JP5232398B2 - Network system and electronic device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a network system configured to acquire information related to each of a plurality of home devices installed in a home and present it to a user, and an electronic device as a home device used in the network system.

  In recent years, for example, a network system for building a home network by connecting various home devices installed in the home such as air conditioner devices, electronic locks, human sensors, lighting control panels, etc., and controlling each home device Has been proposed in Patent Document 1 below. Further, as such a network system, for example, as shown in FIG. 7, a user operation device 200 that acquires information related to each of the home devices 100A, 100B, and 100C connected via the communication line 150 and presents them to the user. The one with is known. In this network system, each home device 100A, 100B, 100C presents information about itself to the user operation device 200 in the form of a web page.

  Specifically, in the above-described network system, the in-home devices 100A, 100B, and 100C each have a user device connection unit 101 that is connected to the user operation device 200 via the communication line 150 and information that is presented to the user operation device 200. A web server function unit 102 that creates a web page in the form of a web page, and another device connection unit 103 that connects to another in-home device via the communication line 150. In addition, the user operation device 200 includes a home device connection unit 201 that connects to the home devices 100A, 100B, and 100C via the communication line 150.

  In such a network system, each of the in-home devices 100A, 100B, and 100C provides information related to an operation interface for operating itself by the web server function unit 102 in the form of a web page. Accordingly, this information is presented to the user by the user operation device 200 via the user device connection unit 101.

Note that some home devices, such as the home device 100B, do not have the other device connection unit 103. In other words, depending on the home device, information can be individually exchanged with another home device via the other device connection unit 103. Then, the user can individually connect to each of the in-home devices 100A, 100B, and 100C via the user operation device 200, and can acquire and operate information regarding the in-home devices 100A, 100B, and 100C.
JP 2001-53779 A

  However, in the conventional network system, it is necessary to provide the web server function unit 102 in all the home devices 100A, 100B, and 100C in order to perform the respective operations of the home devices 100A, 100B, and 100C. There was a problem of being invited.

  Further, in the conventional network system, it is necessary to individually connect to each of the in-home devices 100A, 100B, and 100C via the user operation device 200, and there is a problem that the user is forced to perform complicated operations.

  Furthermore, in the conventional network system, when there is a difference in the ability to present a web page between the home devices 100A, 100B, and 100C, and the home operation device 200 is connected to a home device with poor response, the home device There is a problem that a waiting time is generated from when the user makes an information presentation request to the device until the information is actually acquired, increasing the burden on the user.

  Furthermore, since the conventional network system is individually connected to each of the home devices 100A, 100B, and 100C via the user operation device 200, there is a problem that resources are wasted.

  Further, in the conventional network system, since the connection destination of the user operation device 200 is a plurality of in-home devices 100A, 100B, and 100C, the number of security management items increases, and the user is forced to perform complicated operations. was there.

  Further, in the conventional network system, since the connection establishment between the home devices 100A, 100B, 100C and the user operation device 200 is not automated, the user recognizes the fact every time the home device is added to or deleted from the network. In addition, there is a problem that it is necessary to connect to each home device via the user operation device 200, which increases the burden on the user.

  Furthermore, the conventional network system has a problem that it is difficult to transmit information between each home device.

  Therefore, the present invention has been devised to solve the above-described problems, and a network system that can easily acquire information on all home devices, and home devices used in this network system. It is an object of the present invention to provide an electronic device.

  The network system according to the present invention provides information on the representative connection device itself by any one of the plurality of home devices selected as the representative connection device that represents the user operation device on behalf of all the home devices. And information on the format of the web page to be presented to the user operation device including information related to other in-home devices acquired by the other device information acquisition unit by the web server function unit, and the user operation device via the user device connection unit To solve the above-mentioned problems.

  The electronic device according to the present invention is created by a web server function unit that creates information to be presented to the user operation device in the form of a web page, and is connected to the user operation device via a communication line. A user device connection unit that transmits the received information to the user operation device, another device connection unit that connects to other home devices via a communication line, and exchanges information with other home devices, and the other devices Other device information acquisition unit that collects and acquires at least information to be presented to the user operation device among information held by other home devices connected via the connection unit, and other residential units connected via the other device connection unit A representative device determination unit that determines whether any of the home devices connect to the user operation device on behalf of all the home devices, and the web server function unit represents all the home devices When selected by the representative device determination unit as the representative connection device to be connected to the user-operated device, it is presented to the user operation device including information on the representative connection device itself and information on other home devices acquired by the other device information acquisition unit The above-mentioned problem is solved by creating information of the format of the web page to be transmitted, transmitting it to the user operation device via the user device connection unit, and presenting it to the user.

  According to the network system according to the present invention, it is not necessary to provide a web server function unit in every home device, and it is not necessary to individually connect to all home devices via a user operation device. Information can be easily acquired at low cost.

  In addition, according to the electronic device according to the present invention, any electronic device provided with the web server function unit may be connected to the user operation device as a representative, and information on all in-home devices can be easily obtained at low cost. can do.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  In this embodiment, for example, an in-home network is constructed by interconnecting various in-home devices installed in the house such as air conditioner devices, electronic locks, human sensors, lighting control panels, etc. It is a network system to control.

  In the network system, for example, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a home network NW2 including a plurality of home devices 10A, 10B, and 10C is connected to an external network NW1. This network system obtains information on each of the home devices 10A, 10B, and 10C in the home network NW2 and transmits the information via the external network NW1, thereby presenting the information by the user operation device 20 held by the user. To do.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the in-home devices 10A, 10B, and 10C are a user device connection unit 11, a web server function unit 12, an other device connection unit 13, an other device information acquisition unit 14, and a representative device determination, respectively. Unit 15 and cooperative operation design unit 16.

  The user device connection unit 11 is connected to the user operation device 20 via the external network NW1 and the home network NW2 that are communication lines. The user device connection unit 11 transmits information supplied from the web server function unit 12 to the user operation device 20 and receives information transmitted from the user operation device 20.

  The web server function unit 12 creates information to be presented to the user operation device 20 in the form of a web page. The web server function unit 12 supplies the created information to the user device connection unit 11.

  The other device connection unit 13 connects to other home devices via the home network NW2, and exchanges information with other home devices.

  The other device information acquisition unit 14 collects and acquires at least information to be presented to the user operation device 20 among information held by other in-home devices connected via the other device connection unit 13.

  The representative device determination unit 15 determines whether any home device among other home devices connected via the other device connection unit 13 is connected to the user operation device 20 on behalf of all the home devices.

  When the cooperative operation design unit 16 performs a cooperative operation by combining the operations of a plurality of in-home devices, the cooperative operation design unit 16 performs the operation design.

  Such in-home devices 10A, 10B, and 10C are each configured to negotiate by exchanging parameters indicating capacity values such as memory capacity and processing capability index with each other via the other device connection unit 13. .

  On the other hand, the user operation device 20 includes a home device connection unit 21. The in-home device connection unit 21 is connected to a home device as a representative connection device, which will be described later, via the home network NW2. The in-home device connection unit 21 receives information related to the operation interface for all in-home devices presented from the in-home device, and operates all the in-home devices based on the information related to the operation interface.

  In a network system including such in-home devices 10A, 10B, and 10C and the user operation device 20, each of the in-home devices 10A, 10B, and 10C exchanges a parameter indicating a capability value with each other via the other device connection unit 13. To negotiate. Each of the home devices 10A, 10B, and 10C is selected by the representative device determination unit 15 as a result of the parameter comparison, as a result of the parameter comparison, the home device having the highest capability is represented as the user operation device 20 on behalf of all the home devices. It is determined as the representative connection device to be connected. Note that FIG. 2 shows a state where the in-home device 10A is selected as the representative connection device.

  The home device as the representative connection device is for operating each of the other home devices via the other device connection unit 13 so that the user operation device 20 can operate all the home devices on the web page. Information on the operation interface is periodically acquired. For example, by recognizing and connecting to the user operation device 20 by Universal Plug & Play (UPnP), information on the operation interface of all in-home devices is displayed on the web page. Present in the form of In addition, the home device as the representative connection device can process the information acquired from the other home device and present it to the user operation device 20 as other information. For example, a home device as a representative connection device calculates total power consumption based on information acquired from other home devices and presents this information to the user operation device 20, an air conditioner device, a temperature / humidity sensor, etc. And the comfort index is calculated, and this information is presented to the user operation device 20. Further, the home device as the representative connection device is configured to display the operation interface information related to the cooperative operation on the web page, such as a cooperative operation button for executing the cooperative operation combined by the cooperative operation design unit 16. Information on the format of the web page to be presented to the user operation device 20 is created by the function unit 12.

  On the other hand, other in-home devices that were not selected as the representative connection device do not need to present information related to the operation interface in the form of a web page, and only the information necessary for constructing the operation interface is exchanged with the representative connection device. To do.

  In addition, each of the home devices 10A, 10B, and 10C negotiates with each other to copy, for example, one of the home devices having the second highest capability from the home device acquired by the home device as the representative connection device. Is determined by the representative device determining unit 15. FIG. 2 shows a state where the in-home device 10C is selected as the auxiliary connection device. The home device as the auxiliary connection device is a user operation device instead of the representative connection device when the representative connection device cannot communicate with the user operation device 20 due to some cause, such as a failure or a disconnection of the home network NW2. 20 is connected and exchanges information.

  In this network system, in practice, it is not necessary for all the in-home devices 10A, 10B, and 10C to have all the above-described units. Specifically, since the user device connection unit 11 and the web server function unit 12 may be provided in the representative connection device or the auxiliary connection device, it is sufficient that there is at least one in-home device. In addition, the representative device determination unit 15 and the cooperative operation design unit 16 may be provided only in the representative connection device, and therefore it is sufficient that at least one in-home device exists. On the other hand, the other device connection unit 13 and the other device information acquisition unit 14 need to be included in all in-home devices.

  In addition, in the network system, when a new home device is added to the home network NW2, the new home device notifies other home devices that it has joined the network via the other device connection unit 13. Notice. In response to this, the home device as the representative connection device automatically collects and acquires information on the new home device and presents it to the user operation device 20.

  Further, the network system may include a center device 30 connected to the home network NW2 or the external network NW1. The center device 30 includes a home device connection unit 31 and a representative device determination unit 32. The center device 30 collects and acquires information about each home device via the home device connection unit 31, and selects a home device as a representative connection device by the representative device determination unit 32 based on the information. Then, the center device 30 notifies the representative device determination unit 15 of the home device selected as the representative connection device of the result, thereby operating the home device as the representative connection device.

  In the network system, different security means are used for communication between the home device as the representative connection device and the user operation device 20 and communication between the home device as the representative connection device and another home device. It is desirable to apply and manage. For example, an in-home device as a representative connection device establishes a communication path in which security such as HTTPS (Hypertext Transfer Protocol Security) is established with the user operation device 20 while communicating with other in-home devices. Can establish communication with other means such as EMIT-DO encrypted communication to establish communication.

  In this network system, each home device 10A, 10B, 10C specifically performs the following operation.

  First, the selection operation of the representative connection device will be described with reference to FIG. This operation is an operation of a home device having the representative device determination unit 15.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the in-home device recognizes itself as a temporary representative connection device in step S1, and indicates its own identifier such as an IP address and the above-described capability values such as the memory capacity and the processing capability index. Parameters are stored in a memory or the like.

  Subsequently, in step S2, the home device transmits its identifier stored in the memory or the like and a parameter indicating the capability value to the home network NW2 via the other device connection unit 13, and in step S3, the other The identifier and the parameter indicating the capability value transmitted from the home device are received via the other device connection unit 13 and acquired by the other device information acquisition unit 14.

  Then, in step S4, the home device uses the representative device determination unit 15 to compare its own capability value as a provisional representative connection device with the capability values of other home devices. Here, if it is determined in step S5 that the capability value of the home device is higher than the capability value of the other home devices, the processing proceeds to step S7 as it is. On the other hand, if it is determined that the capability value of the other home device is higher than its own capability value, in step S6, the other home device is recognized as a provisional representative connection device, and the identifier and The parameter indicating the capability value is stored in a memory or the like, and the process proceeds to step S7.

  Subsequently, in step S7, the home device waits until receiving an identifier and a parameter indicating the capability value from another home device. Thereafter, when such information is received in step S8, the processing from step S4 is repeated. On the other hand, if the in-home device has not received such information, it determines in step S9 whether a predetermined standby time has elapsed.

  Then, when the standby time has not elapsed, the home device repeats the processing from step S7. On the other hand, when the standby time has elapsed, in step S10, the home device determines the home device that is currently recognized as a temporary representative connection device by the representative device determination unit 15 as the representative connection device. In the next step S11, the home device stores the identifier of the home device as the determined representative connection device and the parameter indicating the capability value stored in the memory or the like on the home network NW2 via the other device connection unit 13. To end the series of processing.

  In the network system, each of the in-home devices having the representative device determination unit 15 can determine the representative connection device by performing such a series of processes.

  A home device that does not have the representative device determination unit 15 performs a series of processes as shown in FIG.

  That is, as shown in FIG. 4, the in-home device transmits its identifier such as an IP address and a parameter indicating the capability value on the in-home network NW2 via the other device connection unit 13 in step S21. In step S22, the in-home device is transmitted as another in-home device having the representative device determination unit 15 determines the in-home device as the representative connection device by performing the series of processes shown in FIG. It waits until it receives a parameter indicating the identifier and capability value of the home device.

  In step S23, the in-home device receives the identifier of the other in-home device determined as the representative connection device and the parameter indicating the capability value. In step S24, the in-home device stores the received identifier and the parameter indicating the capability value in the memory. Etc., and a series of processing is completed.

  In the network system, each home device that does not have the representative device determination unit 15 performs such a series of processes, so that all the home devices can be notified that the representative connection device has been determined.

  In the network system, when the home device as the representative connection device is determined in this way, the home device that is not selected as the representative connection device does not need to present information on the operation interface in the form of a web page. As shown in FIG. 3, the web server function unit 12 can be stopped (invalidated).

  Specifically, as shown in FIG. 5, the home device determines the representative connected device by performing a series of processes as shown in FIG. 3 or FIG. 4 in step S31. It is determined whether the device is a representative connection device.

  If the home device is not the representative connection device, the home device stops its web server function unit 12 in step S33.

  In this way, in the network system, a home device that is not selected as the representative connection device stops the web server function unit 12, thereby saving memory resources such as a work area and calculation resources for processing. Therefore, low power consumption can be achieved.

  Also, in the network system, when a new home device is added, a series of processes as shown in FIG. 6 are performed.

  That is, in the network system, as shown in FIG. 6, when a new home device is added in step S41, the new home device is connected to the network via the other device connection unit 13 in step S42. Notify other home devices that you have joined.

  Subsequently, in the network system, in step S43, each home device determines a representative connection device by performing a series of processes as shown in FIG. 3 or FIG. The device collects and acquires information about all home devices. In addition, the newly added in-home device may be responsible for the representative connection device.

  In the network system, in step S45, the home device as the representative connection device presents information related to all home devices to the user operation device 20 in the form of a web page.

  In the network system, even when a new home device is added in this manner, information regarding all home devices can be appropriately collected and presented to the user operation device 20.

  As described above in detail, according to the network system according to the embodiment of the present invention, since the home device as the representative connection device is automatically determined, the web server function unit is included in all the home devices 10A, 10B, and 10C. 12 does not need to be provided, and it is not necessary to individually connect to all in-home devices via the user operation device 20.

  Therefore, according to this network system, it is possible to easily obtain information on all the in-home devices 10A, 10B, and 10C at a low cost. Also, according to this network system, the home device as the representative connection device automatically acquires information on other home devices periodically, so that the response to the user can be improved. Furthermore, according to this network system, since the connection destination of the user operation device 20 is only the home device as the representative connection device, the management items in terms of security are greatly reduced, and the burden on the user is greatly reduced. be able to. Furthermore, according to this network system, even if there is a home device that does not have the web server function unit 12, the home device can be controlled via the home device as the representative connection device. .

  Further, according to this network system, the other device information acquisition unit 14 in the home device as the representative connection device enables the user operation device 20 to operate all the home devices 10A, 10B, and 10C on the web page. Since information related to the operation interface for all the in-home devices 10A, 10B, and 10C is collected and acquired, resources are not consumed wastefully.

  Further, in this network system, at least a home device as a representative connection device among a plurality of home devices 10A, 10B, and 10C provides operation interface information related to a cooperative operation for executing a cooperative operation combined by the cooperative operation design unit 16. Since the web server function unit 12 creates information on the format of the web page to be presented to the user operation device 20 so as to be displayed on the page, the burden on the user when executing the cooperative operation can be greatly reduced. .

  Furthermore, in this network system, if a home device that is not selected as a representative connection device by the representative device determination unit 15 has the web server function unit 12, the web server function unit 12 is stopped. , No resources are wasted.

  Also, in this network system, the home device selected as the representative connection device by the representative device determination unit 15 is information related to the new home device by the other device information acquisition unit 14 when a new home device is added. Collect and get. As described above, according to this network system, the connection between the home device and the user operation device 20 is automatically performed. Therefore, the user needs to recognize the fact every time the home device is added to or deleted from the network. Therefore, the burden on the user can be greatly reduced.

  Furthermore, in this network system, the representative device determination unit 15 holds a copy of the information about the home device acquired by the home device as the representative connected device from any of the plurality of home devices 10A, 10B, and 10C. If the home device as the auxiliary connection device cannot be communicated with the user operation device 20, the user operation device is selected as the auxiliary connection device to be used instead of the representative connection device. 20, information related to all the in-home devices 10 </ b> A, 10 </ b> B, and 10 </ b> C can be reliably presented to the user operation device 20.

  Furthermore, in this network system, the representative device determination unit 15 compares the capacities of all the home devices with each other and determines the home device as the representative connection device based on the comparison result. It can be prevented that the device is selected as the representative connection device.

  The network system further includes a center device 30 that selects a home device as a representative connection device, and the center device 30 notifies the result to the representative device determination unit 15 of the home device selected as the representative connection device. Thus, it is possible to easily perform the negotiation process between the home devices.

  The above-described embodiment is an example of the present invention. For this reason, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made depending on the design and the like as long as the technical idea according to the present invention is not deviated from this embodiment. Of course, it is possible to change.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the network system shown as embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the internal structure of the network system shown as embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart shown about selection operation | movement of the representative connection apparatus which the household apparatus which has a representative apparatus determination part performs in the network system shown as embodiment of this invention. 5 is a flowchart showing a representative connection device selection operation performed by a home device that does not have a representative device determination unit in the network system shown as the embodiment of the present invention. In the network system shown as embodiment of this invention, it is a flowchart which shows a series of processes when the household equipment which was not selected as a representative connection apparatus stops a web server function part. It is a flowchart which shows a series of processes when a new in-home apparatus is added in the network system shown as embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the conventional network system.

Explanation of symbols

10A, 10B, 10C In-home device 11 User device connection unit 12 Web server function unit 13 Other device connection unit 14 Other device information acquisition unit 15 Representative device determination unit 16 Cooperation operation design unit 20 User operation device 21 In-home device connection unit 30 Center device 31 In-home device connection unit 32 Representative device determination unit

Claims (6)

A plurality of home devices installed in the home;
A user operation device that obtains information about each of the in-home devices connected via a communication line and presents the information to the user;
One of the plurality of home devices is selected as a representative connection device that connects to the user operation device on behalf of all the home devices connected via the communication line ,
The in-home device as the representative connection device is:
A web server function unit that creates information to be presented to the user operation device in the form of a web page;
A user device connection unit that connects to the user operation device via the communication line and transmits information created by the web server function unit to the user operation device;
Other device connection unit that connects with other in-home devices via the communication line and exchanges information with other in-home devices;
Other device information acquisition unit that collects and acquires at least information to be presented to the user operation device among information held by other in-home devices connected via the other device connection unit;
A representative device determination unit that determines whether any of the home devices connected to the user operation device on behalf of all the home devices among other home devices connected via the other device connection unit; ,
In-home equipment that was not selected as the representative connection device by the representative device determination unit has at least the other device connection unit and the other device information acquisition unit, and has the web server function unit, Stop the web server function unit,
The home device selected as the representative connection device by the representative device determination unit includes information on the representative connection device itself and information on the other home device acquired by the other device information acquisition unit, from the other home device Process the acquired information, create web page format information to be presented to the user operation device as other information by the web server function unit, and send it to the user operation device via the user device connection unit To present to the user,
The in-home device as the representative connection device has the information regarding the operation interface for all in-home devices by the other device information acquisition unit so that the user operation device can operate all in-home devices on the web page. Collected and acquired, the home device as the representative connection device has a cooperative operation design unit that performs a cooperative operation by combining the operations of a plurality of home devices, and executes a cooperative operation combined by the cooperative operation design unit A network system, wherein information on a web page format to be presented to the user operation device is created by the web server function unit so that operation interface information related to a cooperative operation is displayed on the web page. The home device selected as the representative connection device by the representative device determination unit collects and acquires information on the new home device by the other device information acquisition unit when a new home device is added. The network system according to claim 1 . The representative device determination unit selects any one of the plurality of home devices as an auxiliary connection device that holds a copy of information about the home device acquired by the home device as the representative connection device,
The home device as the auxiliary connection device is connected to the user operation device instead of the representative connection device when the home device as the representative connection device cannot communicate with the user operation device. The network system according to claim 1 or 2 . The said representative apparatus determination part compares the capability of all the in-home apparatuses mutually, and determines the in-home apparatus as the said representative connection apparatus based on the comparison result, The any one of Claim 1 thru | or 3 characterized by the above-mentioned. The network system according to item 1. A center device further selecting a home device as the representative connection device,
The network system according to any one of claims 1 to 4 , wherein the center device notifies the representative device determination unit of the home device selected as the representative connection device of the result. In an electronic device connected via a communication line with a user operation device that acquires information about each of a plurality of electronic devices and presents it to the user,
A web server function unit that creates information to be presented to the user operation device in the form of a web page;
A user device connection unit that connects to the user operation device via the communication line and transmits information created by the web server function unit to the user operation device;
Connected to other electronic devices via the communication line, and other device connection unit for exchanging information with other electronic devices,
An other device information acquisition unit that collects and acquires at least information to be presented to the user operation device among information held by other electronic devices connected via the other device connection unit;
Wherein among the other electronic device connected through other equipment connections, either or electronic equipment on behalf of all the electronic apparatus connected through the communication line connected to said user operation device A representative device determining unit for determining,
When the representative device determination unit selects the representative server determining unit as a representative connection device that connects to the user operation device on behalf of all electronic devices, the web server function unit acquires information on the representative connection device itself and the other device information includes information about another electronic device obtained by parts, processing the information acquired from the other electronic devices, to create a format of the information of the web page to be presented to the user operation device as the other information, the user equipment connected If it is not selected as the representative connection device by the representative device determination unit, the web server function unit is stopped,
The other device information acquisition unit collects information related to an operation interface for all electronic devices by the other device information acquisition unit so that the user operation device can operate all electronic devices on the web page. to get Te,
A collaborative operation design unit for combining the operations of a plurality of electronic devices to perform a collaborative operation, and displaying operation interface information related to the collaborative operation for executing the collaborative operation combined by the collaborative operation design unit on the web page An electronic device that creates information in a web page format to be presented to the user operation device by the web server function unit.

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