KR20180121813A - Integrated gateway for iot - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an integrated gateway for an internet of things (IoT) communication. More specifically, the present invention relates to an integrated gateway for an IoT communication which provides an integrated communication platform so as to connect multiple devices using various wireless communication protocols with the internet. According to the present invention, the integrated gateway for an IoT communication can integrally control the devices using different wireless communication protocols and can collectively control a plurality of functions by hardware and software installed in one device. The integrated gateway for an IoT communication comprises: a control part (102); a Z-WAVE module (108); a Bluetooth module (110); an IR transmitting/receiving part (112); a PCI bus (114); an Ethernet module (116); and an audio module (118).

Description

[0001] INTEGRATED GATEWAY FOR IOT [0002]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an integrated gateway for object internet communication, and more particularly, to an integrated gateway for object internet communication that provides an integrated communication platform for connecting a plurality of devices using various wireless communication protocols to the Internet will be.

The modern ubiquitous concept extends beyond the communication between people and people and extends the concept by communication between objects and objects. The Internet of Things is a key element of the ubiquitous concept, which means technology that allows anyone to communicate whenever and wherever, so that data can be transmitted and received.

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, there has been an increasing demand for a smart home service in order to provide a convenient, safe and comfortable living environment for a resident of a home or an office. In general, smart home will actively respond to residents' behaviors in all fields such as home appliances, multimedia devices, and internet devices, as well as household activities, production, research and recreational activities, and provide the most intelligent services The purpose is to do.

Most of home appliances such as a TV, a washing machine, a vacuum cleaner, and an air conditioner, which are located in a smart home area occupying such a kind of space, for example, a home or an office, Module, a Zigbee module, and the like, and can be connected to an IP network. In addition, a mobile communication module such as a mobile phone such as a smart phone can be connected to a 3G network, As shown in Fig.

However, since the wireless communication protocols applied to the individual devices vary according to the installation location and the use state of the devices, it is required to develop an integrated gateway capable of connecting all of them.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a network including an integrated gateway according to the related art, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the integrated gateway of FIG. 1. Referring to FIG.

1, a household appliance, for example, a refrigerator 1, a washing machine 2, a television 3, a computer 4 and the like are located in a certain space such as a house or an office together with the integrated gateway 10 , The integrated gateway 10 and home appliances can communicate with each other via Wi-Fi, Zigbee, or the like. To this end, the integrated gateway 10 and home appliances may each include a Wi-Fi module and a ZigBee module.

The home appliance needs to communicate with a terminal located at a place outside the certain space. For example, when the home appliance is the washing machine 2, it is necessary for the user to inform the user of the progress of the washing if the user is not located in the predetermined space and is not aware of the progress of the washing.

Referring to FIG. 2, the integrated gateway 10 includes a first communication module 11, a second communication module 12, and a heterogeneous network communication module 13.

The first communication module 11 performs wireless communication with a home appliance located in a certain space, for example, a house or an office space, that is, the refrigerator 1, the washing machine 2, the television 3, At this time, the first communication module 11 may be a Wi-Fi module, a ZigBee module, or the like. Accordingly, the first communication module 11 can transmit and receive data through the Wi-Fi or Zigbee communication with the home appliance.

However, the gateway that enables such an integrated connection only provides a protocol for connecting to the heterogeneous communication network, and does not form a communication network between the respective terminals. Further, in order to control an infrared remote control or an audio device frequently used in the home, a separate control device must be provided, which is cumbersome and costly.

KR 10-2014-0127564 A

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a communication system including a plurality of communication means for implementing a plurality of wireless communication networks used for object Internet communication, And to provide an integrated gateway for the Internet.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an integrated gateway for object-to-object communication in which a plurality of communication means can be controlled by a single control unit and a communication network is formed between heterogeneous terminals connected to different communication networks by using a dedicated protocol .

It is another object of the present invention to provide an integrated gateway for object-to-Internet communication, in which a remote controller used in various types of home appliances such as a television, an air conditioner, and a video player can be registered and the operation of a home appliance can be controlled remotely.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided an integrated gateway for providing an integrated communication platform for connecting a device using a plurality of wireless communication protocols to the Internet, comprising: a control unit; A Z-WAVE module 108 for connecting to the Z-WAVE communication network and transmitting / receiving data to / from the Z-WAVE terminal 202; A Bluetooth module 110 connected to the Bluetooth communication network and transmitting / receiving data to / from the Bluetooth terminal 204; An IR transmission / reception unit 112 for transmitting / receiving an infrared signal to / from the remote controller 206; A PCI bus 114 for allowing a WIFI terminal 208 to be connected to the Internet 200 via a WIFI module transmitting and receiving a WIFI signal; An Ethernet module 116 for allowing the PC 210 to access the Internet 200 via an Ethernet cable; And an audio module 118 for receiving a voice signal from the microphone 212a or transmitting a voice signal to the speaker 212b.

The present invention further includes a memory 104 for storing data and the IR transceiver 112 receives an infrared signal input from the remote controller 206 and transmits information about the manufacturer and the product of the remote controller 206 Stores information on the manufacturer and the product in the memory 104 and transmits an infrared signal to the household appliance 220 controlled by the remote controller 206 to control the operation of the household appliance 220 And the like.

According to the present invention, devices using different wireless communication protocols can be integrally controlled, and a plurality of functions can be collectively controlled by hardware and software installed in one device.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Figure 1 illustrates a network including an integrated gateway according to the prior art;
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the integrated gateway of FIG. 1; FIG.
3 is a conceptual diagram showing a connection structure of an integrated gateway of the present invention;
4 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of an integrated gateway;
5 is a block diagram showing a method of registering and using a remote controller.
6 is a block diagram showing the connection and operation contents of an audio apparatus;

Hereinafter, referring to the drawings, an "integrated gateway for object Internet communication" (hereinafter referred to as an " integrated gateway ") according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described.

FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a connection structure of the integrated gateway of the present invention, and FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an internal structure of the integrated gateway.

The integrated gateway 100 of the present invention integrates each of the different wireless communication gateways into one gateway. The integrated gateway 100 includes a hardware configuration for connecting a plurality of devices, a software platform function .

Wireless communication protocols connectable through the integrated gateway 100 of the present invention include both WIFI and Bluetooth, Z-WAVE, ZigBee, LoRa, and the like. A wireless gateway used to connect to the Internet 200 in a home or office uses a predetermined device according to each communication protocol, and the integrated gateway 100 of the present invention allows it to be used in one device. The integrated gateway 100 is used for controlling various terminals installed outside the room and exchanging data with the wireless communication network.

The control unit 102 performs functions such as the operation of the integrated gateway 100 and signal processing, generation and conversion of communication signals, and operation control of the apparatus according to transmission and reception of control commands. The control unit 102 includes a microcomputer, an OS, an input / output interface, and the like. The control unit 102 performs a protocol conversion function between communication means using different protocols so that a communication network can be formed between different types of communication means.

A plurality of communication modems or microprocessors can be mounted on one control unit 102, and it is also possible to separate or remove some devices as needed.

The memory 104 stores data for operation of the gateway, identification information of a device connected to the gateway, setting information of the remote controller, and the like. In addition, information on the communication history through the integrated gateway 100 can be stored, and a separate storage device can be provided to back up the communication history information, thereby storing the communication history information for a long period of time.

The power supply unit 106 receives an external AC power and converts the AC power into an appropriate power supply, and supplies power necessary for operation of the internal components.

In the present invention, a UART (Universal Asynchronous Receiver / Transmitter) is used to connect a module or a modem used in a wireless communication network. By using a standard serial communication interface such as UART or USB, further expansion of the device becomes relatively easy.

Using the UART protocol is a Z-WAVE module 108, a Bluetooth module 110 and an IR transmitting and receiving unit 112. Each of the Z-WAVE terminal 202, the Bluetooth terminal 204, Exchange.

Z-WAVE uses frequencies in the 868-929 MHz band and can transmit and receive data reliably even at distances of about 100 m. Z-WAVE also works with low power consumption and is popular in home networking and building automation systems because of its high efficiency.

Z-WAVE can be replaced by ZigBee or Laura. LoRa stands for "Long Range," which means a protocol developed to build a large, low-power long-haul wireless network.

Bluetooth uses the frequency of 2.4GHz band, and it is mainly used at distances of less than 10m. It is mainly used in devices with low power consumption such as headsets, earphones, wearable devices of smart phones and audio equipments.

The IR transmitting and receiving unit 112 is used as a control command input unit of the remote controller 206 for controlling the operation of the household appliances using infrared rays.

In addition, ZigBee, which can transmit and receive data at a distance of 100m or more, is used while using frequencies of 900MHz or 2.4GHz. ZigBee has the advantage of lower power consumption than Bluetooth.

The user can install the modem of the protocol in addition to the required wireless communication protocol, and can reduce the function arbitrarily by removing the existing installed device.

And transmits and receives a WIFI signal using a Wi-Fi module connected to the PCI bus 114. A WIFI terminal 208 such as a smart phone, a tablet PC, or a notebook computer can access the Internet 200 through the PCI bus 114.

The Ethernet module 116 is connected to the PC 210 or the notebook via an Ethernet cable to transmit / receive a signal for connection to the Internet 200.

The audio module 118 included in the present invention is connected to an audio device 212 such as a microphone or a speaker as means for inputting and outputting a voice signal.

The audio module 118 may use blocks of the I2S or I2C standard.

The integrated gateway 100 transmits a voice signal input from a microphone (including a microphone connected to another integrated gateway) to a speaker (including speakers connected to other integrated gateways) to output sound. By using such a function, broadcasting to a plurality of users becomes possible.

The USB port 120 is provided for expansion of a separate module. The USB port 120 may be equipped with a connector to facilitate further expansion.

The control unit 102 is connected to the Z-WAVE terminal 202, the Bluetooth terminal 204, the WIFI terminal 208, the PC 210 and the like so that each device can access the Internet 200, . Thus, IP-based online setting and management becomes possible, and offline setting can be done by wired Ethernet or wireless WIFI.

Since the integrated gateway 100 does not need to provide a gateway for each communication protocol, the integrated gateway 100 can realize miniaturized equipment. In addition, by using built-in antennas, the design of the equipment can be improved and the installation site is not affected.

5 is a block diagram showing a method of registering and using a remote controller.

The integrated gateway 100 of the present invention may register the infrared remote control 206 used in the home appliance 220 in the home so that the integrated gateway 100 directly functions as a remote controller without the remote control 206. [

The IR transmitter / receiver unit 112 of the integrated gateway 100 is exposed to the outside of the case 100. The IR transmitter / . And is exposed in a plurality of directions so as to control the household appliances 220 by transmitting infrared rays in various directions. Although the IR transmission and reception unit 112 is shown as being exposed in three places in the drawings of the present invention, the direction and the number may be further increased.

The user presses the remote controller 206 used by the user toward the IR transmitting and receiving unit 112. The IR transmitting and receiving unit 112 receives the input infrared signal and analyzes information on the manufacturer and the product. In general, it is determined which device is the remote controller 206 based on the remote controller information of various manufacturers stored in the memory 104.

The control unit 102 stores information on the analyzed manufacturer and product in the memory 104. [ After the user stores the information on the remote controller 206, the integration gateway 100 replaces the function of the remote controller 206 ((2) in FIG. 5). By using a device such as a PC, a notebook, And inputs a signal for controlling the operation of the appliance 220. To this end, the integrated gateway 100 may display on the display an interface, such as a button display for use of the remote control 206.

For example, if the remote control 206 button is virtually displayed on the smartphone of the user connected to the integrated gateway 100 and the user presses a specific button on the touch screen, the same infrared signal as the button of the real remote control 206 is transmitted . The infrared signal transmitted through the IR transmitting and receiving unit 112 reaches the predetermined household appliances 220, and the household appliances 220 perform predetermined operations.

6 is a block diagram illustrating the connection and operation of the audio apparatus.

An audio device 212 such as a microphone 212a or a speaker 212b is connected to the audio module 118. [ In general, it is connected through a voice input / output cable, but in the case of a device equipped with a wireless communication module, it may be connected to a Bluetooth or a WIFI wireless communication network.

The voice inputted by the user is converted into a voice signal by the microphone 212a and the converted voice signal is transmitted to the other integrated gateway 100 through the Internet 200. [ The transmitted voice signal is output as a voice through the speaker 212b.

In addition, when there are a plurality of sound sources reproduced in one integrated gateway 100, the priority of reproduction can be determined. That is, it is possible to determine a sound source to be firstly reproduced by assigning priority to each of an online audio file, a file of a Bluetooth audio equipment, a microphone input voice signal, and the like.

By applying such a function, a user can simultaneously transmit voice to a plurality of users to implement a broadcasting function.

In addition, cameras, thermometers, intruder surveillance motion sensors, illumination lights, and fire monitoring devices can be connected for remote surveillance, and various sensors used for Internet communications can be connected.

While the present invention has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but, on the contrary, As will be understood by those skilled in the art. Therefore, it should be understood that the above-described embodiments are to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims rather than the foregoing description, It is intended that all changes and modifications derived from the equivalent concept be included within the scope of the present invention.

100: Integrated gateway 102:
104: memory 106:
108: Z-WAVE module 110: Bluetooth module
112: IR transmitting / receiving unit 114: PCI bus
116: Ethernet module 118: Audio module
120: USB port 200: Internet
202: Z-WAVE terminal 204: Bluetooth terminal
206: remote controller 208: WIFI terminal
210: PC 212: Audio device
212a: microphone 212b: speaker
220: Home Appliances

Claims (2)

As an integrated gateway for providing an integrated communication platform for connecting a device using a plurality of wireless communication protocols with the Internet 200,
A control unit 102;
A Z-WAVE module 108 for connecting to the Z-WAVE communication network and transmitting and receiving data to and from the Z-WAVE terminal 202;
A Bluetooth module 110 connected to the Bluetooth communication network and transmitting / receiving data to / from the Bluetooth terminal 204;
An IR transmission / reception unit 112 for transmitting / receiving an infrared signal to / from the remote controller 206;
A PCI bus 114 for allowing a WIFI terminal 208 to be connected to the Internet 200 via a WIFI module transmitting and receiving a WIFI signal;
An Ethernet module 116 for allowing the PC 210 to access the Internet 200 via an Ethernet cable;
And an audio module (118) for receiving a voice signal from the microphone (212a) or transmitting a voice signal to the speaker (212b). The method according to claim 1,
Further comprising a memory (104) for storing data,
The IR transmitting and receiving unit 112 receives an infrared signal input from the remote controller 206 and analyzes information on the manufacturer and the product of the remote controller 206 and transmits information on the manufacturer and the product to the memory 104 , And controls the operation of the household appliance (220) by transmitting an infrared signal to the household appliance (220) controlled by the remote controller (206).

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