JP7152452B2 - Server device, communication device, terminal device, communication system, program and update method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a server device that communicates with a terminal device connectable to a base station of a mobile communication network, a communication device provided in the terminal device, a terminal device, a communication system, a program, and an update method.

Conventionally, a communication standard called LTE-AdvancedPro (see Non-Patent Document 1) developed from 3GPP's LTE (Long Term Evolution)-Advanced, which is a communication standard for mobile communication systems, and proposed in the fifth generation mobile communication. In the new radio access technology (NR: New Radio) communication standard, a low power consumption wide area (hereinafter referred to as “LPWA” (Low Power, Wide Area)) that provides communication to devices for IoT (Internet of Things). As a communication technology, two wireless communication methods, Cat. M and Cat. NB (Narrow Band) is supported. Cat. M is Cat. Also called M1, LTE-M or eMTC (enhanced Machine-Type Communications), it limits the frequency bandwidth to, for example, 1.4 MHz and supports a coverage extension of about 15 dB and a maximum communication speed of 1 Mbps (upstream). Also, Cat. NB, also called NB-IoT, has a limited frequency bandwidth to a narrow band of, for example, 200 kHz, supports a coverage extension of approximately 23 dB and a maximum communication speed of 63 kbps (uplink), and can also be used in the LTE frequency band.

3GPP TS 36.300 V13.5.0 (2016-09).

Among LPWA communication technologies, there is a communication method (NIDD (Non-IP Data Deliverer) compliant communication method for communicating between a terminal device and a server device via a mobile communication network by non-IP communication that does not use IP (Internet Protocol). communication method, etc.). Such non-IP communication via mobile communication networks is used for distribution of data for updating software of terminal devices (for example, FOTA (Firmware update Over The Air)) from the viewpoint of high security.

However, conventionally, with a communication protocol available for non-IP communication (for example, the LwM2M (Lightweight Machine to Machine) protocol), although it was possible to update the firmware of the communication module installed in the terminal device, communication in the terminal device It was not possible to update software used in components other than modules.

A server device according to an aspect of the present invention is an update device for updating software of a communication device having a communication module and a control unit connected to the communication module by non-IP communication that does not use IP (Internet Protocol). A server device for transmitting data to the communication device via a mobile communication network, wherein firmware of the communication module among a plurality of data containers used for a device management protocol between the communication module and the server device update data for updating software of components other than the communication module in the communication device using a data container different from the data container defined by the device management protocol to be used for the update data to the communication module of the communication device.
In the server device, a component update object instance used for transmission and reception of update data for the component is defined in the separate data container, and the component update object instance is defined as the update data. A first object instance used as a resource for storing the update management data, a second object instance used as a resource for storing the update management data, and data for notifying the download status of the update data are stored. and a third object instance.
In the server device, in the transmission process, the update data may be divided into a plurality of update divided data and transmitted to the communication module of the communication device.
Further, in the server device, the non-IP communication may be low power consumption wide area communication.
Further, in the server device, the low power consumption wide area communication may be communication conforming to NIDD (Non-IP Data Deliverer).
Further, in the server device, the communication protocol may be an LwM2M (Lightweight Machine to Machine) protocol.
Further, in the server device, the update data may be update data for updating software of a component of a connection device connected to the communication device.

Further, a communication device according to another aspect of the present invention includes a communication module that communicates with a server device via a mobile communication network by non-IP communication that does not use IP (Internet Protocol), and the and a control unit that performs update processing based on update data from a server device, wherein the communication module includes a plurality of devices used in a device management protocol between the communication module and the server device. The communication module transmitted from the server device using a data container different from the data container defined by the device management protocol to be used for updating the firmware of the communication module. receiving update data for updating software of components other than Based on this, the software of the components of the communication device other than the communication module or the external components connected to the communication device is updated.

A terminal device according to still another aspect of the present invention is a terminal device that includes a connection device and a communication device that transmits information sent from the connection device to an information acquisition device via a mobile communication network. Then, the communication device described above is used as the communication device.

A communication system according to still another aspect of the present invention includes a terminal device connectable to a base station of a mobile communication network, and a server device communicating with the terminal device via the mobile communication network. The server device is the server device described above, and the terminal device is the terminal device described above.

Further, according to still another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a program for updating software of a communication device having a communication module and a control unit connected to the communication module by non-IP communication that does not use IP (Internet Protocol). update data to the communication device via a mobile communication network, the program causing the computer of the server device to function, the plurality of data used in the device management protocol between the communication module and the server device By using a data container different from the data container defined by the device management protocol to be used for the firmware update data of the communication module, among the containers, the components of the communication device other than the communication module are updated. The computer is caused to function as a transmission processing unit that performs transmission processing for transmitting update data for updating software to the communication module of the communication device.

A program according to still another aspect of the present invention includes a communication module that communicates with a server device via a mobile communication network by non-IP communication that does not use IP (Internet Protocol); A program for functioning a computer of a communication module of a communication device having a control unit that performs update processing based on update data from a server device, the device management protocol between the communication module and the server device transmitted from the server device using a data container different from the data container defined by the device management protocol to be used for the firmware update data of the communication module, among the plurality of data containers used in the The computer is made to function so that the communication module receives update data for updating the software of the components other than the communication module, and transfers the update data to the control unit.

A program according to still another aspect of the present invention includes a communication module that communicates with a server device via a mobile communication network by non-IP communication that does not use IP (Internet Protocol); A program for functioning a computer of a control unit of a communication device comprising a control unit that performs update processing based on update data from a server device, the device management protocol between the communication module and the server device transmitted from the server device using a data container different from the data container defined by the device management protocol to be used for the firmware update data of the communication module, among the plurality of data containers used in the receiving update data for updating software of components other than the communication module from the communication module, and based on the update data, the components of the communication device other than the communication module or the communication device The computer is operated to update the software of external components connected to the computer.

Further, an update method according to still another aspect of the present invention updates software of a communication device having a communication module and a control unit connected to the communication module by non-IP communication that does not use IP (Internet Protocol). update data for updating from a server apparatus to the communication device via a mobile communication network, and updating software of the communication device based on the update data, the update method comprising: the communication module and the Among a plurality of data containers used in a device management protocol with a server device, a data container different from the data container defined by the device management protocol to be used for firmware update data of the communication module is selected. to transmit update data for updating software of components other than the communication module in the communication device from the server device to the communication device; receiving the update data transmitted from the device and passing the update data to the control unit; and receiving the update data from the communication module and transmitting the update data to the control unit of the communication device. and updating software in components other than the communication module based on.

According to the present invention, a device management protocol that can be used in non-IP communication can be used to update software used in components other than the communication module in the communication device.

1 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the configuration of a communication system according to an embodiment; FIG. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a data container defined according to the LwM2M protocol; FIG. 2 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the flow of processing for activating a communication board of a terminal device in the same communication system and establishing communication between the terminal device and the mobile communication network side; FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the flow of processing for checking the version of the control application of the control unit of the terminal device in the update processing according to the embodiment; FIG. 4 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the flow of processing for transmitting update data from the FOTA server to the communication board (communication terminal device) in the same update processing; FIG. 11 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the flow of processing for updating the control application of the control unit using the update file saved in the storage unit of the terminal device in the update processing;

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the configuration of a communication system according to this embodiment.
The communication system of the present embodiment mainly includes one or more terminal devices 10 and a FOTA (Firmware Update Over The Air) server 200 as a server device.

The terminal device 10 of this embodiment includes a communication board 11 as a communication device. A communication module 12 for mobile communication is mounted on the communication board 11, and a sensor 16 as a connection device is connected. The terminal device 10 of this embodiment is an IoT device, but is not limited to this as long as it is a terminal device capable of mobile communication. The communication system of the present embodiment also includes a service provider server 300 as information acquisition means for acquiring detection information of the sensor 16 from the terminal device 10, which is an IoT device equipped with the sensor 16. FIG. The service provider server 300 collects detection information detected by the sensor 16 of the terminal device 10 and performs processing for providing a service using the collected detection information. managed and operated by

Upload data transmitted from the communication board 11 of the terminal device 10 to the service provider server 300 via the SCS 100 is transmitted to the SCS 100 via the base station 20, MME (Mobility Management Entity) 40, and SCEF (Service Capability Exposure Function) 50. , and sent to the service provider server 300 . Also, the download data transmitted from the service provider server 300 to the communication board 11 of the terminal device 10 via the SCS 100 is relayed by the SCS 100 and transferred to the communication board 11 of the terminal device 10 via the SCEF 50, MME 40 and base station 20. sent to These upload data and download data have a data structure in which a header portion and the like are added to a user data container in which user data is stored.

The communication system of the present embodiment transmits communication data including update data from the FOTA server 200 via the mobile communication network 1 to the communication module of the communication board 11 mounted on the terminal device 10 by non-IP communication that does not use IP. 12, and updates the software (programs and data) in the communication board 11 of the terminal device 10 based on the update data. The update data transmitted from the FOTA server 200 to the communication board 11 of the terminal device 10 via the SCS 100 is relayed by the SCS 100 and transmitted to the communication board 11 of the terminal device 10 via the SCEF 50, MME 40 and base station 20. be done. This update data is stored in a designated data container within the user data container of the communication data (download data) and communicated using a predetermined communication protocol. In this embodiment, an example using the LwM2M (Lightweight Machine to Machine) protocol as the communication protocol will be described, but the communication protocol is not limited to this.

A mobile communication network 1 that constitutes the communication system of the present embodiment mainly includes one or more base stations 20 that wirelessly communicate with a terminal device 10, an MME 40, an SCEF 50, and an SCS 100. The SCS 100 has an SCEF I/F 120 for communicating with the SCEF 50 and an IP I/F 140 for communicating with the FOTA server 200 and the service provider server 300 .

Facilities within the mobile communication network 1, such as the base station 20, MME 40, SCEF 50, and SCS 100, may be managed and operated by, for example, a mobile communication carrier of the mobile communication network. The SCS 100 may be equipment within the mobile communication network or may be equipment outside the mobile communication network. Although only one terminal device 10 is shown in FIG. 1 for convenience of illustration, two or more terminal devices 10 may be provided.

A communication board 11 as a communication device installed in the terminal device 10 of the present embodiment includes a communication module 12, a control unit 13 on the main body side, a storage unit 14, and a plurality of I/O devices corresponding to a plurality of types of communication methods. 0 interfaces 15A to 15D. A connection device such as a sensor 16 can be connected to the I/O interfaces 15A to 15D of the communication board 11 . The connection device includes various connection devices according to the application of the terminal device 10 (IoT device), and is not particularly limited. For example, the terminal device 10 of the present embodiment is an IoT device equipped with sensors used in various industries such as medical care, agriculture, electric power, water supply and sewage, automobiles, and transportation. It may be a device, and can be applied to IoT equipment having all kinds of uses and functions. In addition, the terminal device 10 of the present embodiment can be applied not only to IoT devices, but also to devices having all kinds of uses and functions, as long as the device incorporates a communication module 12 for mobile communication, also called a mobile station.

The communication module 12 is a communication device for mobile communication, also called a mobile station, and functions as communication means for communicating via a mobile communication network. It performs high frequency signal processing for wireless communication with the base station 20 . The communication module 12 of the present embodiment is modularized and mounted on the communication board 11, and executes various processing operations by executing firmware stored in a storage device within the communication module 12. . The communication board 11 can perform wireless communication with the base station 20 by a predetermined wireless communication method by the communication module 12, and can be connected to the mobile communication network side. Communication can be performed by, for example, the NIDD (Non-IP Data Deliverer) communication method belonging to the LPWA (Low Power, Wide Area) communication technology.

Communication module 12 is Cat. M and Cat. Other communication schemes belonging to LPWA communication technology such as NB may be adopted. In addition, Cat. M is 3GPP's LTE Cat. M1, LTE Cat. A wireless communication system conforming to the specifications of M2, LTE-M or eMTC, the frequency bandwidth is limited to, for example, 1.4 MHz, and supports a coverage extension of about 15 dB and a maximum communication speed (throughput) of 1 Mbps (uplink). ing. Also, Cat. NB is 3GPP's LTE Cat. NB1, LTE Cat. NB2 or NB-IoT specification compliant wireless communication system, frequency bandwidth is limited to a narrow band of, for example, 200 kHz, coverage extension of about 23 dB and maximum communication speed (throughput) of 63 kbps (uplink) in case of NB1 ) is supported.

The communication module 12 may have a function of performing communication using IP (Internet Protocol) via a mobile communication network like a normal mobile station. However, in this case, it is necessary to mount a processing module for IP communication, which increases the parts cost and manufacturing cost of the communication module 12 . When the communication module 12 is mounted on a large number of terminal devices 10 and communication boards 11 on the market, the communication module 12 has only necessary and sufficient functions for communication of the NIDD communication method belonging to the LPWA communication technology described above, and does not need for this communication. It is preferable in terms of cost to eliminate other functions such as IP communication.

The control unit 13 controls operations of various components of the communication device 11 . Although the control unit 13 differs depending on the type of the communication device 11, for example, it includes an MPU (micro processing unit), RAM, ROM, etc., and is mounted on the communication board 11 together with the communication module 12 as a control module. . By forming the communication module 12 and the control unit 13 on the communication board 11 as separate modules in this way, it becomes easy to develop and manufacture the communication module 12 and the control unit 13 separately.

According to this, for example, while the communication module 12 is developed and manufactured by the mobile communication carrier, the control module of the control unit 13 can be developed and manufactured by the service provider. As a result, for mobile communication carriers, it is possible to standardize the communication module 12 to be combined with the control modules of a plurality of service providers, thereby reducing costs. Further, for the service provider, the control unit 13 combined with the communication modules of a plurality of mobile communication providers can be shared, and cost reduction can be achieved.

The control unit 13 executes a program such as firmware stored in the storage unit 14 (hereinafter also referred to as a “control application”) to, for example, upload predetermined upload data from the communication module 12 via the mobile communication network 1. The download data is transmitted to the service provider server 300 via the mobile communication network 1, and the sensor 16 is controlled based on the download data received by the communication module 12 from the service provider server 300 via the mobile communication network 1, or data processing is performed.

Further, by executing a predetermined update execution program, the control unit 13 updates the firmware of the communication module 12 as well as the firmware of the communication module 12 based on the update data received by the communication module 12 from the FOTA server 200 via the mobile communication network 1 . , programs in the storage unit 14 such as the firmware (control application 1) of the control unit 13, which is a component other than the communication module, the control program (control application 2) for controlling the sensor 16 executed by the control unit 13, An update process for updating the firmware of the sensor 16 connected to the communication board 11 can be executed.

In the present embodiment, a process of updating a program (software such as a control application) stored in the storage unit 14 of the communication board 11 is taken as an example. It may be a process of updating data (software), such as updating data in a database that is stored in the database.

The storage unit 14 stores software such as programs executed by the control unit 13 and various data. Programs and data in storage unit 14 are updated by update processing of control unit 13 based on update data received by communication module 12 from FOTA server 200 via mobile communication network 1 .

The I/O interfaces 15A-15D are provided on the communication board 11 in the terminal device 10. FIG. On the communication board 11 of the present embodiment, as I/O interfaces, there are a U bus interface 15A, a UART (Universal Asynchronous Receiver Transmitter) interface 15B, an SPI (Serial Peripheral Interface) interface 15C, and an I ² C interface 15D. It has Devices (components) such as the sensor 16 mounted on the terminal device 10 are connected to corresponding interfaces among the I/O interfaces 15A to 15D of the communication board 11 . Since the sensor 16 of this embodiment is compatible with the UART interface 15B, it is connected to the UART interface 15B. The U bus interface 15A is a communication interface capable of high-speed packet communication with meter devices such as water meters and gas meters, and various sensors.

The sensor 16 is a detection means mounted on the terminal device 10 to detect necessary information, and is a connection device connected to the communication board 11 . Information detected by the sensor 16 is collected by the service provider server 300 and used for services using the collected detection information. There are no particular restrictions on what kind of information the sensor 16 detects, and the sensor 16 may be a sensor (meter device) that detects the amount of gas or water used, or a moving object such as an automobile. It may be a sensor that detects information such as vehicle speed, a sensor that detects rainfall, or any sensor.

The base station 20 constitutes a radio access network (RAN), and is also called eNodeB (eNB), gNodeB, etc., or is called a macrocell base station, small cell base station, etc. depending on the size of the cell it forms. or The base station 20 includes, for example, a radio unit (RRH) that transmits and receives radio signals and a baseband unit (BBU) that performs digital baseband signal processing. For example, the RRH converts the digital baseband signal received from the BBU into an RF signal, power-amplifies it to a predetermined signal level, and transmits it to the terminal device 10 . Also, the RRH converts the RF signal received from the communication module 12 of the terminal device 10 into a digital baseband signal and transmits the digital baseband signal to the BBU.

A core network included in a mobile communication network is also called an EPC (Evolved Packet Core) in LTE/LTE-Advanced, for example, and is connected to a base station 20 via a predetermined communication interface. The core network also has various nodes such as MME 40 and SCEF 50 . The core network may have other nodes such as PCRF (Policy and Charging Rules Function).

The MME 40 is a node that accommodates the base station 20 and performs radio communication network control, mobility control, handover control, user authentication control, and the like. Based on the user registration information, the MME 40 transfers data transmitted via the base station 20 to the SCEF 50 that performs NIDD data transfer described later, or receives data sent from the SCEF 50 and addressed to the terminal device 10 . Information such as a reception request is transferred to the base station 20 . The MME 40 also has a function of collecting and storing information such as communication log information and communication control parameters for each of the communication module 12 mounted on the communication board 11 of the terminal device 10 and the base station 20 .

The SCEF 50 is a node with interfaces for providing some of the 3GPP communication services to third party application providers. The SCEF 50 performs transfer processing for data transmission/reception with the communication board 11 of the terminal device 10 by the later-described NIDD. The SCEF 50 may create communication usage data (for example, CDR) for accounting for data transmission/reception with the communication board 11 of the terminal device 10 by NIDD.

In addition, in the present embodiment, information such as notification of data communication timing of regular communication in which the terminal device 10 performs data communication at a predetermined data communication timing is sent from the communication board 11 of the terminal device 10 to the SCEF 50 via a control channel, for example. be done.

In order to reduce power consumption, the communication module 12 of the terminal device 10 may be put into a sleep state by stopping power supply to some circuits when waiting for an incoming call. The communication module 12 of the terminal device 10 receives a reception request, which will be described later, when waiting for an incoming call, supplies power to the entire circuit using the reception as a trigger, starts a predetermined application, and receives data to be received (service provider Download data from the server 300, etc.) may be received, and control may be performed to return to the sleep state when the data reception is completed.

Further, in the present embodiment, communication status information indicating the communication status of the terminal device 10 with the communication module 12 is transferred from the terminal device 10 or the base station 20 to the SCEF 50 via the MME 40 . The communication status information is, for example, information such as communication log information and communication control parameters of the terminal device 10 and the base station 20, setting information of data communication timing set in the communication module 12 of the terminal device 10, and the like.

The communication system that constitutes the communication system of this embodiment supports NIDD. NIDD is a function defined in the 3GPP standards (see, for example, TS23.401 V15.4.0 (2018-06), TS23.682 V15.5.0 (2018-06)), and uses IP. Since this is a non-IP communication in which communication is performed without data transmission, the communication module 12 mounted on the terminal device 10 can transfer data without operating the IP stack or obtaining an IP address. By using this NIDD, it becomes possible to transfer data securely without being attacked by IP networks that use IP. It can be expected to improve the communication success rate in

In order to reduce the data processing load in the mobile communication network, an MEC (Mobile Edge Computing) server that performs part of the data processing in the mobile communication network may be provided inside or near the base station 20 . The MEC server may have, for example, a function of managing data transmission timing to the communication module 12 of the terminal device 10 located in the cell of the base station 20 corresponding to the server.

In addition, the communication system of the present embodiment supports extended coverage (CE) of category M1 (eMTC) and category NB1 (NB-IoT) so that the communication module 12 of the terminal device 10 can communicate in the IoT communication mode. .

The IoT communication mode is a communication mode for performing IoT communication with the base station 20, for example, a communication mode conforming to the LTE-Advanced Pro eMTC or NB-IoT standard (see Non-Patent Document 1), or , is a communication mode of Massive Machine-Type Communications (5G mMTC: Massive Machine-Type Communications) proposed for 5th generation mobile communications.

The broadband communication mode is a communication mode in which broadband communication is performed with the base station 20 in a broadband communication area narrower than the IoT communication area in which communication is possible in the IoT communication mode. ), a communication mode conforming to the LTE, LTE-Advanced or LTE-Advanced Pro standards, or a communication mode of a new radio access technology (5G (New Radio)) proposed for 5th generation mobile communication. .

The communication system including the terminal device 10 or the communication board 11 of this embodiment may support both the broadband communication mode and the IoT communication mode, or may support only the IoT communication mode. may be

Further, in the communication system of the present embodiment, data transmission from the FOTA server 200 or the service provider server 300 to the communication module 12 of the terminal device 10 is performed by push communication (the communication module 12 does not send a data acquisition request, and the data is transmitted by push communication). can be performed by a communication method for receiving Such push communication enables predetermined download data (such as update data) to be transmitted to the communication module 12 of the terminal device 10 at a time desired by the FOTA server 200 or the service provider server 300 side.

However, in order to reduce power consumption, the communication module 12 of the terminal device 10 is in a communication-disabled state at communication-disabled timings that are not predetermined data communication timings. Therefore, even if the download data is transmitted (push communication) to the communication module 12 of the terminal device 10 at the communication disabled timing, the data will not be delivered.

Regarding this point, in this embodiment, since the data communication timing is managed by the SCEF 50 or the like, there is data transmission (push communication) from the service provider server 300 to the communication module 12 of the terminal device 10 at the communication disabled timing. In this case, the SCEF 50 temporarily holds the download data. Then, the SCEF 50 transmits the download data to the communication module 12 of the terminal device 10 at a predetermined data communication timing.

Also, even at the predetermined data communication timing, if the communication module 12 of the terminal device 10 cannot communicate with the base station 20, such as when the power of the terminal device 10 is turned off, Data will not be delivered. In such a case, in this embodiment, the MME 40 monitors the communication status between the communication module 12 of the terminal device 10 and the base station 20. Therefore, when data is transmitted to the communication module 12, the MME 40 The SCEF 50 is notified that communication with the communication module 12 is not possible. As a result, the SCEF 50 temporarily holds the download data, and upon receiving a notification from the MME 40 that communication with the communication module 12 is possible, the download data is transferred to the terminal via the MME 40 . Send to communication module 12 of device 10 .

Next, the configuration of the SCS 100 in this embodiment will be described.
The SCS 100 receives the upload data transmitted from the communication module 12 of each terminal device 10 belonging to this communication system via the mobile communication network, and sends the upload data specified by the destination information (server identification information) included in the upload data. FOTA server 200, service provider server 300, etc., which is a relay device. The SCS 100 includes a control unit 110, an SCEF I/F 120, a storage unit 130, and an IP I/F 140, as shown in FIG.

The control unit 110 executes various controls and data processing for the functions of the SCS 100 to be exhibited. Specifically, for example, the control unit 110 receives upload data transmitted from the communication module 12 of the terminal device 10 by the NIDD communication method through the SCEF I/F 120, and transmits the received upload data to the IP I/F 140. to execute transmission processing for transmission to the service provider server 300 . Further, the control unit 110 receives download data transmitted from the service provider server 300 via the IP I/F 140, and transmits the received download data to the communication module of the terminal device 10 via the SCEF I/F 120 using the NIDD communication method. 12 is executed.

In addition, control unit 110 receives download data, which is communication data including update data transmitted from FOTA 200, via IP I/F 140, and transmits the received download data to the terminal via SCEF I/F 120 using the NIDD communication method. A transmission process for transmission to the communication module 12 of the device 10 is executed.

Upload data transmitted from the terminal device 10 and download data transmitted to the terminal device 10 are often desired to have high security, so it is effective to use the NIDD communication method with high security. . As described above, the NIDD communication method supported by the communication system of the present embodiment is a communication technology that does not use IP and does not require an IP address. Secure communication is possible. In addition, by using the NIDD communication method in this way, it is possible to ensure sufficient security without taking other security measures such as encrypted communication. Since the amount of data can be reduced by 10 minutes, it can be expected to reduce the power consumption required for device data communication and improve the communication success rate in weak electric fields.

The SCEF I/F 120 is an interface for communicating with the SCEF 50 . It is not necessary to connect the SCS 100 and the SCEF 50 by a non-IP communication method that does not use IP. It is desirable to ensure

The storage unit 130 stores programs such as firmware executed by the control unit 110 and various information and data used for various processes executed by the control unit 110 .

The IP I/F 140 is mainly an interface for communicating with the FOTA server 200 and the service provider server 300 . The FOTA server 200, the service provider server 300, and the SCS 100 are connected by an IP communication system that communicates using IP, but it is desired to ensure sufficient security. Therefore, for example, authentication is performed so that only the FOTA server 200 and the service provider server 300 whose communication is permitted by the client certificate can communicate with the SCS 100, and encrypted communication is performed by SSL (Secure Sockets Layer). to ensure sufficient security.

The service provider server 300 is an application server that receives upload data from the terminal device 10 and executes processing for providing various services. In this embodiment, there is one service provider server 300, but two or more service providers receive upload data from the same terminal device 10 and provide the same service or different services. A server may be connected.

If the service provider server 300 receives upload data from the terminal device 10 and performs data processing, or performs data provision processing for transmitting download data to the terminal device 10, the content of the processing is There are no particular restrictions. Therefore, the service provider server 300 is, for example, a server for an IoT platform provided by a service provider, or collects upload data from terminal devices 10 such as smart meters for electricity, gas, water, etc. and various sensors. Examples include a server for providing services to be utilized, and a server for providing services that collects and utilizes uploaded data from terminal devices 10 such as various sensors mounted on mobile bodies such as automobiles.

In the LwM2M protocol used in this embodiment for updating software (programs and data) of the terminal device 10, a data container (object 5) used for firmware update data for updating the firmware of the communication module 12 of the terminal device 10 is defined. However, in the LwM2M protocol, a data container for transmitting and receiving update data for updating software (control applications, etc.) of components other than the communication module 12 of the communication board 11 (the control unit 13 in this embodiment) is not defined. do not have. Therefore, in the LwM2M protocol, conventionally, it was not possible to update the software of the components other than the communication module 12 of the terminal device 10 .

As a method of updating the software of the components other than the communication module 12 of the terminal device 10, a method of using a protocol different from the LwM2M protocol is conceivable. However, in order to use such a different protocol, it is necessary to modify existing configuration programs, etc., and large-scale modification work is unavoidable, resulting in problems such as high costs. If the software of components other than the communication module 12 of the terminal device 10 can be updated using the LwM2M protocol used to update the firmware of the communication module 12 of the terminal device 10, the existing configuration can be effectively utilized. , the process of updating the software of the components other than the communication module 12 of the terminal device 10 can be realized at low cost.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, the control application of the control unit 13, which is a component other than the communication module 12 of the terminal device 10, is updated using the LwM2M protocol used for the process of updating the firmware of the communication module 12. .

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a data container (object 19) defined according to the LwM2M protocol in this embodiment.
In the LwM2M protocol, as shown in FIG. 2, a data container "Binary App Data Container" (object 19) for transmitting and receiving binary data between the communication module 12 and the FOTA server 200 is defined. This data container (object 19) has a tree structure of object instances 0 to 4 below it, as shown in FIG. In this embodiment, object instances 2 to 4 in the data container “Binary App Data Container” (object 19) used for the LwM2M protocol are newly defined for updating the control application of the control unit 13. FIG.

Specifically, for example, the data area 0 (hereinafter referred to as "/19/2/0") of the object instance 2 as the first object instance of this data container (object 19) is the Define as an administrative resource for updating. Data area 0 (hereinafter referred to as "/19/3/0") of object instance 3 as the second object instance of this data container (object 19) is data for updating the control application. Define as a storage resource. Data area 0 (hereinafter referred to as "/19/4/0") of object instance 4 as the third object instance of this data container (object 19) is a notification for updating the control application. defined as a resource for

Data sent and received by the object instance "/19/2/0" includes, for example, the model number of the communication board 11, the serial number of the communication board 11, the version information of the control application, the update status of the control application (for example, updating , update success, update failure). The data transmitted and received by the object instance "/19/3/0" includes, for example, a split delta file (binary data), split delta file (binary data), split data for updating, in which the update file of the control application is split into a predetermined size. The total number of files and the number of divided Delta files are listed. The data transmitted and received by the object instance "/19/4/0" includes, for example, the download status of the divided Delta file (update file) of the control application (for example, download success, download failure (cause)), The total number of downloaded split Delta files and the number of downloaded split Delta files are listed.

FIG. 3 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the flow of processing for activating the communication board 11 of the terminal device 10 and establishing communication between the terminal device 10 and the mobile communication network 1 side in the communication system of the present embodiment. .
In the activation step (S100), for example, when the power of the terminal device 10 is turned on, the communication module 12 and the control unit 13 on the communication board 11 execute respective firmware, and the communication board 11 is activated (S101). Then, the control unit 13 reports the version information and the like of the control application stored in the storage unit 14 to the communication module 12 (S102). Specifically, the control unit 13 reads data corresponding to the object instances "/19/2/0" and "/19/4/0" of the data container (object 19) from the storage unit 14, and to the communication module 12 . The communication module 12 temporarily holds these data in a storage device within the communication module 12 . Note that AT commands, for example, can be used for communication between the communication module 12 and the control unit 13 .

After that, in order to establish communication with the mobile communication network 1, the communication module 12 first uses IMSI (International Mobile Subscriber Identity) or GUTI (Globally Unique Temporary ID), which is terminal identification information assigned in advance to itself. "IMSI") is notified to the MME 40 via the base station 20 (S103). The MME 40 performs an authentication process by making an inquiry to an authentication facility to confirm whether or not this IMSI has been authenticated (S104).

Here, prior to this authentication process, the SCS 100 generates in advance a resource for communicating with the communication module 12 of the terminal device 10 via the SCEF 50 in accordance with the NIDD communication method. At this time, the SCEF 50 issues an external-ID (hereinafter referred to as “E-ID”) authentication request to the authentication facility, and the authentication facility sends the IMSI related to the authentication process to the SCEF 50 as a response to this authentication request. return. As a result, the SCEF 50 performs a process of associating the IMSI corresponding to the communication module 12 of the terminal device 10 to be authenticated in the terminal authentication step with the E-ID used for communication between the SCEF 50 and the SCS 100. Execute and retain the mapping.

By this pre-processing, the authentication facility registers the IMSI in which the IMSI and the E-ID are associated with each other in the SCEF 50, that is, the IMSI that can be used as the terminal device 10 of this communication system. Therefore, the MME 40 that has received the IMSI notification from the communication module 12 of the terminal device 10 can authenticate whether or not this IMSI is the IMSI of the communication module 12 of this communication system by inquiring of the authentication equipment.

After completing the IMSI authentication process of the communication module 12, the MME 40 transmits a session creation request by the NIDD communication method to the SCEF 50 (S105). As a result, the SCEF 50 executes the process of associating the previously associated IMSI and E-ID with the SCS 100 (S106). This enables the SCS 100 to communicate data with the communication module 12 of the terminal device 10 via the SCEF 50 .

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the automatic connection processing between the communication module 12 of the terminal device 10 and the mobile communication network 1 is executed only by turning on the power of the terminal device 10 , and the mobile communication network 1 and the communication module 12 of the terminal device 10 can establish communication according to the NIDD communication method.

Next, update processing for updating software in the terminal device 10 based on update data included in download data transmitted from the FOTA server 200 to the communication module 12 of the terminal device 10 will be described.
Here, update processing for updating a control application (program) executed by the control unit 13 in the communication board 11 of the terminal device 10 will be described.

FIG. 4 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the flow of processing for checking the version of the control application of the control unit 13 of the communication board 11 in the update processing of this embodiment.
In the update process of the present embodiment, first, the version of the control application of the control unit 13 of the terminal device 10 is checked, and it is determined whether the update of the control application is necessary, such as the presence of a new version. The process shown in FIG. 4 is a version check step (S200) for checking the version of the control application of the control unit 13 of the terminal device 10. FIG.

When a predetermined update process start condition is satisfied, the FOTA server 200 starts the update process (S201). is transmitted (S202). Specifically, the FOTA server 200 transmits data acquisition requests for object instances "/19/2/0" and "/19/4/0" as acquisition requests for version information and the like. This acquisition request is transmitted to the communication module 12 of the terminal device 10 via the mobile communication network 1 . Specifically, this acquisition request is transmitted to the SCS 100 , and the SCS 100 performs processing for transmitting the acquisition request to the terminal device 10 by means of the control unit 110 . As a result, the control unit 110 of the SCS 100 refers to the storage unit 130 and transmits the acquisition request from the SCEF I/F 120 to the SCEF 50 to the communication module 12 of the terminal device 10 to which the acquisition request is transmitted. . The SCEF 50 transmits the acquisition request received from the SCS 100 to the terminal device 10 at a predetermined data communication timing at which data communication with the communication module 12 of the terminal device 10 is possible. Thereby, the acquisition request transmitted from the SCEF 50 is sent to the communication module 12 of the terminal device 10 via the MME 40 and the base station 20 by the NIDD communication method.

When the acquisition request is received by the communication module 12 of the terminal device 10, the communication module 12 retrieves the object instance "/ Data corresponding to "19/2/0" and "/19/4/0" (version information, setting information for update data communication, etc.) is read from the storage device in the communication module 12 (S203). The generated data is transmitted to the FOTA server 200 (S204). Thereby, the data transmitted from the communication module 12 of the terminal device 10 is transmitted to the FOTA server 200 via the mobile communication network 1 by the NIDD communication method. Specifically, it is relayed by SCS 100 via base station 20 , MME 40 and SCEF 50 and transmitted from SCS 100 to FOTA server 200 .

The communication module 12 of the terminal device 10 transmits data corresponding to the object instances "/19/2/0" and "/19/4/0" related to the data acquisition request from the FOTA server 200 to the mobile communication network 1. After the transmission, the controller 13 of the communication board 11 is notified (observe) of the object instances "/19/2/0" and "/19/4/0" (S205).

The FOTA server 200 checks the version of the control application to be updated in the control unit 13 of the communication board 11 based on the version information included in the received data (S206). When the FOTA server 200 determines that the control application to be updated needs to be updated, such as when the version is found to be older than the latest version in the version check, the FOTA server 200 shifts to update data transmission processing described later, When it is determined that the control application to be updated does not need to be updated, the update process is terminated.

Next, an update data transmission process executed when it is determined by the above-described version check (S206) that the control application to be updated needs to be updated will be described.
FIG. 5 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the flow of processing for transmitting update data from the FOTA server 200 to the terminal device 10 in the update processing of this embodiment.
The process shown in FIG. 5 is a transmission step (S300) for transmitting update data from the FOTA server 200 to the terminal device 10. FIG.

In the transmission step (S300), when the transmission processing unit of the FOTA server 200 determines through the above-described version check (S206) that it is necessary to update the control application to be updated, the update file transmission processing is started (S301). . Specifically, using a data container (object 19) different from the data container (object 5) defined by the LwM2M protocol to store data for updating the firmware of the communication module 12, the update file is stored in the terminal. A transmission process for transmitting to the device 10 is started.

Here, if the amount of data in the update file required to update the control application exceeds the amount of data that can be stored in the data container (object 19), divide the update file into multiple update files (updating split data). need arises. Therefore, in this embodiment, the transmission processing unit of the FOTA server 200 divides the update file into three and transmits the update file divided into three times.

In this embodiment, first, the transmission processing unit of the FOTA server 200 sends the first update file (first split Delta file) to the SCS 100 of the mobile communication network 1 (S302). Since the first update file of this control application is transmitted using "/19/3/0" in the LwM2M protocol as described above, the FOTA server 200 sends "/19/3/0 , the first update file is sent along with a write command (Write) to the .

The SCS 100 that has received the first update file transmits this first update file to the communication module 12 of the terminal device 10 via the SCEF 50, MME 40 and base station 20 using the NIDD communication method. At this time, the amount of data in the first update file exceeds the amount of data that can be transmitted in one communication using the NIDD communication method, so the SCS 100 transmits the first update file in one communication using the NIDD communication method. The data is subdivided so that the amount of data can be reduced (S303). By this data segmentation, the first update file is divided into data blocks and transmitted to the communication module 12 of the terminal device 10 by the NIDD communication method (S304).

The communication module 12 of the terminal device 10 receives the data blocks sequentially transmitted from the SCS 100, and when the last data block is received, it performs a reception process of receiving these data blocks as the first update file (S305). Then, the communication module 12 of the terminal device 10 transmits the received first update file to the control unit 13 of the communication board 11 (S306), and the control unit 13 stores the first update file in the storage unit 14 (S307 ).

After storing the first update file in the storage unit 14, the control unit 13 refers to the download status stored in "/19/4/0" in the LwM2M protocol, and obtains the number of the first update file (three number indicating the first update file among the divisions) and a notification that the download was successful is sent to the communication module 12 (S308). The communication module 12 receiving this transmits the notification to the mobile communication network 1, and the notification is relayed by the SCS 100 via the base station 20, the MME 40 and the SCEF 50 according to the NIDD communication method. (S308).

When the FOTA server 200 receives the notification that the download was successful, it checks the number of the first update file included in the notification, and determines whether or not transmission of all update files has been completed (S309). At this stage, there are still two update files left, namely, the second update file (second split Delta file) and the third update file (third split Delta file), so all transmission of the update files is completed. Not completed (No in S309). Therefore, the process returns to the processing step S301, and the transmission processing of the second update file is executed (S301 to S308). When the process of transmitting the second update file and the third update file is completed, it is determined that the transmission of all the update files has been completed (Yes in S309), and the transmission step ends.

Next, processing for updating the control application of the control unit 13 using the update file stored in the storage unit 14 of the communication board 11 will be described.
FIG. 6 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the flow of processing for updating the control application of the control unit 13 using the update file saved in the storage unit 14 of the communication board 11 in this embodiment.
The process shown in FIG. 6 is an update step (S400) of updating the control application of the control unit 13 using the update file saved in the storage unit 14 of the communication board 11. FIG.

In the update step (S400), the FOTA server 200, after completing transmission of all the update files in the transmission step (s300), transmits an update command for the control application to be updated to the mobile communication network 1 (S401). Specifically, the FOTA server 200 transmits data such as updated version information together with a write command (Write) to "/19/2/0". The update command transmitted from the FOTA server 200 is relayed to the SCS 100 and transmitted from the SCEF I/F 120 of the SCS 100 to the SCEF 50 (S402). The SCEF 50 that has received the update command transmits this update command to the communication module 12 of the terminal device 10 via the MME 40 and the base station 20 using the NIDD communication method (S402).

Upon receiving this update command, the communication module 12 of the terminal device 10 transmits the update command to the control unit 13 of the communication board 11 (S403). Upon receiving this update command, the control unit 13 reads the update file corresponding to the version of the control application related to the update command, that is, the update file saved in the storage unit 14 in the transmission step described above, and stores it in the storage unit 14. A process of updating the control application to be updated is performed (S404). At this time, the control unit 13 may notify a device such as a sensor controlled by the control application that the updating process is in progress.

After the update of the control application is completed, the control unit 13 of the communication board 11 restarts the communication board 11 (S405). After restarting, the control unit 13 reports the version information and the like of the control application stored in the storage unit 14 to the communication module 12 (S406), similarly to the processing step S102 of the startup step (S100) described above. Further, the communication module 12 executes the process of establishing communication with the mobile communication network 1 (S407), like the process steps S103 to S106 of the activation step (S100) described above.

Then, in response to the data acquisition request from the mobile communication network 1, the communication module 12 acquires the object instance "/19/2/0" related to the data acquisition request previously acquired from the control unit 13 in the processing step S406 described above. ” and “/19/4/0” (version information, setting information for update data communication, etc.) are read out from the storage device in the communication module 12 (S407), and the read data are stored in the FOTA It is transmitted to the server 200 (S408). Thereby, the data transmitted from the communication module 12 of the terminal device 10 is transmitted to the FOTA server 200 via the mobile communication network 1 by the NIDD communication method. As a result, the FOTA server 200 confirms that the update of the control application has been completed normally, and terminates the series of update processes.

The communication module 12 of the terminal device 10 transmits data corresponding to the object instances "/19/2/0" and "/19/4/0" related to the data acquisition request from the FOTA server 200 to the mobile communication network 1. After the transmission, the controller 13 of the communication board 11 is notified (observe) of the object instances "/19/2/0" and "/19/4/0" (S409).

Further, at the end of the update process of this embodiment, data corresponding to the updated object instances "/19/2/0" and "/19/4/0" are received from the communication module 12 to the FOTA server 200. You can pass it on. Specifically, in response to the data acquisition request from the FOTA server 200, the communication module 12 obtains the data corresponding to the updated object instances "/19/2/0" and "/19/4/0" It may be transmitted to the FOTA server 200 via the mobile communication network 1 .

As described above, in the LwM2M protocol, the process of updating the firmware of the communication module 12 of the terminal device 10 is defined. is not defined. Therefore, conventionally, under the definition of the LwM2M protocol, the control application of the control unit 13 of the communication board 11 could not be updated. can do the app. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, the existing configuration corresponding to the LwM2M protocol used for updating the firmware of the communication module 12 mounted on the communication board 11 of the terminal device 10 is used to communicate with the terminal device 10. Since the control application of the control unit 13, which is a component other than the module 12, can be updated, the update processing of the control application can be realized at low cost.

A communication method of LPWA communication technology other than the NIDD communication method may be used, but since it is used for communication of update data for which high security is desired, the NIDD communication method with high security as in the present embodiment is used. It is preferable to adopt

It should be noted that the processing steps and components of terminal devices, server devices, and communication systems described herein may be implemented by various means. For example, these processes and components may be implemented in hardware, firmware, software, or any combination thereof.

For hardware implementation, the above processes and components in entities (for example, various wireless communication devices, various base station devices such as eNodeB and gNode, control units, communication modules, storage units, hard disk drives, or optical disk drives) The means such as processing units used to implement the ), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), processors, controllers, microcontrollers, microprocessors, electronic devices, other electronic units designed to perform the functions described herein, computers, or , may be implemented in combinations thereof.

Also, for firmware and/or software implementations, each part used to implement the components may be a program (e.g., code such as procedures, functions, modules, instructions, etc.) that performs the functions described herein. ) may be implemented. In general, any computer/processor readable medium tangibly embodying firmware and/or software code means, such as a processing unit, used to implement the steps and components described herein. may be used to implement For example, firmware and/or software code may be stored in memory and executed by a computer or processor, such as in a controller or storage device. The memory may be implemented within the computer or processor, or external to the processor. The firmware and/or software code may also be, for example, random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), non-volatile random access memory (NVRAM), programmable read only memory (PROM), electrically erasable PROM (EEPROM). ), flash memory, floppy disk, compact disk (CD), digital versatile disk (DVD), magnetic or optical data storage devices, etc. good. The code may be executed by one or more computers or processors and may cause the computers or processors to perform certain aspects of the functionality described herein.

Also, the medium may be a non-temporary recording medium. Also, the code of the program may be readable and executable by a computer, processor, or other device or apparatus machine, and its format is not limited to a particular format. For example, the program code may be source code, object code, or binary code, or may be a mixture of two or more of these codes.

Moreover, the description of the embodiments disclosed herein is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make or use the present disclosure. Various modifications to this disclosure will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein are applicable to other variations without departing from the spirit or scope of this disclosure. This disclosure, therefore, is not to be limited to the examples and designs described herein, but is to be accorded the broadest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

1: mobile communication network 10: terminal device 11: communication board (communication device)
12: communication module 13: control unit 14: storage units 15A to 15D: I/O interface 16: sensor 20: base station 40: MME
50: SCEF
100: SCS
110: Control unit 120: I/F for SCEF
130: Storage unit 140: I/F for IP
200: FOTA server 300: Service provider server

Claims (13)

Updating data for updating software of a communication device having a communication module and a control unit connected to the communication module by non-IP communication that does not use IP (Internet Protocol), is transmitted via the mobile communication network. A server device that transmits to a device,
Of the plurality of data containers used in the device management protocol between the communication module and the server device, the data container defined by the device management protocol to be used for firmware update data of the communication module a transmission processing unit that performs a transmission process of transmitting update data for updating software of components other than the communication module in the communication device to the communication module of the communication device using another data container; A server device characterized by: In the server device according to claim 1,
In the separate data container, an object instance for updating the configuration part used for transmitting and receiving data for updating the configuration part is defined,
The object instance for updating the component is
a first object instance used as a resource in which update management data is stored;
a second object instance used as a resource in which the update data is stored;
a third object instance storing data for notifying the download status of the update data;
A server device comprising: In the server device according to claim 1 or 2,
In the transmission process, the server apparatus divides the update data into a plurality of divided update data and transmits the divided data to the communication module of the communication device. In the server device according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The server device, wherein the non-IP communication is low power consumption wide area communication. In the server device according to claim 4,
The server device, wherein the low power consumption wide area communication is communication conforming to NIDD (Non-IP Data Deliverer). In the server device according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
The server device, wherein the device management protocol is an LwM2M (Lightweight Machine to Machine) protocol. In the server device according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
The server device, wherein the update data is update data for updating software of a component of a connection device connected to the communication device. A communication module that communicates with a server device via a mobile communication network by non-IP communication that does not use IP (Internet Protocol), and update processing is performed based on update data received from the server device by the communication module. A communication device comprising a controller,
The communication module is
Of the plurality of data containers used in the device management protocol between the communication module and the server device, the data container defined by the device management protocol to be used for firmware update data of the communication module receiving update data for updating software of components other than the communication module transmitted from the server device using another data container;
passing the update data to the control unit;
The control unit
receiving the update data from the communication module;
updating software of components of the communication device other than the communication module or of an external component connected to the communication device, based on the update data;
A communication device characterized by: A terminal device comprising a connection device and a communication device for transmitting information sent from the connection device to an information acquisition device via a mobile communication network,
A terminal device, wherein the communication device according to claim 8 is used as the communication device. a terminal device connectable to a base station of a mobile communication network;
A communication system comprising the terminal device and a server device that communicates via the mobile communication network,
The server device is the server device according to any one of claims 1 to 7,
A communication system, wherein the terminal device is the terminal device according to claim 8 . Updating data for updating software of a communication device having a communication module and a control unit connected to the communication module by non-IP communication that does not use IP (Internet Protocol), is transmitted via the mobile communication network. A program that functions a computer of a server device that transmits to a device,
Of the plurality of data containers used in the device management protocol between the communication module and the server device, the data container defined by the device management protocol to be used for firmware update data of the communication module A transmission processing unit that uses another data container to perform a transmission process of transmitting update data for updating software of components other than the communication module in the communication device to the communication module of the communication device, A program that causes the computer to function. A communication module that communicates with a server device via a mobile communication network by non-IP communication that does not use IP (Internet Protocol), and update processing is performed based on update data received from the server device by the communication module. A program that causes a computer of the communication module of a communication device comprising a control unit to function,
Of the plurality of data containers used in the device management protocol between the communication module and the server device, the data container defined by the device management protocol to be used for firmware update data of the communication module Using another data container, update data for updating software of components other than the communication module transmitted from the server device is received by the communication module and transferred to the control unit. , a program characterized by causing the computer to function . Update data for updating software of a communication device having a communication module and a control unit connected to the communication module is transmitted from a server device through a mobile communication network by non-IP communication that does not use IP (Internet Protocol). an update method for updating the software of the communication device based on the update data, which is transmitted to the communication device via
Of the plurality of data containers used in the device management protocol between the communication module and the server device, the data container defined by the device management protocol to be used for firmware update data of the communication module using another data container to transmit update data for updating software of components other than the communication module in the communication device from the server device to the communication device;
the communication module of the communication device receiving the update data transmitted from the server device and passing the update data to the control unit;
the control unit of the communication device receiving the update data from the communication module and updating software of components other than the communication module based on the update data;
An update method, comprising:

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