KR20140139986A

KR20140139986A - Gateway and method for controlling thereof

Info

Publication number: KR20140139986A
Application number: KR1020140064124A
Authority: KR
Inventors: 고경석; 최순혁; 홍수봉
Original assignee: 엘지전자 주식회사
Priority date: 2013-05-28
Filing date: 2014-05-28
Publication date: 2014-12-08

Abstract

The present invention relates to a home network. More specifically, the present invention relates to a meta information management structure for controlling and connecting various devices by using a gateway, a gateway device using the same, and a control method thereof. A gateway according to an embodiment of the present invention may include a communication part for wired or wireless communication with at least one external device to exchange a signal; a memory; and a control part which establishes a data path through the at least one external device and the communication part, obtains information for each of the at least one external device through the data path, and stores the obtained information in the memory with a tree of a predetermined structure.

Description

[0001] GATEWAY AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING THEREOF [0002]

The present invention relates to a home network, and more particularly, to a meta information management structure for connecting and controlling various devices using a gateway, a gateway device using the same, and a control method thereof.

Recently, with the spread of smart related technology, smart home technology that supports the connection function between home appliances is getting attention. In order to establish a smart home, the introduction of a home gateway supporting various wired and wireless connectivity can be considered to enable interoperability and management of other devices.

However, when a gateway is used, it is desirable to standardize a platform in order to control various home appliance products of various manufacturers and to perform a linkage function through them. This is because the gateway's meta-information management structure must be standardized so that linkage between various devices of different manufacturers is guaranteed and service development becomes easy.

The present invention is intended to provide a gateway for providing a more convenient home network service.

In particular, the present invention provides a meta information management structure of a gateway for connecting and controlling various external devices.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory and are not restrictive of the invention, unless further departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. It will be possible.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a gateway including: a communication unit for exchanging signals with at least one external device; Memory; And establishing a data path through the at least one external device and the communication unit, acquiring information about each of the at least one external device via the data path, and transmitting the obtained information to a tree And the like.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a method of controlling a gateway, the method comprising: establishing a data path with at least one external device through a communication unit; Obtaining information of each of the at least one external device through the data path; Storing the obtained information as a tree of a structure predefined in a memory; And controlling the service with the operation of the at least one external device by referring to the tree.

According to the present invention, a more diversified and reliable service can be provided in a home network environment.

In particular, it is efficient because the gateway configures and manages various meta information about external devices in the form of a tree.

The effects obtained by the present invention are not limited to the above-mentioned effects, and other effects not mentioned can be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the following description will be.

1 shows an example of a hierarchical structure applied to a gateway according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 shows an example of a top classification type of the meta information management tree according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 shows an example of a sub-configuration of a device item in the meta-information management tree according to an embodiment of the present invention.
4 illustrates an example of an operation procedure performed when an external device is connected to a gateway according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 5 shows an example of a sub-configuration of a device function item in the meta information management tree according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 6 shows an example of a sub-structure of a location item of the meta information management tree according to an embodiment of the present invention.
7 to 10 show an example of a user item, a service item, a device adapter item, and a sub-configuration of a customer premises device in the meta information management tree according to an embodiment of the present invention, respectively.
11 illustrates an example of operations performed when a service of two different users collide with each other in a gateway according to an embodiment of the present invention.
12 shows an example of a mode in which remote door control using a plurality of gateways is performed according to an embodiment of the present invention.
13 shows an example of a block diagram of a gateway that can be applied to embodiments of the present invention.

Hereinafter, a gateway related to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. The suffix "module" and " part "for the components used in the following description are given or mixed in consideration of ease of specification, and do not have their own meaning or role. In addition, the gateway referred to in the present invention may be referred to as a smart home gateway or a customer premises equipment (CPE), but will be referred to as a gateway for convenience. Of course, the gateway referred to in the present invention is desirably installed indoors, but this is illustrative and is not limited to the place where the gateway is installed. In the following description of the embodiments of the present invention, a detailed description of related arts will be omitted when it is determined that the gist of the embodiments disclosed herein may be blurred. It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory and are intended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed. , &Lt; / RTI > equivalents, and alternatives.

In the general home network, devices are directly connected to each other to perform a linking function by exchanging signals. However, in the present invention, in order to ensure connectivity and linkage between various devices, each device is connected through a gateway, So that it can be controlled through the network. In addition, the gateway proposes to manage meta information (executable functions, location, status, etc.) of a connected device through a meta information management tree (i.e., a meta information management tree) in a tree form. Here, the meta information management tree may be a kind of database and defines information for providing a standardized / generalized interface between a service and a middleware platform. Accordingly, the service developer can improve the development environment of the service by acquiring the structure and contents of the information necessary for executing the service based on the meta information management tree according to the present invention.

Hereinafter, a gateway configuration including a meta information management tree according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

1 shows an example of a hierarchical structure applied to a gateway according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, an application layer, a middleware platform layer, an interface, a process and a meta information management tree are provided in the uppermost layer, and a plurality of device adapters are provided in the driver layer in the lowermost layer.

The service is similar in functionality to a general application layer that controls application programs, so that duplicate descriptions are omitted for clarity of description.

The interface and process of the middleware platform layer are middleware for facilitating communication between the device adapter and the service connected to the external device, and can operate by referring to the meta information management tree.

The device adapter may functionally include a driver and a semantic conversion unit. The driver provides connectivity with a variety of different devices, and the semantic conversion unit converts the event related signal coming from the connected devices into a signal Conversion function can be performed.

In order to provide the information required by the middleware platform and the service in a block (not shown) of the devices connected to the lower layer of the driver layer, the definition of the meta information is required. It is desirable that some are stored and managed in the device as a list / database in the form of a modified structure.

Hereinafter, a detailed classification of the meta information management tree according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 2 shows an example of a top classification type of the meta information management tree according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 2, a top level classification of the meta information management tree includes a device, a device function, a location, a user, a service, a device adapter, connectivity, and customer premises equipment (CPE, i.e., gateway). Here, each item can be divided into a group 210 for interworking between a service and a middleware platform according to the purpose, and a group 220 for analysis / execution between services.

Hereinafter, each item belonging to the top-level tree will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. 3 to FIG.

FIG. 3 shows an example of a sub-configuration of a device item in the meta-information management tree according to an embodiment of the present invention.

A device deals with a classification scheme for a device model that is actually connected to a gateway. Referring to FIG. 3, the device can be divided into brown appliances, white appliances, lights, and CPE. The lowest attributes include an owner, a priority, a supported device function, (cluster), and the like.

The owner defines the ownership of the product, and the priority defines a ranking, such as primary / secondary, for the product group (e.g., TV). In addition, the support function definition is a definition of the functions supported by each product family, and indicates whether it supports mandatory items or optional items. It is preferable that the functions which are supported by each product group are determined in advance in the form of function profiles, and the support function definition items at the end of each device can refer to these function profiles .

An example of such a functional profile is shown in Table 1 below.

Table 1 shows an example of the functionality profile of the air conditioner.

Funtion Set Get Event Support start O M stop O M target 온도 O O M wind speed O O M wind swing O O M operation fail O M filter change alert O M operation mode O O O special function O O O target humidity O O O smart energy operation O O O current 온도 O O operation status changed O O smart meter O O O O motion detector O O O O Etc .

Referring to Table 1, it is possible to indicate, for each function of the refrigerator, whether it is a settable parameter, whether a value can be obtained, or whether it is essential support. For example, in FIG. 3, the attribute of the supported device function is mandatory. In Table 1, M is supported in the support. Optionally, O is supported in the support. Therefore, it is desirable that each device is defined in advance as shown in Table 1. This is because it is not easy for a service developer to investigate and develop all the functional support items for each device manufacturer, and thus it is easy to define the necessity / option specification. Of course, it is desirable for the middleware platform to be able to discover optional items between the service and the driver of the device adapter, i.e., to perform function discovery.

On the other hand, a cluster can be applied when a device is classified into a cluster in advance for a situation in which a plurality of devices operate together, such as a lamp.

An example of the process of performing the above-described discovery of the necessity / option will be described with reference to FIG.

4 illustrates an example of an operation procedure performed when an external device is connected to a gateway according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 4, firstly, information related to the device can be stored in the meta information management tree as an external device is connected to the gateway. At this time, whether or not the supported device function for the device is required or optional may be set. 2) The service reads the connected device information from the meta information management tree and performs function discovery on the corresponding item when there is an optional function. 3) For this purpose, the service sends a function discovery request message to the device adapter, and the device adapter transmits the option item of the connected device based on the received message to the service discovery response message . At this time, optional items of the connected device can be used if they are defined in advance in the form similar to Table 1.

FIG. 5 shows an example of a sub-configuration of a device function item in the meta information management tree according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 5, a device function may be a form that lists functions of devices. By combining these device functions, the entire function of each device can be expressed, and the necessity / optional specification of each device function can also be defined similarly to Table 1. [ The device function may include items such as on, off, display, input, broadcast, web browser, TV program, energy measurement, and the like. The device function may be associated with an Open Application Program Interface (API) provided in the gateway, and in FIG. 5, an example of the form of the basic key input of the input is further exemplified.

FIG. 6 shows an example of a sub-structure of a location item of the meta information management tree according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In order to provide a smart home service, it is desirable that location information of each device is provided. For this purpose, a classification of the type shown in FIG. 6 may be considered. Specifically, there can be a home location, an indoor / outdoor, a floor, a room classification from upper to lower, and each room is classified into a name, a common / personal space, an owner You can have attributes for. This classification scheme may be particularly useful when collectively controlling devices in a specific location / space.

7 to 10 show an example of a user item, a service item, a device adapter item, and a sub-configuration of a customer premises device in the meta information management tree according to an embodiment of the present invention, respectively.

As shown in FIGS. 7 to 10, when a user, a service, a device adapter, CPE information, and the like are provided, when independent services running on the gateway are simultaneously executed, Problems that may arise due to conflicts can be resolved through priorities, owners, notifications, conflict prevention procedures, and so on.

Hereinafter, specific functions that can be performed using the meta information management tree in the gateway will be described with reference to FIGS. 11 and 12. FIG.

11 illustrates an example of operations performed when a service of two different users collide with each other in a gateway according to an embodiment of the present invention.

11, it is assumed that the terminal 1110 of the user A, the terminal 1140 of the user B and the TV 1130 are connected to the gateway 1120 according to the present invention after being registered. That is, it is assumed that the information of each device is already registered in the meta information management tree of the gateway 1120 through the above-described procedure of function discovery and the like. For inter-device connection and message exchange, the TV 1130 can be directly or wirelessly connected to the gateway 1120. In the case of the terminals 1110 and 1140, the terminal may be directly connected to the gateway in the local environment or may be connected to the gateway in the remote environment via the Internet. It is also assumed that the priority of the user A is higher than the priority of the user B.

11, a user A transmits a reservation recording (for example, 2013.5.28 11 hour channel 200, 1 hour program) for the TV 1130 to the gateway 1120 via the terminal 1110 Can be requested. 2) Accordingly, the gateway 1120 can set the reserved recording function on the TV 1130 by referring to the device, the device function, the location, the user, and the service item in the meta information management tree. For example, the gateway 1120 can look up the priority of the A user in the user entry and check the location of the TV in the location entry. In addition, the gateway can confirm whether or not the TV 1130 supports recording by checking whether the TV 1130 supports the reserved recording function, and can acquire information related to the reserved recording in the service.

3) On the other hand, the user B may also request the gateway 1120 for reservation recording (for example, 2013.5.28 10:00 channel 210, 2 time program) for the TV 1130 through the terminal 1140. 4) The gateway can transmit the content to the terminal 1140 of the B user by referring to the information registered in the meta information management tree when the scheduled recording requested by the B user overlaps with the scheduled recording requested by the A user and the time zone overlaps with the channel have. 5) A user's priority is set high, user B requests whether user A can change the scheduled recording, and 6) user A requests information of user B based on the information in the meta information management tree May be received via the gateway 1120. 7) As a result, the user A can deliver the decision on the acceptance / rejection to the user B, and 8) The user B can receive the decision on the acceptance / rejection from the user A 9) If the user A accepts, the reservation recording request desired by the user B is transmitted to the gateway 1120, and 10) the gateway 1120 can transmit the reservation recording request information of the user B to the TV 1130 have.

Of course, according to the setting, the reservation recording may be set according to the information requested by the user B in step 3 only by accepting the user A without step 9) and step 10).

Next, referring to FIG. 12, a case where a service using a plurality of gateways is performed will be described.

12 shows an example of a mode in which remote door control using a plurality of gateways is performed according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 12, two gateways are used, one of which is provided in the user's home and the other is provided in the user's office, and are assumed to be connected to each other via the Internet. In addition, the front door lock system 1210 is connected to the home gateway 1221 and is assumed to include a door bell, a door lock, and a camera. In addition, it is assumed that the user terminal 1230 is directly connected to the office gateway 1223 through wire / wireless connection.

12, when a visitor presses a door bell of a home entrance, the gateway 1221 receives a device, location, and service information for the door lock system 1210 stored in the meta information management tree as a service layer (application) . 2) Accordingly, the gateway 1221 can operate the camera using the device and the location information. 3) Also, the gateway 1221 inquires the user's location information using the user and the location information. 4) As a result, when the location of the user is confirmed as the office, the gateway 1221 can perform service interworking with the gateway 1223 provided in the office using the CPE item and service information. 5) The gateway 1223 in the office calls the user's terminal 1230 using the information of the device item, and 6) transmits and receives data between the camera 1210 and the terminal 1230 using the information of the device adapter item You can determine the optimal video codec by checking the speed. 7), the home gateway 1221 transmits the screen and voice of the entrance camera to the office gateway 1223 using the device function information, so that the user and the visitor can make a video call. 8) When the user inputs a door open command through the terminal, the home gateway 1221 can release the door lock and stop the camera using the device and device function information.

Hereinafter, a mechanical configuration of a gateway capable of performing the above functions will be described with reference to FIG.

13 shows an example of a block diagram of a gateway that can be applied to embodiments of the present invention.

The gateway 100 may include a wireless communication unit 110, a user input unit 120, an output unit 150, an interface unit 160, a memory 170, a control unit 180, a power supply unit 190, have. The components shown in FIG. 13 are not essential for implementing a gateway, and the gateway described herein may have more or fewer components than the components listed above.

The wireless communication unit 110 may be connected to the gateway 100 through an external device or between the gateway 100 and another gateway 100 or between the gateway 100 and another gateway 100, May enable one or more modules to enable wireless communication between the networks in which they are located.

The wireless communication unit 110 may include at least one of a broadcast receiving module 111, a mobile communication module 112, a wireless Internet module 113, a short distance communication module 114, and a location information module 115 .

The user input unit 120 may include a touch key for receiving a control command from a user, a mechanical key, and the like.

The output unit 150 may include at least one of a display unit 151, an audio output unit 152, and a light output unit 153 to generate an output related to visual, auditory, tactile, or the like. The display unit 151 may have a mutual layer structure with the touch sensor or may be integrally formed to realize a touch screen. Such a touch screen may function as a user input 123 that provides an input interface between the gateway 100 and a user and may provide an output interface between the gateway 100 and the user.

The interface unit 160 serves as a channel with various types of external devices connected to the gateway 100. The interface unit 160 is connected to a device having a wired / wireless headset port, an external charger port, a wired / wireless data port, a memory card port, And may include at least one of a port, an audio I / O port, a video I / O port, and an earphone port. In the gateway 100, corresponding to the connection of the external device to the interface unit 160, it is possible to perform appropriate control related to the connected external device.

The memory 170 may store a plurality of application programs (application programs or applications) driven by the gateway 100, data for operation of the gateway 100, commands, and the above-described meta information management tree . At least some of these applications may be downloaded from an external server via wireless communication. Also, at least some of these applications may be connected to the gateway 100 at the time of shipment for basic functions of the gateway 100 (e.g., providing wired / wireless connectivity with external devices, Lt; / RTI > Meanwhile, the application program may be stored in the memory 170, installed on the gateway 100, and operated by the control unit 180 to perform the operation (or function) of the gateway.

In addition to the operations associated with the application program, the control unit 180 typically controls the overall operation of the gateway 100. [ The control unit 180 processes the input or output signals, data, items of the meta information management tree or the like through the above-mentioned components or drives an application program stored in the memory 170 to provide appropriate information or functions to the user, Can be processed.

In addition, the controller 180 may control at least some of the components illustrated in FIG. 13 to drive an application program stored in the memory 170. [ In addition, the controller 180 may operate at least two of the components included in the gateway 100 in combination with each other for driving the application program.

Specifically, the control unit 180 establishes a data path through the external device and the wireless communication unit 110 or the interface unit 160. When the external device is connected through the data path, the controller 180 reads the information of the external device according to a predetermined registration procedure It can be registered in the meta information management tree of the memory 170. [ When a service request message is transmitted from an external device, information necessary for performing the service is acquired from the meta information management tree, and a necessary procedure (for example, the above conflict resolution procedure, interworking with other gateways Etc.) can be performed.

The power supply unit 190 receives external power and internal power under the control of the controller 180 and supplies power to the components included in the gateway 100. The power supply unit 190 may include a battery.

The wireless communication unit 110 and the interface unit 160 may be collectively referred to as a "communication unit" when they are used for a common purpose of providing a data path to an external device.

At least some of the respective components may operate in cooperation with each other to implement a method of operation, control, or control of a gateway according to various embodiments described below. Also, the operation, control, or control method of the gateway may be implemented on the gateway by driving at least one application program stored in the memory 170. [

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof.

Furthermore, the present invention can be embodied as computer-readable codes on a medium on which a program is recorded. The computer readable medium includes all kinds of recording devices in which data that can be read by a computer system is stored. Examples of the computer-readable medium include ROM, RAM, CD-ROM, magnetic tape, floppy disk, optical data storage, and the like, and also implemented in the form of a carrier wave (for example, transmission over the Internet) . Also, the computer may include a control unit 180 of the terminal.

Accordingly, the above description should not be construed in a limiting sense in all respects and should be considered illustrative. The scope of the present invention should be determined by rational interpretation of the appended claims, and all changes within the scope of equivalents of the present invention are included in the scope of the present invention.

Claims

A communication unit for exchanging signals with at least one external device;
Memory; And
Establishing a data path through the at least one external device and the communication unit, acquiring information of each of the at least one external device via the data path, storing the obtained information in a tree of a predetermined structure in the memory And a controller,
The tree,
Wherein the top level entry contains at least one of a device, a device capability, a location, a user, a service, a device adapter, and a gateway, and is managed at a middleware platform layer and referred to at a service layer.

The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the device item comprises:
A lowest priority item, at least one of a device owner, a priority, a support function definition, and a cluster classification,

3. The method of claim 2,
The support function definition includes:
Wherein each of the at least one external device is defined in a predetermined form in advance.

The method of claim 3,
Wherein,
Wherein the at least one external device performs function discovery of whether or not an optional function among the support functions according to the predetermined profile is connected to the external device when the at least one external device is connected.

3. The method of claim 2,
Wherein,
And if the two or more service requests received from the at least one external device conflict with each other, perform the conflict resolution procedure by referring to the priority item in the tree.

The method according to claim 1,
The tree,
A first item group for providing interoperability between the service layer and the middleware platform, and a second item group for analysis and implementation between the services.

The method according to claim 6,
Wherein the first group of items comprises at least one of the device, the device function and the location,
Wherein the second group of items comprises at least one of the user, the service, the device adapter, and the gateway.

The method according to claim 1,
Wherein,
Wherein the at least one external device references the tree in controlling a service involving the operation of the at least one external device.

A method of controlling a gateway,
Establishing a data path with at least one external device through a communication unit;
Obtaining information of each of the at least one external device through the data path;
Storing the obtained information as a tree of a structure predefined in a memory; And
And controlling the service with the operation of the at least one external device with reference to the tree,
The tree,
Wherein the at least one item comprises at least one item of a device, a device function, a location, a user, a service, a device adapter, and a gateway, and is managed at a middleware platform layer and referred to at a service layer.

10. The method of claim 9,
Wherein the device item comprises:
And at least one of a device owner, a priority, a support function definition, and a cluster classification as a lowest item.

11. The method of claim 10,
The support function definition includes:
Wherein said at least one external device is defined in advance in a predetermined form.

12. The method of claim 11,
Wherein the acquiring comprises:
Performing function discovery of whether or not an optional function exists in each of the at least one external apparatus among support functions according to a predetermined profile for each external apparatus.

11. The method of claim 10,
Wherein the controlling comprises:
And performing a conflict resolution procedure by referring to the priority item in the tree when two or more service requests received from the at least one external device collide with each other.

12. The method of claim 11,
The tree,
A first item group for providing interoperability between the service layer and the middleware platform, and a second item group for analysis and implementation between the services.

15. The method of claim 14,
Wherein the first group of items comprises at least one of the device, the device function and the location,
Wherein the second group of items comprises at least one of the user, the service, the device adapter, and the gateway.