JP5319332B2 - Communication device monitoring control apparatus and communication device control method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a communication device monitoring control apparatus and a communication device control method for monitoring and controlling the operation of each communication device in a radio station of a satellite communication system, for example.

  In the broadcasting system, a transmission system for connecting a master station and a slave station via a satellite line is constructed. This satellite line is allocated on the frequency axis with multiple video lines for video / audio / data transmission and a communication line for communication between the master and slave stations within a predetermined band. It has been.

  By using such a system, the master station can transmit broadcast signals to a large number of slave stations installed at remote locations.

  By the way, the above-mentioned radio stations such as the master station and the slave station are configured by a large number of communication devices in order to transmit or receive radio waves to / from the satellites. A machine interface (system controller) is installed. The system controller has a fail-safe function (interlock) that protects the satellite and the system according to the combination of device abnormality and status information, even if the user does not know the operation and characteristics of each communication device. Many interlocking control functions that control devices simultaneously are incorporated.

  By the way, the system controller exhibits its capability on the precondition that all communication devices constituting the system can monitor the state by remote communication. For this reason, the more the system controller strengthens and expands the user interface functions, the more interlock processing takes place when one device becomes unable to communicate, resulting in normal communication. It will also be impossible to control the equipment. Logically, when information on some devices cannot be obtained, interlock protection processing is applied to all the parts to be processed based on the information, and control becomes impossible. In particular, in a 24-hour continuous operation system, if some devices are disconnected from the system communication network for a certain period of time or returned abnormal values due to failure or maintenance during operation, multiple control functions of the system controller In this case, protection by an interlock occurs, which is very undesirable.

  As a related art related to this type, in Patent Document 1, a plurality of interlock conditions operated in a central control room corresponding to a system controller are constructed, and software of a large number of system components is changed by simple operation. There is disclosed a digital control maintenance system that can perform the above. However, the device described in Patent Document 1 is designed so that the software of each system component device can be changed, and if one device falls into communication, other normal devices become uncontrollable. It does not avoid that.

JP-A-6-59707.

  As described above, the system controller does not set the interlock operation conditions uniformly for all devices, but the type and number of devices in which an abnormality has occurred, the content of the abnormality, the user's There is a strong demand for a function that can flexibly change the interlock operation condition depending on the knowledge level of the device.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to monitor and control other communicable communication devices regardless of the interlock condition even when at least one communication device among the plurality of communication devices becomes incapable of communication. An object of the present invention is to provide a communication device monitoring control device and a communication device control method that can be used.

In order to achieve the above object, a communication device monitoring and control apparatus according to the present invention includes a connection unit that connects a plurality of communication devices via a communication network, and monitors the operation of each of the plurality of communication devices connected to the connection unit. A control unit that executes control, and the control unit cannot communicate with a plurality of communication devices other than the failed communication device when detecting a failure of at least one of the plurality of communication devices. In the communication device monitoring and control device having an interlock function, the connection unit is configured to construct a device mask function for performing a pseudo communication operation of the failed communication device in response to a setting request from the control unit means and, when the monitoring request or control request from the control unit to equipment mask function is sent, excluding the interlock function, normally monitor and system to other available communication equipment The monitoring request or control request in order to execute to is obtained by so and a returning means for returning the dummy device information to the control unit.

  According to this configuration, the control unit sets a communication device to be masked in the connection unit by designating a communication device that leaves the communication network, and then the monitoring request from the control unit to the device mask setting device or When a control request is sent, dummy device information is returned to the control unit in response to a monitoring request or control request, so that the communication device disconnected from the communication network is connected to the control network. It can appear to be.

  Therefore, even when at least one communication device becomes incapable of communication, the interlock condition of the communication device incapable of communication can be excluded, and the other communication devices that can communicate can be normally monitored and controlled.

  The construction means constructs a device mask function for each communication device. Therefore, even when a plurality of communication devices are disconnected from the communication network at the same time or when the order of disconnection is different, an operation corresponding to the operation can be realized. Further, even if a system change such as an increase in communication equipment is performed, it is not necessary to change the software accordingly, and known software can be diverted, thereby significantly reducing software production costs and test costs. In addition, since the construction of the device mask function depends on the type of communication device, even if a new type of communication device appears in the future, only the corresponding device mask function can be produced and set in the connection section. Good.

  When the device mask is set, the dummy parameter return means uses the header of the control request as a response header when a control request consisting of the header and body is sent from the control unit to the device for which the device mask is being set. Converted into a part and sent back to the control part. The return unit returns a parameter indicating a normal value to the control unit when a monitoring request is sent from the control unit to the device mask.

  According to this configuration, the program part that must be constructed for each communication device because the connection part is a device mask is minimized (only the header part and the alarm part), and the internal processing is performed in the main part of the control request. It can be realized in a unified way by setting the set value in the response command and returning it.

  As described above, according to the present invention, even when at least one communication device among a plurality of communication devices becomes incapable of communication, monitoring and control of other communication devices capable of communication is possible regardless of the interlock condition. It is possible to provide a communication device monitoring control device and a communication device control method that can execute the above.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an embodiment of a satellite communication system according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a monitoring / control system of the master station shown in FIG. The figure which shows the main operation screen for controlling each communication apparatus used for the embodiment. The figure shown in order to demonstrate the transmission / reception operation | movement of the information between the system controller in the same embodiment, a sub controller, and each communication apparatus. The figure which shows the apparatus mask setting screen used for the embodiment. 7 is a flowchart showing a control processing procedure of a sub-controller in the same embodiment. The figure shown in order to demonstrate the transmission / reception operation | movement of the information between the system controller at the time of failure occurrence of a communication apparatus, a sub controller, and each communication apparatus in the embodiment.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an embodiment of a satellite communication system according to the present invention applied to SNG (Satellite News Gathering) in a broadcasting system, where TS is a master station, and RS1 and RS2 are slave stations. Yes.

  The master station TS inputs broadcast material data output from a broadcast material transmission processing unit (not shown) to the encoding circuit 11. The encoding circuit 11 encodes the input broadcast material data and outputs the encoded data to the modulation circuit 12. The modulation circuit 12 modulates the input encoded data by a predetermined modulation method, and supplies the modulated signal to the transmission / reception unit (T / R) 14 via the synthesizer / distributor 13.

  The transmission / reception unit 14 frequency-converts the modulated signal and then amplifies the modulated signal to a predetermined transmission power level, and transmits the amplified broadcast signal from the antenna 15 to the satellite SAT via the satellite line. Broadcast signals transmitted to the satellite SAT are received by the slave stations RS1 and RS2.

  Further, the transmission / reception unit 14 receives a broadcast signal from each of the slave stations RS 1 and RS 2 arriving from the satellite SAT, and supplies the received signal to the demodulation circuit 16 via the synthesizer / distributor 13. The demodulation circuit 16 digitally demodulates the received signal and outputs baseband encoded data to the decoding circuit 17. The decoding circuit 17 decodes the input encoded data and returns it to the original broadcast material data.

  In addition, the master station TS is provided with a data transmission adapter (OW CONT) 18 constituting a data transmission device of a communication line unit (OW: Order Wire) and modems 191 to 19n. The data transmission adapter 18 is connected to a telephone, a FAX, and a server device via a router and a LAN (not shown). Data generated from the telephone, FAX, and server device is accumulated in the data transmission adapter 18 via the router.

  The data transmission adapter 18 outputs the accumulated information to the synthesizer / distributor 13 via the modems 191 to 19n, and generates a data signal using the communication line.

  The combiner / distributor 13 combines the broadcast signal output from the modulation circuit 12 with the data signal using the communication line. The synthesized signal is transmitted by the transmitter / receiver 14.

  Further, the master station TS is provided with a system controller 20 according to the present invention. The system controller 20 monitors the operation status of each unit.

  The slave stations RS1 and RS2 have the same configuration as the master station TS.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a monitoring / control system of the master station TS.

  That is, the system controller 20 includes an encoding circuit 11, a modulation circuit 12, a transmission / reception unit 14, and a demodulation circuit via the active hubs 21 and 22, sub-controllers (LOCAL CONT) 23 and 24, and LANs (Local Area Networks) 25 and 26. 16, the decoding circuit 17 and the modems 191 to 19n.

  The system controller 20 includes a personal computer (PC), a communication unit 31, a storage unit 32, a control unit 33, a display device 34 using a CRT, an input device 35 including a keyboard and a mouse, a timer. 36. Among these, the communication unit 31 logs events such as alarm information, transmission, and received contents of devices sent from the encoding circuit 11, the modulation circuit 12, the transmission / reception unit 14, the demodulation circuit 16, the decoding circuit 17, and the modems 191 to 19n. Receive as data.

  The control unit 33 stores the log data received by the communication unit 31 in the storage unit 32 together with the date and time information from the timer 36 and supplies the log data to the display device 34 for display. This log data includes the name of the device that is the event occurrence source, the classification, the event occurrence content, and the event occurrence date and time.

  By the way, the system controller 20 relates to the present invention, and sets a device mask in the sub-controller 23 for the encoding circuit 11, the modulation circuit 12, the demodulation circuit 16, the decoding circuit 17, and the modems 191 to 19n separated from the LAN 25. Has a function of accepting an input. This function is realized by the communication unit 31, the storage unit 32, the control unit 33, the display device 34, and the input device 35. The device mask is software for performing a pseudo communication operation of a communication device that is disconnected from the LANs 25 and 26.

  On the other hand, the sub-controller 23 includes a device mask construction unit 41 and a dummy information return unit 42 in addition to the function of converting the communication protocol and signal format between the system controller 20 and the LAN 25.

  When the device mask construction unit 41 receives a device mask setting request from the system controller 20, the device mask construction unit 41 assigns device masks to the corresponding encoding circuit 11, modulation circuit 12, demodulation circuit 16, decoding circuit 17, and modems 191 to 19n. To construct.

  The dummy information return unit 42 returns dummy device information to the system controller 20 when a monitoring command or control command for the device mask is received from the system controller 20.

  The sub-controller 24 also includes a device mask construction unit 51 and a dummy information return unit 52 in addition to the function of converting the communication protocol and signal format between the system controller 20 and the LAN 26.

Next, the operation of the system configured as described above will be described.
First, as shown in FIG. 3, the system controller 20 monitors the operating state of communication equipment including an encoding circuit 11, a modulation circuit 12, a transmission / reception unit 14, a demodulation circuit 16, a decoding circuit 17, and modems 191 to 19n and A main operation screen for controlling the communication device is displayed on the display device 34. This operation screen is displayed on each of a plurality of buttons and displays under the simultaneous control of a plurality of communication devices and the status conditions of the plurality of communication devices. When one communication device goes down, a plurality of operations are performed. It becomes impossible.

  Here, the trap button, the SLOT button, and the MODE button are used for batch control and individual control of preset values. These trap button, SLOT button, and MODE button are turned off when values are not preset, and the buttons cannot be pressed. The trap button, the SLOT button, and the MODE button are lit and displayed in orange, for example, when values are preset, thereby enabling the button to be pressed.

  After pressing the setting button displayed on the operation screen, a combination check of trapone, SLOT, and MODE is performed. If an error occurs, a message is displayed and control is stopped.

  In this state, the system controller 20 monitors the operating state of communication devices including the encoding circuit 11, the modulation circuit 12, the transmission / reception unit 14, the demodulation circuit 16, the decoding circuit 17, and the modems 191 to 19n. As a monitoring method, for example, as shown in FIG. 4, a monitoring request is transmitted to communication devices including each encoding circuit 11, modulation circuit 12, transmission / reception unit 14, demodulation circuit 16, decoding circuit 17, and modems 191 to 19n. In response to this monitoring request, is it possible to receive response signals (equipment information) returned from communication devices including the respective encoding circuit 11, modulation circuit 12, transmission / reception unit 14, demodulation circuit 16, decoding circuit 17, and modems 191 to 19n? What monitors whether or not is used.

  Now, assume that, for example, the decoding circuit 17 fails in this state, and the occurrence of this failure is detected by the system controller 20. Then, the system controller 20 may not be able to communicate with communication devices other than the failed decoding circuit 17 due to the interlock operation condition. Therefore, in this embodiment, means for excluding the interlock operation condition of the failed decoding circuit 17 is prepared. As this means, the system controller 20 displays, for example, a device mask setting screen on the display device 34 as shown in FIG. On this device mask setting screen, a button indicating the down decoder 17 is lit in black, for example. In this state, when the operator selects and designates the decoding circuit 17 for setting the device mask using the input device 35, the system controller 20 transmits a device mask setting request to the sub-controller 23.

  On the other hand, when receiving a device mask setting request from the system controller 20, the sub-controller 23 executes the control processing procedure shown in FIG.

  First, the sub-controller 23 constructs a device mask for the corresponding decoding circuit 17 in response to the received setting request (step ST6a). In step ST6b, the sub-controller 23 monitors the arrival of a request command for the device mask from the system controller 20. When a request command for a device mask arrives from the system controller 20 in this state, the sub-controller 23 determines whether it is a control request command or a monitoring request command from the contents of the header added to the request command (step ST6c). .

  If it is determined from the contents of this header that the request is a control request command (Yes), the sub-controller 23 replaces the header part of the control request command with a response header part, and the value of the main part of the control request command, for example, “% 0101” is inserted as it is into the main body portion following the response header portion, and is returned to the system controller 20 as dummy device information as shown in FIG. 7 (step ST6d).

  On the other hand, if it is determined from the contents of the header that it is a monitoring request command (No), the sub-controller 23 replaces the header part of the monitoring request command with a response header part, and the main body part following the response header part is normal. For example, “% 0001” indicating an incorrect parameter is inserted and returned to the system controller 20 as dummy device information (step ST6e).

  In response to a request command sent from the system controller 20 to a communication device for which no device mask has been constructed, normal device information is returned.

  Further, the sub-controller 23 that has received the device mask setting instruction continues to return dummy device information to the system controller 20 until a cancellation instruction is received from the system controller 20.

  As described above, in the above-described embodiment, in the system controller 20, for example, when the operator designates the decryption circuit 17 that leaves the LAN 25 by the input device 35, the decryption circuit 17 that masks the device is set in the sub-controller 23. Thereafter, when a monitoring request command or control request command is sent from the system controller 20 to the device mask, dummy device information is returned to the system controller 20 in response to the monitoring request command or control request command.

  Therefore, it is possible to make it appear that the decoding circuit 17 disconnected from the LAN 25 is connected to the LAN 25 to the system controller 20, so that even if at least one communication device becomes unable to communicate, communication is impossible. It is possible to normally monitor and control other communication devices that can communicate by excluding the interlock conditions of other communication devices.

  In addition, since the device mask construction unit 41 of the sub-controller 23 is configured to construct a device mask for each communication device, even when a plurality of communication devices are disconnected from the LAN 25 at the same time or when the order of separation is different. The corresponding operation can be realized. Further, even if a system change such as addition of communication equipment is performed, it is not necessary to modify the software of the sub-controller 23 accordingly, and the software already set in the sub-controller 23 can be used as it is. Production costs and test costs can be greatly reduced. Furthermore, since the construction of the device mask depends on the type of communication device, even if a new type of communication device appears in the future, it is only necessary to produce a device mask corresponding to it and set it in the sub-controllers 23 and 24. .

  Further, the Tammy information return unit 42 of the sub-controller 23 has a structure that only returns dummy device information when a control request command or a monitoring request command is sent from the system controller 20. However, the program part that must be constructed for each communication device due to the device mask is minimized (only the header part and alarm part), and the internal processing sets the value set in the command to the response command and returns it. It can be realized in a unified way.

  In the above embodiment, an example in which a device mask is constructed for each communication device has been described. However, a device mask may be constructed for each of a plurality of communication devices having the same function.

  In addition, the system configuration, the configuration of the master station, the functional configuration of the sub-controller, the interlock release procedure and the contents thereof can be variously modified and implemented without departing from the gist of the present invention.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 ... Coding circuit, 12 ... Modulation circuit, 13 ... Synthesizer / distributor, 14 ... Transmission / reception unit (T / R), 15 ... Antenna, 16 ... Demodulation circuit, 17 ... Decoding circuit, 18 ... Data transmission adapter (OW CONT) ), 191 to 19n: modem, 20: system controller, 23, 24 ... sub-controller, 25, 26 ... LAN, 31 ... communication unit, 32 ... storage unit, 33 ... control unit, 34 ... display device, 35 ... input device 36, timer, 41, 51 ... device mask construction unit, 42, 52 ... dummy information returning unit, TS ... master station, RS1, RS2 ... slave station, SAT ... satellite.

Claims (5)

Comprising a connection unit for connecting a plurality of communication devices via a communication network, and a control unit that performs monitoring and control of the connected respective operating said plurality of communication devices to the connection portion, wherein the control unit, the In a communication device monitoring and control device having an interlock function that disables communication with a plurality of communication devices other than the failed communication device when a failure of at least one communication device is detected among the plurality of communication devices.
The connecting portion is
In response to a setting request from the control unit, construction means for constructing a device mask function for performing a pseudo communication operation of the failed communication device;
When a monitoring request or control request is sent from the control unit to the device mask function, the interlock function is excluded, and the monitoring is performed so that other communication devices capable of communication can be normally monitored and controlled. A communication device monitoring and control device comprising: a return means for returning dummy device information to the control unit in response to a request or a control request.   The communication device monitoring control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the construction unit constructs a device mask function for each communication device.   The return means converts the header part of the control request into a response header part when the control request comprising the header part and the main body part is sent from the control part to the device mask function. The communication device monitoring control device according to claim 1, wherein the communication device monitoring control device is returned to the communication unit.   2. The communication device monitoring control according to claim 1, wherein the return unit returns a parameter indicating a normal value to the control unit when a monitoring request is sent from the control unit to the device mask function. apparatus. Comprising a connection unit for connecting a plurality of communication devices via a communication network, and a control unit that performs monitoring and control of the connected respective operating said plurality of communication devices to the connection portion, wherein the control unit, the Used in a communication device monitoring and control device having an interlock function that disables communication with a plurality of communication devices other than the failed communication device when a failure of at least one communication device among the plurality of communication devices is detected. ,
In the connection unit, in response to a setting request from the control unit, construct a device mask function for pseudo execution of the communication operation of the failed communication device,
When a monitoring request or control request is sent from the control unit to the device mask function, the interlock function is excluded, and the monitoring is performed so that other communication devices capable of communication can be normally monitored and controlled. A communication device control method, wherein dummy device information is returned to the control unit in response to a request or a control request.

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