication terminal device 12E) transmits the common parameters to its own device (communication terminal device 12F), and the own device (communication terminal device 12F) acquires the common parameters (step S112). .

The communication control function 50 of the own device (communication terminal device 12F) transmits the common parameter acquired from the connected device (communication terminal device 12E) to the common parameter management function 54. Thereby, the acquisition unit 54A of the common parameter management function 54 acquires the common parameter.

Also, at this time, the communication control function 50 instructs the common parameter management function 54 to store the common parameters (step S114).

As a result, the own device (communication terminal device 12F) can communicate by accessing the connection destination terminal device (here, the communication terminal device 12E) which is physically closest and has already participated in the communication network 10. Common parameters for participating in the network 10 can be acquired, and participation in the communication network 10 is possible with minimal consumption of communication traffic and occupation of network bandwidth.

By the way, before the aforementioned connection destination device (communication terminal device 12E) participates in the communication network 10, similar to its own device (communication terminal device 12F), the connection destination device (communication terminal device 12E), which has been connected to other participating communication terminal devices (the first In the embodiment, the information is acquired from the communication terminal device 12D) and stored, so the communication terminal device 12E plays the role of the connection destination device.

Therefore, in this case, the own device (communication terminal device 12F) that acquired the management parameters from the connection destination device (communication terminal device 12E) is a communication terminal that will participate in the communication network 10 connected to the own device (communication terminal device 12F) in the future. Management parameters are saved for devices (other devices) so that they can be connected devices.

That is, in the common parameter management function 54, the storage unit 54B executes a process of storing the common parameters for which the storage instruction has been received in the storage device 26 (see FIG. 1(B)) (step S116).

As described above, the own device (communication terminal device 12F) has participated in the communication network 10, and the application function 56 requests common parameters from the common parameter management function 54 as necessary (step S118) and receives the provision. (Step S120), the information processing communication operation with the communication terminal device 12 that has already participated in the communication network 10 can be changed.

In addition, in the own device (communication terminal device 12F), when the communication control function 50 executes communication processing with another communication terminal device 12, the common parameter is sent to the common parameter management function 54 as appropriate. It is possible to perform communication with the target communication terminal device 12 by making a request (step S122) and using the common parameters acquired in response (step S124).

[Second embodiment]
The second embodiment will be described below. Note that the same configurations and processing parts as in the first embodiment are given the same reference numerals and the same step numbers, and the description thereof will be omitted.

As shown in FIG. 4, the features of the second embodiment include the communication control function 50, individual parameter management function 52, common parameter management function 54, and application function 56 described in the first embodiment. This is the addition of a fault management function 58.

The fault management function 58 receives instructions from other functions (communication control function 50, individual parameter management function 52, common parameter management function 54, and application function 56) of its own device (communication terminal device 12F) and performs fault management. Record and display occurrences. Note that the recording and display formats are not particularly limited, and so-called general well-known techniques may be used, and therefore, description thereof will be omitted here.

Here, in the failure management function 58 of the second embodiment, when the communication control function 50 reflects the common parameters to the operation of the own device (communication terminal device 12F), the communication control function 50 sets the own device (communication terminal device 12F). Generates a warning when a discrepancy is detected.

The operation of the second embodiment will be explained according to the timing chart of FIG.

After the communication control function 50 is able to connect to the communication terminal device 12 that has already joined the communication network 10, the common parameter management function 54 in the own device (communication terminal device 12F) controls the connection destination via the communication control function 50. The operation is the same as in the first embodiment until the necessary common parameters are obtained from the common parameter management function 54 of the communication terminal device 12E. Therefore, in FIG. 5, the same step numbers are given to the same processing steps as in FIG. 3, and the explanation thereof is omitted.

Here, the common parameter management function 54 of the own device (communication terminal device 12F) stores the contents of the common parameters acquired from the connected device (communication terminal device 12E) and the contents originally held by the own device (communication terminal device 12F). The common parameters are compared (step S150).

If the comparison result is a match, the own device (communication terminal device 12F) is considered to have participated in the communication network 10, as in the first embodiment, and the application function 56 executes the common parameter management function as necessary. 54 (step S118) and receiving the common parameters (step S120), it is possible to change the information processing communication operation with the communication terminal device 12 that has already joined the communication network 10.

In addition, in the own device (communication terminal device 12F), when the communication control function 50 executes communication processing with another communication terminal device 12, the common parameter is sent to the common parameter management function 54 as appropriate. A request is made (step S122), and the acquired common parameters are used to communicate with the target communication terminal device 12 (step S124).

On the other hand, if the comparison results in a mismatch, the failure management function 58 is notified of the mismatch (step S152).

The fault management function 58 executes mismatch processing (log recording, LED processing (failure occurrence notification, etc.) based on this notification (step S154).

According to the second embodiment, it is possible to make the user aware that the common parameters set in the own device (communication terminal device 12F) that is attempted to participate in the communication network 10 are incorrectly set. .

Note that although the first embodiment and the second embodiment have been described as operations when joining an existing network, they can also be applied as operations after joining a network.

Further, although the individual parameter management function 52 and the common parameter management function 54 are described as separate functions, they may be a single parameter management function.

10 Communication network 12A to 12F Communication terminal device (communication device)
12E Connected device 12F Own device 14 Microcomputer 16 CPU
18 RAM
20 ROMs
22 Input/output section (I/O)
24 Bus 26 Storage device 28 Communication I/F
30 Communication network (comparative example)
32A to 32F Communication terminal equipment (comparative example)
32G dedicated communication terminal device (comparative example)
50 Communication control function 50A Communication establishment section 52 Individual parameter management function 52A Transmission section 54 Common parameter management function 56 Application function 54A Acquisition section 54B Storage section 58 Fault management function (second embodiment)

Claims (6)

A communication control function that controls communication, an individual parameter management function that manages individual parameters necessary for network participation, and a common parameter management function that manages common parameters including settings and parameters that need to be unified within the network. A communication device comprising:
a communication establishment unit that uses the communication control function to establish communication between the self-device and a connection destination device connected to the network and already participating in the network when the self-device participates in the network;
a transmitter that transmits the individual parameters managed by the individual parameter management function to the connected device via the communication control function;
an acquisition unit that acquires, via the communication control function, the common parameter managed by the connection destination device as a reply from the connection destination device in response to the transmission of the individual parameter;
a storage unit that stores the common parameters acquired by the acquisition unit so that they can be managed by the common parameter management function;
A communication device having Claim further comprising: a failure management unit that compares the common parameter acquired by the acquisition unit with a common parameter stored in advance in the storage unit, and in the case of a mismatch, at least notifies the occurrence of a communication failure. The communication device according to item 1. 2. The communication device according to claim 1, wherein the device that has participated in the network provides the common parameter stored in the storage unit to another device that connects to the device and participates in the network. The communication device according to claim 1, wherein the connection form of the network is a daisy chain connection. computer,
operating as each part of the communication device according to any one of claims 1 to 4;
communication program. A communication control function that controls communication, an individual parameter management function that manages individual parameters necessary for network participation, and a common parameter management function that manages common parameters including settings and parameters that need to be unified within the network. A communication method using a communication device comprising:
a first processing step of establishing communication between the own device and a connection destination device connected to the network and already participating in the network when the own device joins the network;
a second processing step of transmitting the individual parameters managed by the individual parameter management function to the connected device via the communication control function;
a third processing step of acquiring, via the communication control function, the common parameters managed by the connection destination device as a reply from the connection destination device in response to the transmission of the individual parameters;
a fourth processing step of storing the acquired common parameters so that they can be managed by the common parameter management function;
A communication method comprising: