KR20080024883A - System and method for managing devices connected with various communication networks by grouping - Google Patents

Abstract

A device management system through grouping in an integrated network is provided to recognize to manage states of associated control target devices intuitionally through a user interface to thus facilitate controlling of the devices through various communication networks. A network integrating unit(21) communicates with control target devices(11-1-11-k,12-1-12-m) via a plurality of communication networks to which the control target devices(11-1-11-k,12-1-12-m) are connected, manages the states of the control target devices(11-1-11-k,12-1-12-m), and transfers a control signal for controlling the control target devices(11-1-11-k,12-1-12-m) to the control target devices(11-1-11-k,12-1-12-m) via corresponding communication networks. An integrated manager(22) is connected with the network integrating unit(21) to check the states of the control target devices(11-1-11-k,12-1-12-m), manages the control target devices(11-1-11-k,12-1-12-m) by group, and collectively transmits the control signal for controlling the control target devices(11-1-11-k,12-1-12-m) belonging to each group to the network integrating unit(21).

Description

System and Method for Managing Devices connected with various Communication Networks by Grouping}

1 is an embodiment of a device management system according to the present invention;

2 is an embodiment of configuring a network integrator;

3 is an embodiment of configuring an integration manager;

4 is an example of a user interface screen;

5 is a specific example of a process of controlling a control target device using grouping;

6 is an embodiment of a device management method according to the present invention.

* Explanation of symbols for main parts of the drawings

11,12: control target device group 11-1 to 11-k, 12-1 to 12-m: control target device

20: device management system 21: network integration

21-1: network connection unit 21-2: data conversion unit

21-3: control unit 21-4: authentication processing unit

22: Integration Manager 22-1: User Interface

22-2: communication unit 22-3: storage unit

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a device management system and method using grouping on an integrated network, and more particularly, to collectively manage various control target devices connected through various communication networks using different communication methods, and to group each control target device. In this way, it is possible to collectively control each group while managing by group, thereby intensively managing various control target devices distributed through various communication networks.

Currently, various communication network technologies have been developed and used in various fields to allow various devices to communicate with each other. Each of these communication network technologies has a development purpose, and may be applied to various fields in different ways according to the purpose, and communication media or communication protocols through which information is transmitted and received may also be different.

In particular, recently, new wired / wireless communication network technologies for controlling and managing various devices in a short or long distance such as home network technologies have been developed and commercialized. Examples thereof include a communication network technology such as a personal area network (PAN) such as ZigBee, RF ID, NFC, Bluetooth, and the like. In addition, attempts have been made to integrate and manage various devices connected through each of these communication networks.

However, most attempts to integrate and control various devices connected through a single network have been insufficient, and technologies for efficiently transmitting information to devices connected through various communication networks are inadequate. In addition, when transmitting any information to a device connected to each communication network, the device responds to the device one-to-one (1: 1).

On the other hand, it is often desirable to use a communication network because various devices are connected to a communication network, and it is another meaning that the devices connected to each communication network are collectively managed. There is. Therefore, it is necessary to devise a way to manage devices connected to communication networks that communicate with each other according to different communication methods, and to manage them more conveniently in consideration of the user's position. something to do.

Accordingly, the present invention has been made to meet the above-mentioned needs, and enables the integrated management of various control target devices connected through various communication networks using different communication methods, and the user-related control. It is an object of the present invention to provide a device management system and method using grouping on an integrated network that allows grouping of target devices so that they can be managed in a group unit and collectively controlled.

In order to achieve the above object, a device management system using grouping on an integrated network according to the present invention communicates with the control target device through a plurality of communication networks to which at least one control target device is connected, and controls the A network integrating unit managing a state of a target device and transferring a control signal for controlling the control target device to the control target device through a corresponding communication network; And inquiring the state of the control target device connected to the network integrating unit, grouping the control target device to manage the group by group, and collectively controlling the control signals for controlling the control target device belonging to each group. It includes the integration manager to send to the integration.

The network integrating unit converts data so as to be suitable for communication through each communication network, a network connection unit communicating with a corresponding control target device corresponding to each communication network, and the integration manager to the control target device. And a control unit for transmitting the state of the control unit and controlling the control signal of the group unit received from the integrated manager to be transmitted to the corresponding control target device through the data conversion unit and the network connection unit.

The network integrator may further include an authentication processor configured to authenticate an administrator with the integration manager and to process only the authenticated administrator to access.

The communication network to which the control target device is connected may include at least one communication network of a ZigBee communication network, a wireless LAN communication network, an Ethernet communication network, and a Bluetooth communication network.

The integrated manager allows an administrator to group the control target devices connected to the respective communication networks and manage them in group units through a user interface (UI) screen, and issue status and control commands of the group units. And a communication unit for storing and managing the group related information, and a communication unit for communicating with the network integrator and transmitting a control signal according to the control command to the network integrator.

In order to achieve the above object, a device management method using grouping on an integrated network according to the present invention is provided so that at least one control target device connected to each of a plurality of communication networks can be grouped and managed in a group unit. step; Issuing a batch control command to a control target device belonging to any one of the groups; Converting the control signal according to the control command into control data suitable for transmission through a communication network to which the control target device belonging to the group is connected; And transmitting the converted data to a corresponding control target device according to a communication method in a corresponding communication network.

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

Referring to FIG. 1, a device management system (hereinafter, referred to as a device management system) using grouping on an integrated network according to the present invention communicates with various types of communication networks (communication networks # 1 to #n). Each communication network includes one or more control target devices. Since each communication network may be a network using a different communication method, the device management system 20 communicates according to the communication method used in the communication network corresponding to the control target device belonging to each communication network.

The communication network may be various wired or wireless networks, such as a ZigBee communication network, a wireless LAN communication network, an Ethernet communication network, a Bluetooth communication network, and the like.

In addition, the control target devices are devices capable of communicating through any communication network in addition to performing their own functions such as a light bulb, a TV, a refrigerator, a boiler device, and the like. In this case, the control target device may be configured to include the above communication function in the device itself, or may be a device connected to a separate communication capable device. By way of example, a device such as a light bulb may be cascaded to any control device suitable for controlling its operation, in which case the control device for controlling the light bulb may be the controlling device.

Meanwhile, in FIG. 1, arbitrary control target devices 11-1 to 11-k belonging to the communication network # 1 are grouped, and arbitrary control target devices 12-1 to 12-belonging to the communication network # 2 are grouped. m) is grouped.

As such, the control target devices belonging to each communication network may be grouped by an administrator. Here, grouping means that the administrator arbitrarily divides various control target devices that can be managed by the group. That is, from the standpoint of the administrator, each control target device may be individually controlled, but as described below, the control target devices may be collectively controlled and managed by grouping them in groups. In addition, although FIG. 1 illustrates a grouping of control target devices belonging to the same communication network, the control target devices belonging to the plurality of communication networks may be included together in one group.

The network integrator 21 can communicate with each communication network (communication networks # 1 to #n). Accordingly, it communicates with the control target device belonging to the communication network through each communication network, manages the state of the control target device, and transmits the control signal transmitted from the integrated manager 22 through the communication network to which the corresponding control target device belongs. Deliver to the control target device.

The integration manager 22 is responsible for the interface with the manager. Specifically, it communicates with the network integrating unit 21 to inquire the status of each control target device to inform the user, and allows the administrator to group the control target devices to manage them in group units, and also to control the control that the administrator wants to control. By designating the target devices in group units, the control signals of the control target devices belonging to the group can be collectively transmitted to the network integrator 21. In this way, each control target device in the integration manager 22 may be individually controlled, or may be controlled in groups.

An embodiment of configuring the network integrator 21 of the device management system 20 will be described with reference to FIG. 2.

The network connection units 21-1 (network connection units # 1 to #n) correspond to a plurality of communication networks (communication networks # 1 to #n) to communicate with the communication networks. That is, the network connection unit 21-1 communicates with the control target device using a wired or wireless communication medium according to the communication protocol used in the communication network corresponding to the network connection unit 21-1.

The data converter 21-2 (data converters # 1 to #n) converts data appropriately for the corresponding communication network in correspondence with each network connection (network connecters # 1 to #n). That is, the communication protocol in each communication network may have a different format of transmission / reception data, which plays a role of converting data to suit such a format. An example of data to be converted is control data for a control target device received from the integration manager 22, and the control data is the data required by the communication network (for example, communication network # 1) to which the control target device belongs. It is converted to match the format and transmitted via the corresponding network connection (eg network connection # 1).

The controller 21-3 communicates with a control target device connected through each communication network, checks a current state (eg, an on state, an off state) of each control target device, and transmits the same to the integration manager 22. In addition, the control signals of the group unit received from the integration manager 22 is transferred to the data conversion unit 21-2 corresponding to the control target device, respectively, and controlled to be transmitted to each control target device.

For example, when the control signal transmitted from the integration manager 22 is a signal for controlling both the control target device belonging to the communication network # 1 and the control target device belonging to the communication network # 2, the control signal is converted into a data conversion unit. Transfer it to # 1 and data converter # 2, respectively. Then, the control signal is converted into the data format used in the communication network # 1 by the data converter # 1, and is transmitted to the corresponding control target device through the communication method of the communication network # 1 via the network connection unit # 1. In addition, the control signal is converted into a data format used in the communication network # 2 by the data conversion unit # 2, and is transmitted to the corresponding control target device through the communication method of the communication network # 2 via the network connection unit # 2.

In addition, the network integrator 21 may be configured to further include an authentication processor 21-4 for authenticating the manager with the integration manager 22. In this embodiment, the control unit 21-3 of the network integrating unit 21 stores the authentication information for authentication of the administrator in any storage means for storing digital data, and then the authentication information in the integration manager 22. In the case of requesting authentication while transmitting the certificate, it may be determined whether the administrator is a legitimate administrator by comparing with the stored authentication information, and it may be determined whether to approve the access according to the determination result. Here, the authentication information may be configured in various ways as necessary, such as administrator ID and password or administrator identification number.

An embodiment of configuring the integration manager 22 will be described with reference to FIG. 3.

The user interface 22-1 is a component that interfaces with an administrator, and provides a user interface (UI) screen so that the administrator can group the control target devices connected to each communication network and manage them in groups. .

That is, the administrator can create or change a group, provide a list of control target devices connected through each communication network to include in each group, modify the list of registered control target devices by group, It can manage changes, deletions, and additions, and can look into the current registration status of groups. In addition, it is possible to query the current state of the control target device belonging to each group on a group basis, or to give a collective control command to each control target device belonging to a certain registered group.

The communication unit 22-2 performs a role of communicating with the network integrator 21, and may be configured according to how the network integrator 21 and the integration manager 22 are connected. In this case, the integration manager 22 may be connected to any one of communication networks # 1 to #n, or may be connected via a separate Ethernet line or may be connected through various communication networks. have.

The storage unit 22-3 is a component capable of storing digital data. The storage unit 22-3 is a component capable of storing digital data. It is a component that stores various kinds of information necessary for the operation of the integrated manager 22, such as related information and information on control execution history.

A specific example of a process of controlling a control target device using grouping will now be described with reference to the example of the UI screen shown in FIG. 4.

On the user interface screen 40, a group is currently created with the name 'Group 2 (Home Devices)', and a light bulb, a TV, and a boiler are registered as the control target device.

In addition, the current status field shows status information in which only the current boiler is in an ON state. The two fields on the right are fields that can change the status of each control target device. You are prompted to click on the 'ON' field to turn on the light bulb and the TV. In addition, since the boiler is currently ON, a message prompting the user to click the 'OFF' field is displayed.

On this screen, the administrator can set the ON state by clicking the 'ON' field for the light bulb and the TV, and set the OFF state by clicking the 'OFF' field for the boiler. For example, assuming that the administrator has set all the control target devices currently belonging to Group 2 to ON, and clicks the transfer button 41 to give a control command, the control command for Group 2 is collectively instructed. do.

Referring to FIG. 5, the collective control signal for group 2 is transmitted to the network integrator 21, and the network integrator 21 is connected to the bulb through the communication network # 1 since the bulb is connected through the communication network # 1. Pass ON control data. Since the TV is connected through the communication network # 2, the TV transmits ON control data to the corresponding TV through the communication network # 2. At this time, since the boiler is already in an ON state, transmission of control data can be omitted.

The user interface described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5 is merely an example for better understanding and may be configured in various ways for ease of use.

Referring to FIG. 6, an embodiment of a device management method using grouping on an integrated network according to the present invention will be described.

First, at least one control target device connected to each of a plurality of communication networks may be grouped and managed in a group unit (S61). That is, step S61 allows an administrator to create or change a group, delete a control target device in each group, and manage a list of the control target devices registered for each group by modifying, changing, deleting or adding a group. It is a process to make sure

Then, the administrator selects any group from the group set in step S61 (S62), and issues a collective control command to all the control target devices belonging to the group (S63).

Then, this control command is converted into control data suitable for the communication network to which each control target device of the group belongs (S64). That is, step S64 is a procedure in which data is converted to be suitable for the format of data used for communication in the communication network to which the corresponding control target device is connected.

Now, the control data converted for each communication network in step S65 is transmitted to the control target device connected to the communication network according to the communication method in each communication network (S65). Then, the control target device operates according to the control data (S66).

On the other hand, the process of grouping the control target device to be managed by a group or the control target device may be configured so that only the right administrator can perform the process.

As one example, if there is an access attempt to perform this process, it is required to input authentication information. If authentication information is input according to this request, it is checked whether or not it is the same by comparing with the authentication information set in advance. If the result of the survey is the same, the access may be approved, and if not, the authentication information may be input again, or further access may be blocked.

According to the present invention, various control target devices connected to different communication networks can be collectively controlled, and in particular, various control target devices requiring collective control can be grouped and managed, thereby enabling collective control of groups. Lose. In addition, since the user interface can intuitively grasp and manage the state of the related control target devices, the control of the devices distributed through various communication networks becomes convenient.

Claims (7)

The control target device communicates with the control target device through a plurality of communication networks to which at least one control target device is connected, and controls a control signal for managing a state of the control target device and controlling the control target device through the corresponding communication network. A network integration unit for transmitting to the target device; And The network integration unit is connected to inquire the state of the control target device, group the control target devices and manage the group by group, and collectively integrate the control signals for controlling the control target devices belonging to each group. A device management system using grouping on an integrated network comprising an integrated manager for transmitting to a department. The method of claim 1, The network integrating unit converts data so as to be suitable for communication through each communication network, a network connection unit communicating with a corresponding control target device corresponding to each communication network, and the integration manager to the control target device. And a control unit for transmitting the state of the control unit and controlling the control signal of the group unit received from the integrated manager to be transmitted to the corresponding control target device through the data conversion unit and the network connection unit. Device management system using. The method of claim 1, And the network integrator further comprises an authentication processor configured to authenticate an administrator with the integrated manager and to process only the authorized administrator to access the integrated manager. The method of claim 1, The communication network to which the control target device is connected comprises one or more communication networks of a ZigBee communication network, a wireless LAN communication network, an Ethernet communication network, and a Bluetooth communication network. Device management system using grouping on unified network. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, The integrated manager allows an administrator to group the control target devices connected to the respective communication networks and manage them in group units through a user interface (UI) screen, and issue status and control commands of the group units. And a communication unit for storing and managing the group related information, and a communication unit for communicating with the network integrator and transmitting a control signal according to the control command to the network integrator. Device management system using grouping on unified network. Grouping one or more control target devices connected to each of the plurality of communication networks to manage the group unit; Issuing a batch control command to a control target device belonging to any one of the groups; Converting the control signal according to the control command into control data suitable for transmission through a communication network to which the control target device belonging to the group is connected; And And transmitting the converted data to a corresponding control target device according to a communication method in a corresponding communication network, respectively. The method of claim 6, Grouping on the unified network, characterized in that at least one of the process of grouping the control target device to be managed by a group, and the process of issuing the collective control command can be performed only by an authorized administrator. Device management method using.

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