KR100706318B1 - Method of Supporting for Compatibility between LnCP and Another Protocol - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides a method for supporting compatibility between LnCP and a heterogeneous protocol, the method comprising: transmitting a packet from an LnCP channel handler to a bridge, wherein the packet is transmitted to a conversion module or a slave module; When the packet is sent to the conversion module, converted to the corresponding protocol packet and transmitted to the corresponding protocol product through the physical interface of the bridge; And a response packet generated in the corresponding product is transferred to the conversion module through the physical interface of the bridge, converted into an LnCP packet, and transmitted to the LnCP channel handler.

As described above, the present invention can make the compatibility between the LnCP and the heterogeneous protocol by changing the protocol level in software without changing the existing LnCP library.

Accordingly, the upper end user can be controlled in the same manner through the LnCP library, whether the product is a LnCP product or a product that does not conform to the LnCP.

LnCP, Heterogeneous Protocol, Bridge

Description

Method of Supporting for Compatibility between LnCP and Another Protocol             

1 is a block diagram of a general home network control system.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of the LnCP library module in FIG. 1.

3 is a structural diagram illustrating a method for supporting compatibility between LnCP and heterogeneous protocols according to an embodiment of the present invention.

4 is a flowchart illustrating a method for supporting compatibility between LnCP and heterogeneous protocols according to an embodiment of the present invention.

            <Description of the symbols for the main parts of the drawings>

100: LnCP channel handler 200: bridge

210: packet temporary storage 221: A handler

221a: packet conversion part of the A handler 222: B handler

222a: packet conversion part of B handler 230: polling thread part

240: receive 250: slave handler

251: Packet temporary storage of the handler of the slave 252: Slave handling

The present invention relates to a method for supporting compatibility between a living network control protocol (LnCP) and a heterogeneous protocol, and in particular, supports a home network product using a LnCP and a home network product using a different protocol to support various home network products. It's about how you can integrate it.

Recently, the construction of a home network system in which a plurality of home appliances (devices) are connected to a network installed in a home to enable remote control through the Internet or the like has been spreading.

For example, LG HomeNet provides Internet services to home appliances in the home using LnCP (Living Network Control Protocol).

Home network based on LnCP connects various digital home appliances such as digital refrigerator, digital air conditioner and digital washing machine to transmission media such as power line, leased line, wireless channel, and transmits predetermined data while operating arbitrary home appliances. To control.

In the conventional LnCP library, only the products following LnCP were supported. Therefore, only extensions to the physical interface were considered, rather than the interpretation and translation of the protocol.

However, as the actual home network expands, a number of products have been developed that use protocols that are much simpler than LnCP (also called "heterogeneous protocols").

Accordingly, there is a need for a home network product supporting the LnCP to be compatible with a home network product supporting the other protocol.

In addition, in the case of a home network product to which the heterogeneous protocol is applied, even functions essential to LnCP are not implemented.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, the object of which is to change the protocol level in software without changing the existing LnCP library (Library) to achieve compatibility between LnCP and heterogeneous protocols. have.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a method for supporting compatibility between LnCP and a heterogeneous protocol, the method comprising: transmitting a packet from an LnCP channel handler to a bridge, wherein the packet is transmitted to a conversion module or a slave module; When the packet is sent to the conversion module, converted to the corresponding protocol packet and transmitted to the corresponding protocol product through the physical interface of the bridge; And a response packet generated in the corresponding product is transferred to the conversion module through the physical interface of the bridge, converted into an LnCP packet, and transmitted to the LnCP channel handler.

Here, the term "the protocol" means a heterogeneous protocol.

When the packet is sent to the slave module, information on the heterogeneous protocol requested by the user is generated and transmitted to the LnCP handler.

A packet sent to the slave module refers to a packet supported by LnCP while not supported by a heterogeneous protocol.

Examples of packets sent to the slave module include a product maker request packet, a model name request packet, a software version request packet, a status check request packet, an address request packet, a join request packet, an address translation request packet, a device search request packet, and the like. Can be.

The present invention is further characterized in that the temporary storage for temporarily storing the packets transmitted to the LnCP channel handler inside the bridge.

In addition, when the heterogeneous protocol is an event-free protocol, the polling thread unit may monitor the product regularly by adding a polling thread unit to the bridge, and monitor and store the motored value immediately before the stored protocol. If the two values are different by comparing the values, the monitored value is saved, made into an event, and transmitted to the LnCP channel handler.

The bridge has a handler corresponding to each product, and the handler is provided with a packet conversion module, wherein the packet conversion module performs packet conversion.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In an embodiment of the present invention will be described using the LnCP (Living Network Control Protocol), which is the LG HomeNet protocol.

First, in the present specification, the LnCP will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.

1 is a configuration diagram of a general home network control system, and FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of the LnCP library module of FIG. 1.

Referring to FIG. 1, the home network control system includes an LnCP server 20 which performs TCP / IP-based message transmission and reception through the Internet 10; And a LnCP library that transmits the control command received by the LnCP server 20 to a corresponding device among the devices 41 to 43 existing in the home network, and transmits a response according to the control of the device to the LnCP server 20. Module 30.

An LnGate API 36 for interfacing support is provided between the LnCP server 20 and the LnCP library module 30.

The LnCP server 20 has a gateway function for connection between the Internet 10 and a home network or a separate gateway is connected.

As shown in FIG. 2, the LnCP library module 30 includes a master handler 31, a message hooking handler 32, and a transmission handler. 33), a channel handler 34, and a device (physical) interface 35 for supporting communication with the LnCP-based device in the home network.

The LnCP library module 30 further includes a log handler and a database handler.

The master handler 31 supports home code management, address assignment, multi-NM management for processing a database of multiple network managers (NMs), and supports desired control at a desired time. Schedule management, device registration management, device type / model control, event action management, and device event processing are performed.

Although not illustrated, the message hooking handler 32 may be divided into a sending message hooking handler and a receiving message hooking handler.

The transport message hooking handler handles a specific process (filtering, long processing) for a request or notification packet delivered from an upper layer. Thereafter, the packet is transmitted to the transmission handler 33 according to a specific process.

The received message hooking handler handles a specific process for a response and an event packet delivered by the transmission handler 33. Thereafter, the packet message according to a specific process may be delivered to the master handler 31.

The transmission handler 33 processes the packet delivered by the upper layer to be delivered to the interface 35 through the channel handler 34 and processes the LnCP packet received from the channel handler 34 to the upper message hooking handler 32. To pass). If a transmission error occurs, the retransmission process is performed.

The channel handler 34 manages the LnCP interface 35. That is, the channel handler 34 transmits the packet received from the transmission handler 33 to the LnCP interface 35 and the packet received from the LnCP interface 35 to the transmission handler 33.

The LnCP device interface 35 delivers packets directly to a final physical interface, for example, power line communication (PLC), serial communication (RS-232C, RS-485), wireless communication (RF communication), and USB interface. In response, the response is transmitted to the channel handler 34.

3 is a structural diagram illustrating a method for supporting compatibility between LnCP and heterogeneous protocols according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 3, a channel handler of LnCP and a heterogeneous interprotocol system according to the present invention include a channel handler 100 and a bridge 200 of LnCP.

Description of the channel handler 100 of the LnCP is made in detail in the description of Figure 2 will be omitted.

The bridge 200 distributes packets received from the upper layer (LnCP channel handler) 100 to an appropriate conversion module (Handler).

Inside the bridge 200 are queues 120, which are temporary packets of packets, and respective handlers (A handlers, B handlers, etc.) 221 and 222 and slave handlers 250 for heterogeneous home network products. Included.

The queue 120 temporarily stores packets from the LnCP channel handler 100.

If there is a message in the queue 120, the bridge 200 transmits the packet to the handler corresponding to the message.

Inside the A (B) handlers 221 and 222, packet converters 221a and 222a respectively convert LnCP packets into A (B) protocol packets or A (B) protocol packets into LnCP packets. Is provided.

The command to be sent to the conversion module is delivered to each handler capable of translating the corresponding product through a device type from the bridge.

Packets sent to the slave handler 250 are packets that support the LnCP function without being supported by the corresponding protocol. That is, in the present invention, the remaining packets except for the packets sent to the slave handler 250 are delivered to the respective handlers 221 and 222 through the queue 210 which is a temporary storage.

Packets sent to the slave module 250 are, for example, product maker request packets, model name request packets, software version request packets, status check request packets, address request packets, join request packets, address translation request packets, and device search requests. Packets and the like.

When the packet is sent to the slave module, information about the heterogeneous protocol requested by the user is generated, and the information is passed to the LnCP handler.

Here, the information means, for example, the model name of the home network product, the software version of the product, and the like.

That is, if the packet sent to the slave module 250 is a product maker request packet, the maker of the home network product applying the heterogeneous protocol is returned.

The return is made at the slave handling unit.

In addition, the slave queue Slave_queue in the slave handler performs the same function as the queue. That is, the slave queue Slave_queue in the slave handler temporarily stores the packet sent to the slave module 250.

The bridge 200 has a real physical interface, and may transmit packets to heterogeneous home network products or receive response packets generated from heterogeneous home network products.

In addition, the present invention is characterized in that it further comprises a polling thread (Polling_thread) unit 230.

The polling thread unit 230 is applied when the heterogeneous protocol is an event-free protocol.

Looking at the polling thread unit 230 in more detail, the polling thread unit 230 performs regular monitoring for home network products.

The initially monitored value is stored temporarily, and monitoring continues.

The motored value is then compared with the previously monitored and stored value, and if the two values are different, the monitored value is stored, made an event, and sent to the LnCP channel handler.

If the two values are the same, the monitoring is repeatedly performed without storing.

4 is a flowchart illustrating a method for supporting compatibility between LnCP and heterogeneous protocols according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, a method of supporting compatibility between an LnCP and a heterogeneous protocol according to the present invention will be described. First, in the present invention, a packet is transmitted from an LnCP channel handler to a bridge (S101).

In the bridge, the packet is branched (transmitted) to a conversion module or a slave module (S102).

When the packet is sent to the conversion module, the packet is converted into a packet of a corresponding protocol, that is, a heterogeneous protocol (for example, A protocol packet or B protocol packet).

As described above, the packet converted into the corresponding protocol is transmitted to the corresponding protocol product through the physical interface of the bridge (S104).

Then, a response packet is generated in the corresponding product (S105), and the response packet is transmitted to the conversion module of the bridge through the physical interface of the bridge.

In the conversion module, the response packet is converted into an LnCP packet (S106), and the LnCP packet is transferred to the LnCP channel handler (S107).

In the present invention, when a packet is delivered to a slave handler in step 102, the packet is temporarily stored in the slave queue 251.

Then, the packet is delivered to and processed by the slave handler 252, and the processed result is transferred to the LnCP handler (S108).

Here, processing refers to generating information about heterogeneous protocols requested by the user.

The information refers to a model name of a home network product, a software version of the product, and the like, for example.

As described above, with reference to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, those skilled in the art will be variously modified and modified within the scope of the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention described in the claims below. It will be appreciated that it can be changed.

As described above, the present invention can make the compatibility between the LnCP and the heterogeneous protocol by changing the protocol level in software without changing the existing LnCP library.                     

Accordingly, the upper end user can be controlled in the same manner through the LnCP library, whether the product is a LnCP product or a product that does not conform to the LnCP.

In addition, the present invention can support functions at the level of existing LnCP products beyond simple packet changes of other heterogeneous protocols (converting other protocol packets to LnCP packets).

Claims (7)

In a method that supports compatibility between LnCP and heterogeneous protocols, Transmitting the packet from the LnCP channel handler to the bridge, wherein the packet is transmitted to the conversion module or the slave module; When the packet is sent to the conversion module, it is converted into the corresponding protocol packet and transmitted to the corresponding protocol product through the physical interface of the bridge.When the packet is sent to the slave module, information about the heterogeneous protocol requested by the user is generated and transmitted to the LnCP handler. step; And The response packet generated in the product is transmitted to the conversion module through the physical interface of the bridge to be converted into an LnCP packet, and transmitted to the LnCP channel handler, a method for supporting compatibility between LnCP and heterogeneous protocols . delete The method of claim 1, wherein the packet sent to the slave module is a packet supported by LnCP without being supported by a heterogeneous protocol. 4. The packet of claim 3, wherein the packet sent to the slave module is one of a product maker request packet, a model name request packet, a software version request packet, a status check request packet, an address request packet, a join request packet, an address translation request packet, and a device search request packet. Method for supporting compatibility between LnCP and heterogeneous protocol, characterized in that one. The method of claim 1, further comprising: a temporary storage for temporarily storing a packet transmitted to the LnCP channel handler inside the bridge. According to claim 1, If the heterogeneous protocol is an event-free protocol, by adding a polling thread (Polling_thread) to the bridge to monitor the product on a regular basis in the polling thread unit, and stored by monitoring immediately before the motored value A method that supports compatibility between LnCP and heterogeneous protocols by comparing the values and storing the monitored values as events and sending them to the LnCP channel handler if they differ. The LnCP according to any one of claims 1, 5 and 6, wherein the bridge has a handler corresponding to each product, and the handler is provided with a packet conversion module to perform packet conversion in the packet conversion module. How to support compatibility between and heterogeneous protocols.

Images