JP5676519B2 - Mobility identification system, mobility identification server, mobility identification method, and program for mobility identification server - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a mobility identification system, a mobility identification server, a mobility identification method, and a mobility identification server program for identifying mobility of an electrical appliance connected to a wireless network.

  In recent years, as home appliances connected to in-house or home wireless networks, not only computers and printing machines but also home products in general such as digital TVs, refrigerators, lighting devices, video game cases, and portable game machines can be applied. It has become to.

  In such a situation, by managing in detail the appliances connected to the wireless network, you can browse the information gathered using a computer, perform operations from a remote location, and support users from a remote location There is a strong demand for device identification of electrical appliances connected to the network.

  For example, a method for automatically identifying an appliance connected to a wireless network without involving the user is also disclosed (Patent Document 1).

JP 2010-97587 A

  However, in the method described in Patent Document 1, it is necessary to store a definition file predetermined for each electric appliance in a database in advance, and in the situation where new product development is being made today, it is difficult to update. There is a possibility that the identification target may be leaked.

  By the way, in the management of an electrical appliance, information on whether the electrical appliance is fixed and used or easily moved is considered important. This is because the information is whether the appliance is frequently disconnected from the network, whether it is a weight suitable for carrying, or designed for shocks such as dropping. This is because it is useful for analogy with the appliance, and is considered effective in managing the equipment by providing it for equipment identification of the appliance.

  However, not all electrical appliances have a positioning function, and it takes a lot of trouble to develop software for identifying the mobility by using the positioning function for each product type. Therefore, it is desirable that the mobility of an electrical appliance can be identified only by connecting the electrical appliance to a wireless network regardless of whether the electrical appliance has a positioning function.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a mobility identification system, a mobility identification server, a mobility identification method, and a mobility identification server program for identifying mobility of an electrical appliance connected to a wireless network. To do.

  The present invention provides the following solutions.

The invention according to the first aspect includes a wireless access point that is communicably connected to an appliance,
An appliance information management server communicably connected to the wireless access point through a public line;
A mobility identification system comprising:
The wireless access point is
An identifier acquisition means for acquiring an identifier of the appliance connected to be communicable with the wireless access point;
Transmitting means for transmitting the appliance identifier acquired by the identifier acquisition means to the appliance information management server;
With
The appliance information management server
The identifier of the appliance received from the wireless access point and the location information of the wireless access point stored in advance in the storage unit of the appliance information management server are stored in the storage unit together with the received time. Position information storage means;
The movement frequency for calculating the movement frequency of the electrical appliance specified by the identifier of the electrical appliance using a combination of two or more positional information, the electrical appliance identifier, and the time stored by the positional information storage means A calculation means;
Threshold determination means for determining whether the movement frequency is equal to or higher than a predetermined threshold;
Mobility identifying means for identifying mobility of the electrical appliance specified by the electrical appliance identifier according to a determination result by the threshold determining means ;
A mobility identification system comprising:

According to the first aspect of the invention, the wireless access point is configured to be communicably connected to an electrical appliance, and the electrical product information management server is connected to the wireless access point through a public line so as to be communicable. In the mobility identification system,
The wireless access point acquires an identifier of the appliance connected to be communicable with the wireless access point, and transmits the identifier to the appliance information management server.
The appliance information management server receives the identifier of the appliance received from the wireless access point and the location information of the wireless access point stored in advance in a storage unit of the appliance information management server. At the same time, it is stored in the storage unit. Then, using the combination of two or more stored location information, the identifier of the appliance, and the time, the movement frequency of the appliance specified by the identifier of the appliance is calculated, and the movement frequency is predetermined. It is determined whether or not the threshold is equal to or greater than the threshold value , and mobility identification is performed to identify the mobility of the electrical appliance specified by the electrical appliance identifier according to the determination result .

The invention according to the second aspect includes a wireless access point that is communicably connected to an electrical appliance,
An appliance information management server communicably connected to the wireless access point through a public line;
A mobility identification system comprising:
The wireless access point is
Position information acquisition means for acquiring position information of the wireless access point;
An identifier acquisition means for acquiring an identifier of the appliance connected to be communicable with the wireless access point;
Transmitting means for transmitting the position information acquired by the position information acquiring means and the identifier acquiring means and the identifier of the appliance to the appliance information management server;
With
The appliance information management server
Location information storage means for storing the location information received from the wireless access point and the identifier of the appliance together with the received time in a storage unit provided in the appliance information management server;
Using the combination of two or more position information stored in the position information storage means, the identifier of the appliance, and the time , the position information is different among the position information of a plurality of appliances connected simultaneously. Position information presence / absence determining means for determining presence / absence of a combination;
Based on the determination result by the position information presence / absence determining means , mobility identifying means for identifying the mobility of the electrical appliance specified by the identifier of the electrical appliance;
A mobility identification system comprising:

According to the second aspect of the invention, the wireless access point is configured to be communicably connected to the electrical appliance, and the electrical product information management server is connected to the wireless access point through a public line so as to be communicable. In the mobility identification system,
The wireless access point acquires position information for acquiring position information of the wireless access point, acquires an identifier of the appliance connected to be communicable with the wireless access point, and acquires the acquired position information and the appliance. Is transmitted to the appliance information management server. The electrical appliance information management server stores the location information received from the wireless access point and the electrical appliance identifier together with the received time in a storage unit included in the electrical appliance information management server. Using the combination of two or more of the positional information, the identifier of the appliance, and the time, it is determined whether or not there is a combination having different positional information among the positional information of a plurality of appliances connected simultaneously, Based on the determination result, the mobility of the appliance specified by the identifier of the appliance is identified.

  Therefore, according to the invention according to the first feature and the invention according to the second feature, it is possible to provide a mobility identification system that identifies mobility for an electrical appliance connected to a wireless network.

The invention according to the third feature is a remote support system having a mobility identification system which is either the invention according to the first feature or the invention according to the second feature as a part of the configuration,
The electrical appliance is a supported electrical appliance subject to remote support,
Based on the result of identification by the mobility identification means of the electrical appliance information management server, remote support for the supported electrical appliance is performed.
Provide remote support system.

  According to the third aspect of the invention, in the remote support system having the mobility identification system which is either the first aspect of the invention or the second aspect of the invention as a part of the configuration, the appliance Is a supported electrical appliance that is a target of remote support, and the remote support system relates to the supported electrical appliance based on the mobility identification result of the electrical appliance information management server that constitutes the mobility identification system. Provide remote support.

  Therefore, according to the third aspect of the invention, it is possible to provide a remote support system that performs mobility identification on supported appliances connected to a wireless network and performs remote support based on the identification result. is there.

The invention according to the fourth feature is a wireless access point that is communicably connected to an electrical appliance, and an electrical appliance information management server that is communicably connected,
The identifier of the appliance received from the wireless access point and the location information of the wireless access point stored in advance in the storage unit of the appliance information management server are stored in the storage unit together with the received time. Position information storage means;
The movement frequency for calculating the movement frequency of the electrical appliance specified by the identifier of the electrical appliance using a combination of two or more positional information, the electrical appliance identifier, and the time stored by the positional information storage means A calculation means;
Threshold determination means for determining whether the movement frequency is equal to or higher than a predetermined threshold;
Mobility identifying means for identifying mobility of the electrical appliance specified by the electrical appliance identifier according to a determination result by the threshold determining means ;
An appliance information management server is provided.

According to the fourth aspect of the invention, the wireless access point that is communicably connected to the electrical appliance and the electrical appliance information management server that is communicably connected are the identifier of the electrical appliance received from the wireless access point. And the location information of the wireless access point stored in advance in the storage unit of the electrical appliance information management server, together with the received time, stored in the storage unit, and stored two or more location information, Using the combination of the appliance identifier and time, calculate the movement frequency of the appliance specified by the appliance identifier , determine whether the movement frequency is equal to or higher than a predetermined threshold, According to the determination result, the mobility of the appliance specified by the identifier of the appliance is identified.

The invention according to the fifth feature is
A wireless access point that is communicably connected to an appliance, and an appliance information management server that is communicably connected;
Location information storage means for storing the location information of the wireless access point received from the wireless access point and the identifier of the appliance together with the received time in a storage unit provided in the appliance information management server;
Using the combination of two or more position information stored in the position information storage means, the identifier of the appliance, and the time , the position information is different among the position information of a plurality of appliances connected simultaneously. Position information presence / absence determining means for determining presence / absence of a combination;
Based on the determination result by the position information presence / absence determining means , mobility identifying means for identifying the mobility of the electrical appliance specified by the identifier of the electrical appliance;
An appliance information management server is provided.

According to the fifth aspect of the invention, the wireless access point that is communicably connected to the electrical appliance, and the electrical appliance information management server that is communicably connected are the wireless access point received from the wireless access point. The location information of the appliance and the identifier of the appliance are stored in the storage unit of the appliance information management server together with the received time, and two or more location information stored in the location information storage means, the appliance Using the combination of the product identifier and the time, it is determined whether or not there is a combination with different location information among the location information of a plurality of appliances connected at the same time . The mobility of the appliance specified by the identifier is identified.

The invention according to the sixth feature is
A mobility identification method executed by a wireless access point that is communicably connected to an electrical appliance and an electrical appliance information management server that is communicably connected,
Storing the location information of the wireless access point received from the wireless access point and the identifier of the appliance together with the received time in a storage unit provided in the appliance information management server;
Calculating the frequency of movement of the electrical appliance specified by the identifier of the electrical appliance using a combination of two or more location information, the electrical appliance identifier and the time stored in the step;
Determining whether the movement frequency is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold;
Identifying the mobility of the appliance identified by the identifier of the appliance according to the determination result by the determining step;
A mobility identification method comprising:

The invention according to the seventh feature is
A mobility identification method executed by a wireless access point that is communicably connected to an electrical appliance and an electrical appliance information management server that is communicably connected,
The identifier of the appliance received from the wireless access point and the location information of the wireless access point stored in advance in the storage unit of the appliance information management server are stored in the storage unit together with the received time. Steps,
Using a combination of two or more location information, the appliance identifier, and time stored in the step, the location of a plurality of appliances connected to the appliance identified by the appliance identifier at the same time Of the information, determining whether or not there is a combination having different position information,
Identifying the mobility of the electrical appliance specified by the electrical appliance identifier based on the determination result by the location information presence / absence determining means ;
A mobility identification method comprising:

The invention according to the eighth feature is
The wireless access point that is connected to the electrical appliance for communication, and the electrical appliance information management server that is connected to enable communication,
Storing the location information of the wireless access point received from the wireless access point and the identifier of the appliance together with the received time in a storage unit included in the appliance information management server;
Calculating the frequency of movement of the electrical appliance specified by the identifier of the electrical appliance using a combination of two or more location information, the electrical appliance identifier, and time stored in the step;
Determining whether the movement frequency is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold;
Identifying the mobility of the appliance identified by the identifier of the appliance according to the determination result by the threshold determination means ;
A program for an appliance information management server for executing

The invention according to the ninth feature is
The wireless access point that is connected to the electrical appliance for communication, and the electrical appliance information management server that is connected to enable communication,
The identifier of the appliance received from the wireless access point and the location information of the wireless access point stored in advance in the storage unit of the appliance information management server are stored in the storage unit together with the received time. Step,
Using a combination of two or more location information, the appliance identifier, and time stored in the step, the location of a plurality of appliances connected to the appliance identified by the appliance identifier at the same time Determining whether or not there is a combination having different position information among the information;
Identifying mobility of the appliance identified by the identifier of the appliance based on a determination result by the determining step;
A program for an appliance information management server for executing

  Here, the invention according to the fourth feature and the invention according to the fifth feature are categories of the electrical appliance information management server, but even if the category is a method or a program, the same operation according to the category is performed. , Effective.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a mobility identification system, a mobility identification server, a mobility identification method, and a mobility identification server program for identifying mobility for an electrical appliance connected to a wireless network. It becomes possible.

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram for explaining the outline of the mobility identification system 1. FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram for explaining the outline of the mobility identification system 2. FIG. 3 is an overall configuration diagram of the mobility identification system 1. FIG. 4 is an overall configuration diagram of the remote support system 4. FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram of the appliance information management server 200, the wireless access point 20 (21), and the appliance 10. FIG. 6 is a functional block diagram of the electrical appliance information management server 201, the wireless access point 22, and the electrical appliance 10. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a procedure of storage processing of an appliance identifier and position information executed by the wireless access point 20 and the appliance information management server 200. FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a procedure of storage processing of an appliance identifier and position information, which is executed by the wireless access point 22 and the appliance information management server 201. FIG. 9 is a data example of the electrical appliance information management table in the electrical appliance information database.

  Hereinafter, the best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. This is merely an example, and the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to this.

  The outline of the present invention will be described. For the appliance connected to the wireless network, the location of the wireless access point to which the appliance is connected is stored along with the time. Thereafter, it is determined from the data whether the electrical appliance is present at a different place at different times, and when the movement is confirmed, the electrical appliance is identified as being moved and used. Further, when it is determined that the position of the electric appliance is the same regardless of the time, the electric appliance is identified as being used in a fixed manner.

[Outline of Mobility Identification System]
Based on FIG. 1, the outline | summary of the mobility identification system 1 which is suitable embodiment of this invention is demonstrated.

  The electrical appliance 10 communicates with the wireless access point 20 by wireless communication at 8:00 am on a certain day, and is connected to the wireless network. The wireless access point 20 acquires the identifier of the appliance and transmits it to the appliance information management server 200 (step S01).

  In this embodiment, the MAC address (Media Access Control address) of the communication unit included in the electrical appliance is used as the identifier of the electrical appliance, but the identifier is not limited to the MAC address and does not change for each connected network. If there is a unique value for each device, it can be used as an identifier.

  The appliance information management server 200 receives the identifier of the appliance 10 from the wireless access point 20 and acquires the position of the wireless access point 20. The appliance information database stored in the storage unit of the appliance information management server 200 in association with the received identifier of the appliance 10, the acquired location information of the wireless access point 20, and the reception time. The information is stored in the electrical appliance information management table in 224 (step S02).

  In order to acquire the position of the wireless access point 20, for example, when managing the wireless access point with a global IP address, the IP address of the wireless access point 20 that is the transmission source is acquired, and in the appliance information database 224, By searching the access point position table with the acquired IP address, the position information of the wireless access point 20 can be acquired.

  Here, the wireless access point is managed with a global IP address, but when using an in-house or home network, it can be managed with a network identifier or the like. If necessary for management, the wireless access point 20 may include the identifier of the wireless access point 20 in the data to be transmitted.

  Thereafter, the electrical appliance 10 communicates with the wireless access point 21 by wireless communication at 11:30 am and is connected to the wireless network. Here, it is assumed that the wireless access point 21 is located some distance away from the wireless access point 20. The wireless access point 21 acquires the identifier of the appliance 10 and transmits it to the appliance information management server 200 (step S03).

  The appliance information management server 200 receives the identifier of the appliance 10 from the wireless access point 21 and acquires the position of the wireless access point 21. Then, the received identifier of the electrical appliance 10, the acquired position of the wireless access point 21, and the reception time are associated and stored in the electrical appliance information management table in the electrical appliance information database 224 (step S04). .

  The appliance information management server 200 shall identify the mobility of the appliance to be managed in response to a request from a user or an operator. At this time, by referring to the electrical appliance information management table in the electrical appliance information database 224, it can be seen that the electrical appliance 10 to be managed is in a remote place at a different time. Therefore, the electrical appliance information management server 200 identifies that the electrical appliance 10 is a mobile terminal. Conversely, an appliance that is always the same or at least connected to a nearby wireless network is identified as a fixed terminal.

  However, it is considered that there may be special circumstances such as moving, and it may not be possible to determine the mobility of electrical appliances by moving several times. In such a case, more detailed identification is possible by a method of setting a threshold value for the movement frequency or detecting movement different from a plurality of terminals connected at the same time.

  Next, based on FIG. 2, the outline | summary of the mobility identification system 2 which is suitable embodiment of this invention is demonstrated.

  The electrical appliance 10 is connected to the wireless access point 22A by wireless communication at 8:00 am on a certain day, and is connected to a wireless network. The wireless access point 22A acquires the identifier of the appliance 10 and acquires the current position information of the wireless access point 22A (step S11).

  Thereafter, the obtained identifier of the appliance 10 and the current location information of the wireless access point 22A are transmitted to the appliance information management server 201 (step S12). Here, when there are a plurality of connected electrical appliances, their identifiers may be transmitted simultaneously.

  The electrical appliance information management server 201 associates the identifier of the electrical appliance 10 received from the wireless access point 22A, the location information of the wireless access point 22A, and the reception time with the storage unit included in the electrical appliance information management server 201. It memorize | stores in the electrical appliance information management table in the stored electrical appliance information database 244 (step S13).

  Thereafter, the appliance 10 is connected to the wireless access point 22B by wireless communication at 11:30 am and connected to the wireless network. Here, it is assumed that the wireless access point 22B is located some distance away from the place where the wireless access point 22A was located. Here, the wireless access point 22A and the wireless access point 22B do not prevent them from being the same device due to circumstances such as being a tethering terminal.

  At this time, the wireless access point 22B acquires the identifier of the appliance 10 and also acquires the current position information of the wireless access point 22B (step S14). Thereafter, the obtained identifier of the appliance 10 and the current location information of the wireless access point 22B are transmitted to the appliance information management server 201 (step S15).

  The electrical appliance information management server 201 associates the identifier of the electrical appliance 10 received from the wireless access point 22B, the location information of the wireless access point 22B, and the reception time with the storage unit included in the electrical appliance information management server 201. It memorize | stores in the electrical appliance information management table in the stored electrical appliance information database 244 (step S16). The subsequent identification procedure is the same as that of the mobility identification system 1.

  The above is the outline of the mobility identification system 1 and the mobility identification system 2 which are preferred embodiments of the present invention.

[System configuration of mobility identification system]
FIG. 3 shows a system configuration of the mobility identification system 1. The mobility identification system 1 includes a public line network 3 such as an Internet network, local area networks 5a and 5b, electrical appliances 10a, 10b, 10c, 10d, and 10e (hereinafter referred to as “10”), and wireless access. It consists of a point 20 and an appliance information management server 200. The appliance information management server 200 is communicably connected to the wireless access point 20 via the public line network 3. The appliances 10a, 10b, and 10c are connected to the same local area network 5a via the wireless access point 20.

  In view of the spirit of the present invention, the local area networks 5a and 5b are considered to be different local area networks that are usually in remote locations. However, considering the case where the wireless access points 20 constituting the local area networks 5a and 5b are tethering terminals or mobile WiMAX (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access) routers, the same local area networks 5a and 5b have moved Does not prevent being a network. The same applies to the mobility identification system 2.

  Here, the electrical appliance 10 may be a general electrical appliance that requires software-like or hardware-like settings, and is an information device or an electrical appliance having a function to be described later. For example, the electrical appliance 10 is a white appliance such as a refrigerator 10e or a washing machine in addition to a network device such as a personal computer 10c, a mobile phone, a smartphone 10a, a slate terminal 10b, a large printer 10d, a television, a router, a NAS, or a gateway. It may be a general information appliance such as a telephone, a netbook terminal, an electronic book terminal, an electronic dictionary terminal, a portable music player, and a portable content playback / recording player.

[System configuration of the remote support system]
FIG. 4 is a system configuration diagram of a remote support system 4 which is a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The remote support system 4 includes a public line network 3, electrical appliances 10 a, 10 b, and 10 c to be supported, a wireless access point 20, an operator terminal 150, and an electrical appliance information management server 200.

  Here, the remote support system 4 includes the mobility identification system 1 as a part thereof and an operator terminal 150 connected to be communicable. The electrical appliance 10 is connected to the electrical appliance information management server 200 or the operator terminal 150 via the public line network 3. The appliance information management server 200 and the operator terminal 150 may be connected via a local area network or may be connected via the public line network 3.

  The operator terminal 150 is a general information terminal used by an operator who supports the electrical appliance 10. The electrical appliance information management server 200 is a server that relays data processing between the portable terminal 10 and the operator terminal 150 and performs various processes. In addition, the electrical appliance information management server 200 receives the identification request from the operator terminal 150 and identifies the mobility of the electrical appliance 10 that is the support target by the processing described later. Then, the information is transmitted to the operator terminal 150 for remote support.

  In this embodiment, the mobility identification system 1 is a part thereof, but even when the mobility identification system 2 is a part thereof, the electrical appliance information management server 200 wirelessly accesses the electrical appliance information management server 201. The point 20 is replaced with a wireless access point 22 and has the same operation and effect.

[Description of each function]
The configuration of each device will be described with reference to FIGS. The appliance information management server 200 includes a central processing unit (CPU), a random access memory (RAM), a read only memory (ROM), and the like as the control unit 211, and can communicate with other devices as the data communication unit 213. For example, a device compatible with WiFi (Wireless Fidelity) compliant with IEEE 802.11. In addition, the appliance information management server 200 includes a data storage unit such as a hard disk, a semiconductor memory, a recording medium, or a memory card as the data storage unit 212 that stores data and files. The data storage unit 212 includes an appliance information database 224.

  In the electrical appliance information management server 200, the control unit 211 reads a predetermined program, thereby realizing an electrical product information storage module 221, a location information extraction module 222, and a location information comparison module 223 in cooperation with the data storage unit 212. To do. Further, in the appliance information management server 200, the control unit 211 reads a predetermined program, thereby realizing the appliance information receiving module 225 and the identification request receiving module 226 in cooperation with the data communication unit 213.

  Similar to the appliance information management server 200, the appliance information management server 201 includes a CPU, RAM, ROM, etc. as the control unit 211, and a device for enabling communication with other devices as the data communication unit 213, For example, a WiFi-compatible device compliant with IEEE 802.11 is provided. In addition, the appliance information management server 201 includes a data storage unit such as a hard disk, a semiconductor memory, a recording medium, or a memory card as the data storage unit 212 that stores data and files. The data storage unit 212 includes an appliance information database 244.

  In the electrical appliance information management server 201, the control unit 211 reads a predetermined program, thereby realizing an electrical appliance information storage module 241, a location information extraction module 222, and a location information comparison module 223 in cooperation with the data storage unit 212. To do. Further, in the appliance information management server 200, the control unit 211 reads a predetermined program, thereby realizing the appliance information receiving module 225 and the identification request receiving module 226 in cooperation with the data communication unit 213.

  As with the electrical appliance information management server 200, the electrical appliance 10 includes a CPU 151, a RAM, a ROM, and the like as the control unit 151. As the data communication unit 152, for example, a WiFi compatible device or a wired cable compliant with IEEE802.11. A device that realizes data communication with other electrical appliances and a wireless access point, such as a device that can be connected by the wireless access point. The same applies to the electrical appliance 10.

  The electrical appliance 10 expands on the RAM communication setting data 51 in which data related to communication settings such as Wi-Fi stored in the ROM is described, and the data communication unit 152 stores the communication setting data 51 from the RAM. Read and use. In addition, network identifier data related to the network used by the data communication unit 152 is included in the communication setting data 51. The same applies to the electrical appliance 10.

  As with the electrical appliance information management server 200, the wireless access point 20 and the wireless access point 21 include a CPU, RAM, ROM, and the like as the control unit 153, and the data communication unit 154 conforms to, for example, IEEE 802.11. A device that realizes data communication with the electrical appliance 10 such as a WiFi compatible device or a device that can be connected by a wired cable is provided.

  In the wireless access point 20 and the wireless access point 21, the control unit 153 reads a predetermined program, thereby realizing an identifier acquisition module 162 and an appliance information transmission module 163 in cooperation with the data communication unit 152.

  As with the electrical appliance information management server 200, the wireless access point 22 includes a CPU, RAM, ROM, and the like as the control unit 153, and as a data communication unit 154, for example, a WiFi compatible device or a wired device that conforms to IEEE 802.11. A device that realizes data communication with the electrical appliance 10, such as a device that can be connected by a cable, is provided.

  In addition, the wireless access point 22 has a position information acquisition unit 155 that uses a satellite positioning system such as GPS, a positioning system that uses radio waves with each mobile phone base station, and a position estimation system that uses an IP address. The position information acquisition unit 155 does not necessarily need to obtain specific position information only by a device provided in the wireless access point 22, but acquires information used for position information acquisition in the positioning system or the like. It is also established by making it available.

  In the wireless access point 22, the control unit 153 reads a predetermined program, thereby realizing an identifier acquisition module 162 and an appliance information transmission module 163 in cooperation with the data communication unit 152. In the wireless access point 22, the position information acquisition module 164 is realized in cooperation with the position information acquisition unit 155 by the control unit 153 reading a predetermined program.

[Storage processing of electrical appliance identifiers and location information]
FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a procedure of storage processing of an appliance identifier and position information executed by the wireless access point 20 and the appliance information management server 200 in the mobility identification system 1. The storage process of the identifier and position information of the appliance will be described.

  The identifier acquisition module 162 of the wireless access point 20 acquires the identifier of the electrical appliance connected to the wireless network at a predetermined timing (step S21). For example, a MAC address is used as the identifier. The predetermined timing is, for example, a timing when a new electrical appliance is connected to the wireless network.

  Next, the electrical appliance information transmission module 163 of the wireless access point 20 transmits the acquired electrical appliance identifier to the electrical appliance information management server 200 (step S22). The appliance information receiving module 225 of the appliance information management server 200 receives the identifier of the appliance (step S23).

  Next, the appliance information management server 200 identifies the position of the wireless access point 20 (step S24). For example, when managing a wireless access point with a global IP address, the appliance information management server 200 acquires the IP address of the wireless access point 20 that is a transmission source from packet information or the like. Then, the location of the wireless access point 20 is searched by searching the access point location table in the appliance information database 224 stored in the data storage unit 212 of the appliance information management server 200 with the acquired IP address. Get information.

  Here, the wireless access point is managed by the global IP address, but it can be managed by a network identifier or the like instead. If necessary for management, the wireless access point 20 may include the identifier of the wireless access point 20 in the data regarding the identifier of the appliance transmitted in step S22.

  Next, the electrical appliance information storage module 221 of the electrical appliance information management server 200 associates the received electrical appliance identifier, the identified location information, and the reception time with the electrical appliance in the electrical appliance information database 224. The information is stored in the information management table (step S25). The above is the storage processing procedure for the identifier and position information of the appliance in the mobility identification system 1.

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a procedure of storage processing of an appliance identifier and location information executed by the wireless access point 22 and the appliance information management server 201 in the mobility identification system 2.

  The procedure for storing electrical appliance identifiers and location information in the mobility identification system 2 is the same as the storage processing for electrical appliance identifiers and location information in the mobility identification system 1. However, the appliance information management server 200 is the appliance information management server 201, the wireless access point 20 is the wireless access point 22, the appliance information database 224 is the appliance information database 244, and the appliance information storage module 221 is the appliance. In the information storage module 241, step S24 is replaced with the next steps S24′-1 to S24′-3.

  That is, after the appliance information management server 201 and the wireless access point 22 execute steps S21 to S23, the position information acquisition module 164 of the wireless access point 22 acquires the current position information of the wireless access point 22 (step S24'-1). Then, the electrical appliance information transmission module 163 of the wireless access point 22 transmits the acquired position information to the electrical appliance information management server 201 (step S24′-2), and the electrical appliance information reception module 225 of the electrical appliance information management server 201. Receives the position information (step S24'-3).

  Thereafter, the appliance information storage module 241 of the appliance information management server 201 associates the received identifier of the appliance, the received location information, and the reception time with the appliance information in the appliance information database 244. Store in the management table (step S25). The above is the storage processing procedure for the identifier and the position information of the appliance executed by the mobility identification system 2.

[Electronics mobility identification process]
Next, electrical appliance mobility identification processing executed by the electrical appliance information management server 200 in the mobility identification system 1 will be described. The identification request reception module 226 of the appliance information management server 200 receives an appliance identification request and an identifier of an appliance to be identified in response to a request from a user or an operator. Here, it is assumed that the MAC address “A1-24-53-XX-XX-XX” of the electrical appliance 10 is received as an identifier.

  Then, the location information extraction module 222 of the appliance information management server 200 searches the appliance information management table in the appliance information database 224 of the appliance information management server 200 with the received MAC address. Here, FIG. 9 shows an example of the electrical appliance information management table. Here, the first, second, and fifth lines from the top are obtained as search results.

  Finally, the location information comparison module 223 of the electrical appliance information management server 200 compares the time in the search result with the location information result to determine whether the electrical appliance 10 to be identified is at a remote location at a different time. To do. If it is in a remote location, the electrical appliance information management server 200 identifies that the electrical appliance 10 is a mobile terminal. Conversely, if it is always the same or at least connected to a nearby wireless network, it is identified as a fixed terminal.

  However, as described above, there are cases in which the mobility of an appliance cannot be identified by only a few movements. In such a case, a more detailed identification is possible by setting a threshold for the movement frequency or ignoring the same movement as a plurality of terminals connected at the same time as exceptions. For this reason, the location information extraction module 222 of the appliance information management server 200 may perform a search under more complicated conditions.

  The above is the procedure of the electrical appliance mobility identification process executed by the electrical appliance information management server 200 in the mobility identification system 1. The same applies to the mobility identification process of the appliance executed by the appliance information management server 201 in the mobility identification system 2.

  The means and functions described above are realized by a computer (including a CPU, an information processing apparatus, and various terminals) reading and executing a predetermined program. The program is provided in a form recorded on a computer-readable recording medium such as a flexible disk, CD (CD-ROM, etc.), DVD (DVD-ROM, DVD-RAM, etc.), for example. In this case, the computer reads the program from the recording medium, transfers it to the internal storage device or the external storage device, stores it, and executes it. The program may be recorded in advance in a storage device (recording medium) such as a magnetic disk, an optical disk, or a magneto-optical disk, and provided from the storage device to a computer via a communication line.

  As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described, this invention is not limited to these embodiment mentioned above. The effects described in the embodiments of the present invention are only the most preferable effects resulting from the present invention, and the effects of the present invention are limited to those described in the embodiments of the present invention. is not.

  1 mobility identification system, 10 electrical appliances, 20 wireless access point, 200 electrical appliance information management server

Claims (9)

A wireless access point communicably connected to the appliance;
An appliance information management server communicably connected to the wireless access point through a public line;
A mobility identification system comprising:
The wireless access point is
An identifier acquisition means for acquiring an identifier of the appliance connected to be communicable with the wireless access point;
Transmitting means for transmitting the appliance identifier acquired by the identifier acquisition means to the appliance information management server;
With
The appliance information management server
The identifier of the appliance received from the wireless access point and the location information of the wireless access point stored in advance in the storage unit of the appliance information management server are stored in the storage unit together with the received time. Position information storage means;
The movement frequency for calculating the movement frequency of the electrical appliance specified by the identifier of the electrical appliance using a combination of two or more positional information, the electrical appliance identifier, and the time stored by the positional information storage means A calculation means;
Threshold determination means for determining whether the movement frequency is equal to or higher than a predetermined threshold;
Mobility identifying means for identifying mobility of the electrical appliance specified by the electrical appliance identifier according to a determination result by the threshold determining means ;
A mobility identification system comprising: A wireless access point communicably connected to the appliance;
An appliance information management server communicably connected to the wireless access point through a public line;
A mobility identification system comprising:
The wireless access point is
Position information acquisition means for acquiring position information of the wireless access point;
An identifier acquisition means for acquiring an identifier of the appliance connected to be communicable with the wireless access point;
Transmitting means for transmitting the position information acquired by the position information acquiring means and the identifier acquiring means and the identifier of the appliance to the appliance information management server;
With
The appliance information management server
Location information storage means for storing the location information received from the wireless access point and the identifier of the appliance together with the received time in a storage unit provided in the appliance information management server;
Using the combination of two or more position information stored in the position information storage means, the identifier of the appliance, and the time , the position information is different among the position information of a plurality of appliances connected simultaneously. Position information presence / absence determining means for determining presence / absence of a combination;
Based on the determination result by the position information presence / absence determining means , mobility identifying means for identifying the mobility of the electrical appliance specified by the identifier of the electrical appliance;
A mobility identification system comprising: A remote support system comprising the mobility identification system according to claim 1 or 2 as part of a configuration,
The electrical appliance is a supported electrical appliance subject to remote support,
Based on the result of identification by the mobility identification means of the electrical appliance information management server, remote support for the supported electrical appliance is performed.
Remote support system. A wireless access point that is communicably connected to an appliance, and an appliance information management server that is communicably connected;
The identifier of the appliance received from the wireless access point and the location information of the wireless access point stored in advance in the storage unit of the appliance information management server are stored in the storage unit together with the received time. Position information storage means;
The movement frequency for calculating the movement frequency of the electrical appliance specified by the identifier of the electrical appliance using a combination of two or more positional information, the electrical appliance identifier, and the time stored by the positional information storage means A calculation means;
Threshold determination means for determining whether the movement frequency is equal to or higher than a predetermined threshold;
Mobility identifying means for identifying mobility of the electrical appliance specified by the electrical appliance identifier according to a determination result by the threshold determining means ;
An appliance information management server comprising: A wireless access point that is communicably connected to an appliance, and an appliance information management server that is communicably connected;
Location information storage means for storing the location information of the wireless access point received from the wireless access point and the identifier of the appliance together with the received time in a storage unit provided in the appliance information management server;
Using the combination of two or more position information stored in the position information storage means, the identifier of the appliance, and the time , the position information is different among the position information of a plurality of appliances connected simultaneously. Position information presence / absence determining means for determining presence / absence of a combination;
Based on the determination result by the position information presence / absence determining means , mobility identifying means for identifying the mobility of the electrical appliance specified by the identifier of the electrical appliance;
An appliance information management server comprising: A mobility identification method executed by a wireless access point that is communicably connected to an electrical appliance and an electrical appliance information management server that is communicably connected,
Storing the location information of the wireless access point received from the wireless access point and the identifier of the appliance together with the received time in a storage unit provided in the appliance information management server;
Calculating the frequency of movement of the electrical appliance specified by the identifier of the electrical appliance using a combination of two or more location information, the electrical appliance identifier and the time stored in the step;
Determining whether the movement frequency is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold;
Identifying the mobility of the appliance identified by the identifier of the appliance according to the determination result by the determining step;
A mobility identification method comprising: A mobility identification method executed by a wireless access point that is communicably connected to an electrical appliance and an electrical appliance information management server that is communicably connected,
The identifier of the appliance received from the wireless access point and the location information of the wireless access point stored in advance in the storage unit of the appliance information management server are stored in the storage unit together with the received time. Steps,
Using a combination of two or more location information, the appliance identifier, and time stored in the step, the location of a plurality of appliances connected to the appliance identified by the appliance identifier at the same time Of the information, determining whether or not there is a combination having different position information,
Identifying the mobility of the electrical appliance specified by the electrical appliance identifier based on the determination result by the location information presence / absence determining means ;
A mobility identification method comprising: The wireless access point that is connected to the electrical appliance for communication, and the electrical appliance information management server that is connected to enable communication,
Storing the location information of the wireless access point received from the wireless access point and the identifier of the appliance together with the received time in a storage unit included in the appliance information management server;
Calculating the frequency of movement of the electrical appliance specified by the identifier of the electrical appliance using a combination of two or more location information, the electrical appliance identifier, and time stored in the step;
Determining whether the movement frequency is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold;
Identifying the mobility of the appliance identified by the identifier of the appliance according to the determination result by the threshold determination means ;
Program for electrical appliance information management server to execute The wireless access point that is connected to the electrical appliance for communication, and the electrical appliance information management server that is connected to enable communication,
The identifier of the appliance received from the wireless access point and the location information of the wireless access point stored in advance in the storage unit of the appliance information management server are stored in the storage unit together with the received time. Step,
Using a combination of two or more location information, the appliance identifier, and time stored in the step, the location of a plurality of appliances connected to the appliance identified by the appliance identifier at the same time Determining whether or not there is a combination having different position information among the information;
Identifying mobility of the appliance identified by the identifier of the appliance based on a determination result by the determining step;
Program for electrical appliance information management server to execute

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