WO2012057146A1

WO2012057146A1 - Communications management device and communications system

Info

Publication number: WO2012057146A1
Application number: PCT/JP2011/074561
Authority: WO
Inventors: 西川　誠
Original assignee: パナソニック株式会社
Priority date: 2010-10-25
Filing date: 2011-10-25
Publication date: 2012-05-03
Also published as: CN103210610B; JP2012095009A; KR101448703B1; CN103210610A; JP5453214B2; KR20130062994A

Abstract

Provided are communications management devices and a communications system wherein a communications management device (5) to which a server device (3) is connected and communications management devices (6) to which terminal devices (4) are connected are connected to a transmission path (7). A power supply device (10) that supplies power to the communications management devices (5, 6) is connected to the transmission path (7). The communications management devices (6) communicate with the terminal device (4) via transmission paths (9) when the destination for the communications signal received from the transmission path (7) is connected to the communications management device (6). In addition, when not communicating with the terminal devices (4), the communications management devices (6) activate a reception standby mode that reduces power consumption.

Description

Communication management device, communication system

The present invention relates to a communication management apparatus that relays communication contents between transmission paths when communication is performed with a plurality of transmission paths having different specifications interposed between communication apparatuses, and a communication system using the communication management apparatus. It is a thing.

Generally, when communicating between communication devices, transmitting communication contents via a transmission route different in physical specification or protocol (hereinafter simply referred to as "specification") from the transmission channel to which the communication device is connected. There is. Now, it is assumed that a transmission path is laid in advance in a building, and communication is performed using a communication device that performs communication using a transmission path different in specification from this transmission path. In this case, since the communication apparatus can not be directly connected to the transmission line, the communication management apparatus connects the communication apparatus to a transmission line different from the transmission line being laid, and relays the communication contents between the two transmission lines. It will be necessary.

In a communication system using this type of communication management apparatus, a communication apparatus (a communication apparatus) using a transmission path that polls a plurality of terminals (first communication terminals) in which a transmission unit serving as a master unit serves as a slave unit There is known a configuration in which a monitoring device and a monitored device transmit information (see, for example, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2009-225328 (hereinafter referred to as "Document 1"). In the communication system described in Document 1, the communication management apparatus (second communication terminal) is connected between the transmission line to which the communication device is connected and the transmission line to which the transmission unit and the terminal are connected.

A switch or load is connected to a terminal connected to one of the transmission paths, and the transmission unit associates the switch with the load using identification information of the terminal or the like. In the transmission unit, polling is performed on each terminal, and when a change in the on / off state of the switch is notified from the terminal, load control is performed on the terminal connected to the load associated with the switch. To direct. By such a series of operations, load control is performed according to the on / off of the switch.

In the transmission line to which the transmission unit and the terminal are connected, the transmission unit intermittently transmits a communication signal (transmission signal) to perform polling on the terminal, and also supplies power to the terminal by the transmission signal. ing. That is, the terminal supplies power to the internal circuit using the power of the transmission signal. Thus, the transmission unit also functions as a power supply for the terminal.

On the other hand, the communication management apparatus performs communication by superimposing a communication signal (superimposed signal), which has a frequency higher than that of the transmission signal, on the transmission signal. That is, transmission of a superimposed signal is enabled by providing a superimposed possible period which superimposes a superimposed signal on a part of period of a transmission signal.

Here, when the communication devices connected to the communication management device each have identification information, communication can be performed using the identification information of the communication device, so no identification information is necessary for the communication management device. It is. That is, the communication management device may have the function of converting the signal format between the transmission line to which the communication device is connected and the transmission line to which the transmission unit is connected. Further, since identification information is not required for the communication management apparatus, communication can be performed by the communication apparatus without setting identification information simply by connecting the communication management apparatus to the existing transmission path to which the transmission unit is connected. So convenience is enhanced.

As described above, in the transmission line to which the transmission unit is connected, since the transmission unit can be used as a power supply device, power can also be supplied from the transmission unit to the communication management apparatus connected to the same transmission line. It is desirable to do.

On the other hand, since the communication management apparatus is always operating, the communication management apparatus on the transmission line to which the transmission unit is connected consumes the power for the number. On the other hand, since the current capacity that can be supplied from the transmission unit to the transmission line is limited, the number of communication management devices that can be connected to the existing transmission line to which the transmission unit is connected is also limited.

An object of the present invention is to provide a communication management apparatus capable of reducing power consumption by controlling the operation and consequently increasing the number of connectable transmission lines receiving power as compared with the conventional configuration. Further, another object of the present invention is to provide a communication system using the communication management device.

The communication system according to the present invention has a plurality of (at least first and second) communication management devices (5 and 6) and a plurality (at least first and second) communication devices (3) to achieve the above object. And 4), and a power supply (10). Each of the communication management devices (5 and 6) is connected to the first transmission path (7). The communication devices (3 and 4) are connected to the communication management devices (5 and 6) via second transmission paths (8 and 9), respectively. The power supply device (10) is configured to supply power to each of the communication management devices (5 and 6) through the first transmission path (7). When the transmission destination of the first communication signal received from the first transmission path (7) is the (second) communication device (4), the (second) communication management device (6) When not communicating with the (second) communication device (4), the function configured to communicate with the (second) communication device (4) through the transmission path (9) (the communication management device (6)) And a function configured to operate in a reception standby mode to reduce power consumption.

In one embodiment of the communication system, the (second) communication management device (6) includes a first communication unit (61), a second communication unit (62), a power supply unit (63), and a storage unit (64). And a processing unit (60). The first communication unit (61) is configured to transmit the first communication signal through the first transmission path (7). The second communication unit (62) is configured to communicate with the (second) communication device (4) through the second transmission path (9). The power supply unit (63) is configured to be supplied with power from the power supply device (10) through the first transmission path (7). The storage unit (64) is configured to store identification information of the (second) communication device (4) connected to the second transmission path (9). The processing unit (60) operates in the reception standby mode in which the supply of power from the power supply unit (63) to the second communication unit (62) is stopped while the first communication unit (61) performs the first communication When the signal is received, the identification information of the (second) communication device (4) included in the received first communication signal is collated with the storage unit (64). That is, the processing unit (60) confirms whether the identification information of the (second) communication device (4) included in the first communication signal matches the identification information stored in the storage unit (64). In addition, the processing unit (60) receives the identification information of the communication device (stored in the storage unit (64)) in the received first communication signal from the power supply unit (63) to the second communication unit (60). 62) is configured to initiate power supply to communicate with the (second) communication device (4).

In one embodiment, the (second) communication manager (6) further comprises a connection manager (601). The connection management unit (601) is set (at an appropriate time) to be different in each (second) communication management device (6) at least at the time of startup between startup and every predetermined time after startup. The identification information of the (second) communication device (4) connected to the second transmission path (9) is collected, and the identification information collected is stored in the storage unit (64).

In one embodiment, the (second) communication manager (6) further comprises a connection manager (601). When the connection management unit (601) detects a first communication signal sent from another (second) communication management device (6) in the first communication path (7), each (second) communication control device (6) ) Collecting identification information of the (second) communication device (4) connected to the second transmission path (9) at a timing set to be different (as appropriate) in the communication management device (6) And the identification information collected at the same time is stored in the storage unit (64).

In one embodiment, the first communication signal transmits a packet having communication content and an end after identification information of a transmission destination. The processing unit (60) matches the identification information of the (second) communication device (4) included in the packet received by the first communication unit (61) with the identification information stored in the storage unit (63). , The received packet is passed to the second communication unit (62) until the end.

In one embodiment, the first communication signal transmits a packet having communication content and an end after identification information of a transmission destination. When the packet received by the first communication unit (61) is a broadcast packet for the (first and second) communication devices, the processing unit (60) communicates with each (second) communication management device (6) Operates in the normal communication mode at a timing that is set to be different (as appropriate), and the received packet is transmitted from the second communication unit (62) to the (second) communication device (4) as a second communication signal. Configured to send. Here, the normal communication mode is a mode for supplying power from the power supply unit (63) to the second communication unit (62).

In one embodiment, a part of the plurality of communication management devices (5 and 6) (first communication management device (5)) transmits the (first) communication device (3) via the second transmission path (8). Server device is connected. The rest of the plurality of communication management devices (5 and 6) (second communication management device (6)) are connected to the terminal device as the (second) communication device (4) via the second transmission path (9). Connected The server device and the terminal device communicate via the (first and second) communication management devices (5 and 6). The (first) communication management apparatus (5) to which the server apparatus is connected is stored in the storage unit (64) of the (second) communication management apparatus (6) to which the terminal apparatus (4) is connected. When collecting identification information of the terminal device (4) and transmitting a request to the terminal device (4), the server device (3) does not transmit the request when there is a duplication in the collected identification information Configured

In one embodiment, the plurality of communication management devices include a first communication management device (5) and at least one second communication management device (6), and the communication device performs a second transmission. A first communication device (3) connected to the first communication management device (5) via a path (8), and the at least one second communication via a second transmission path (9) And a second communication device (4) connected to the management device (6). The first communication device (3) transmits the first communication signal in a peer-to-peer manner to the at least one second communication device (4) via the first communication management device (5) Configured The second communication management device (6) transmits the first communication signal received through its own first communication unit (61) to a second communication unit (62) of its own. When the second communication device (4) is connected via the transmission line (9), it operates in the normal communication mode for at least the minimum transmission period, and via the second communication unit (62) The second communication device (4) is configured to transmit a second communication signal including information of a part or all of the first communication signal. The normal communication mode is a mode for supplying power to the second communication unit (62) from the power supply unit (63) in the second communication management device (6). The minimum transmission period is a time required to transmit a second communication signal including part or all of information of the first communication signal to the second communication device (4).

In order to achieve the above object, the communication management device (6) of the present invention comprises a first communication unit (61), a second communication unit (62), a power supply unit (63), a storage unit (64) and processing. It comprises a part (60). The first communication unit (61) is configured to transmit the first communication signal through the first transmission path (7). The second communication unit (62) is configured to transmit the second communication signal through the second transmission path (9). The power supply unit (63) is configured to be supplied with power from the power supply device (10) through the first transmission path (7). The storage unit (64) is configured to store identification information of the communication device (4) connected to the second transmission path (9). The processing unit (60) operates in the reception standby mode in which the supply of power from the power supply unit (63) to the second communication unit (62) is stopped while the first communication unit (61) performs the first communication When the signal is received, identification information of the communication device (4) included in the received first communication signal is collated with the storage unit (64). That is, the processing unit (60) confirms whether the identification information of the communication device (4) included in the first communication signal matches the identification information stored in the storage unit (64). The processing unit (60) causes the power supply unit (63) to start supplying power from the power supply unit (63) to the second communication unit (62) when the received first communication signal includes the identification information of the communication device. It is configured to perform communication with the communication device (4).

According to the configuration of the present invention, power consumption is reduced by controlling the operation of the communication management device, and as a result, the number of communication management devices connectable to the transmission path receiving the power supply is increased compared to the conventional configuration. The effect of being able to

The preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in more detail. Other features and advantages of the present invention will be better understood in conjunction with the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings.
It is a block diagram showing an embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the communication management apparatus used for same as the above. FIG. FIG. It is a figure which shows the example of the packet used for the same as the above. It is a figure which shows the other example of the packet used for the same as the above. FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the whole structure same as the above. It is a figure which shows the example of the transmission signal used by the structure shown in FIG.

The communication system described below as an embodiment is, as shown in FIG. 8, one transmission in the communication between the transmission unit 1 and the terminal 2 and the communication between the server device 3 and the terminal 4 Multiplexing sharing the path (first transmission path) 7 is performed. Although the transmission line 7 is assumed to be a two-wire system, the transmission line 7 can also be configured by three or more lines.

Usually, one transmission unit 1 and one server device 3 are provided for the transmission line 7, and a plurality of terminal units 2 and four terminal devices 4 are provided for the transmission line 7. Further, (first and second)

communication management devices

5 and 6 are connected to the transmission path 7 in order to multiplex two types of communication, and (first and second) communication devices, that is, servers The device 3 and the terminal device 4 are connected to the

communication management devices

5 and 6 via the transmission paths (second transmission paths) 8 and 9, respectively. In many cases, a plurality of terminal devices 4 are connected to each transmission path 9. Although

transmission lines

8 and 9 are assumed to be RS485 standard,

transmission lines

8 and 9 such as Ethernet (registered trademark) or RS232C standard may be used.

The communication signal transmitted on the transmission path 7 in the communication between the transmission unit 1 and the terminal 2 and the communication signal transmitted on the transmission path 7 in the communication between the server device 3 and the terminal device 4 have physical specifications. And the protocol is different. The former communication signal is a pulse width modulated bipolar rectangular wave signal, and the latter communication signal uses a signal obtained by modulating a carrier wave of a higher frequency than the former communication signal. Hereinafter, the former communication signal is referred to as a "transmission signal", and the latter communication signal is referred to as a "superimposed signal".

It is desirable that the transmission unit 1 and the terminal 2 be provided with an impedance matching device between the transmission line 7 and each. The impedance matching device is a circuit device which passes the transmission signal and has a high impedance with respect to the superimposed signal. By providing the impedance matching device, the attenuation of the superimposed signal is suppressed even when the transmission line 7 is long. be able to.

The transmission signal used in the communication between the transmission unit 1 and the terminal device 2 has a predetermined format, and the transmission unit 1 intermittently transmits to the transmission line 7. The terminals 2 individually have identification information (address), and by including the identification information of each terminal 2 in the transmission signal sent by the transmission unit 1, each terminal 2 is designated and the transmission unit 1 is specified. An instruction to the terminal 2 is given. That is, the instruction can be individually given from the transmission unit 1 to each terminal 2 by time division multiplexing. Further, the transmission signal is provided with a period in which information is notified from the terminal 2 to the transmission unit 1.

The terminal 2 receives a monitoring input from a switch or sensor (not shown) and requests the transmission unit 1 to control the load, and a load (not shown) is connected to the terminal 2. There are two types of control terminals that control the load according to the instruction.

The transmission unit 1 includes a relationship table that associates a switch or a sensor (hereinafter referred to as a “switch” unless otherwise noted) with a load. By registering the relationship between the switch and the load in advance in the relationship table, the transmission unit 1 controls the load associated with the switch in the relationship table in accordance with the switch operation (or the change in the sensor output). Do. The relation table may include the contents of control of the load for the operation of the switch.

In the case where it is possible to connect a plurality of switches and loads to the terminal device 2, in addition to the identification information of the terminal device 2, the switches and loads in the terminal device 2 are associated Use the circuit number given for each port connecting That is, by using the identification information of the terminal 2 and the circuit number, the switch and the load are individually identified.

More specifically, as shown in FIG. 9, the transmission signal 30 is a bipolar (± 24 V) signal having a synchronization pulse 31, a transmission period 32, a return period 33, an interruption period 34, and a short circuit detection period 35. Use The transmission unit 1 intermittently transmits the transmission signal 30, as described above. Therefore, there is a pause 36 between the frames of the transmission signal 30.

The synchronization pulse 31 indicates the beginning of the frame of the transmission signal and has two periods of different voltage polarity. The voltage polarity changes from positive to negative within the duration of the synchronization pulse 31. The transmission period 32 is a period for transmitting an instruction from the transmission unit 1 to the terminal 2. Mode information indicating the type of the transmission signal 30, identification information for individually specifying the terminal 2, and an instruction for each circuit number And control information indicating the contents of The return period 33 is a period in which the terminal device 2 notifies the transmission unit 1 of information, and is a period in which the transmission unit 1 stands by without transmitting a signal.

The interrupt period 34 is a period for detecting an interrupt signal output from the terminal 2, and the short circuit detection period 35 is a period for detecting a short circuit of the transmission line 7. The interruption period 34 and the short circuit detection period 35 are paired with the synchronization pulse 31, and the synchronization pulse 31 is provided with a period corresponding to the interruption period 34 and the short circuit detection period 35.

On the other hand, if each terminal device 2 includes its own identification information in the identification information included in the transmission period 32 of the transmission signal 30 received via the transmission path 7, the control information included in the transmission period 32 Use to indicate each circuit number. That is, in the transmission signal 30 received by the control terminal, since the control content for the load of each circuit number is included in the control information, the load of each circuit number is controlled according to the control content. The operation of the switch in the monitoring terminal and the control result of the load in the control terminal are returned to the transmission unit 1 as a current mode signal in synchronization with the return period 33. The current mode signal is transmitted using a binary value due to a change in current between a state in which an appropriate low impedance is connected between the lines of the transmission line 7 and a state in which the lines between the transmission lines 7 are open.

The transmission unit 1 constantly changes the identification information of the terminal 2 included in the transmission signal 30 cyclically, and constantly polls the terminal 2 sequentially. At the time of constant polling, the terminal 2 whose identification information included in the transmission signal 30 matches its own identification information takes control information and operates if the transmission signal 30 includes control information. The operating state is returned to the transmission unit 1 in the return period 33.

When the monitor terminal receives a monitor input from the switch, it generates an interrupt signal on the transmission path 7 in synchronization with the interrupt period 34 of the transmission signal 30. When detecting the interrupt signal, the transmission unit 1 searches for the terminal 2 that has generated the interrupt signal, and accesses the terminal 2 to obtain identification information of the terminal 2.

When the identification information of the terminal 2 that has generated the interrupt signal is acquired by the transmission unit 1, the transmission unit 1 specifies the identification information and causes the terminal 2 to return the monitoring input. The transmission unit 1 generates, based on the monitoring input returned from the terminal 2, a transmission signal including control information for the terminal 2 provided with a load associated with the switch (monitoring input) in advance by the relation table. To the transmission path 7. Therefore, the load is controlled in accordance with the request (such as the operation of the switch) from the terminal 2 which has generated the interrupt signal.

As described above, the transmission unit 1 constantly polls at all times to access all the terminals 2 in order, and when receiving an interrupt signal from any of the terminals 2 (monitoring terminals), the interrupt signal Is received and a request from the terminal 2 is received. As described above, polling is always performed, and when an interrupt signal is generated, an operation for preferentially processing a request from the terminal 2 that has generated the interrupt signal is called interrupt polling.

The terminal device 4 is, for example, a measuring device that measures the amount of power consumed by the load, a measuring device that measures the temperature at the time of operation of the load, etc. The information acquired by the terminal device 4 is collected by the server device 3 Ru. In many cases, the information acquired by the terminal device 4 is collected by the server device 3 in response to a request from the server device 3.

The communication between the server device 3 and the terminal device 4 uses, as shown in FIG. 5A, a packet 20 including a transmission source address 22, communication contents 23, and an end 24 after the transmission destination address 21. Further, as shown in FIG. 5B, the transmission source address 22 may be omitted. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 6A, the packet 20 directed from the server device 3 to the terminal device 4 uses the destination address 21 and the packet 20 directed from the terminal device 4 to the server device 3 as shown in FIG. 6B. The source address 22 may be used.

In order to transmit the above-described packet 20 using the transmission line 7, a superimposed signal transmitted on the transmission line 7 and superimposed on the transmission signal 30 is used. That is, the packet 20 including the request from the server device 3 to the terminal device 4 is converted into a superimposed signal by the communication management device 5 connected to the server device 3 and then transmitted to the communication management device 6 through the transmission path 7 . Furthermore, in the communication management device 6, the superimposed signal is converted into a communication signal including a request to the terminal device 4. Meanwhile, when the communication management device 6 collects information from the terminal device 4, the communication management device 6 converts a packet including the collected information into a superimposed signal, and transmits the superimposed signal to the communication management device 5 through the transmission path 7. Further, the communication management device 5 converts the received superimposed signal into a communication signal to be delivered to the server device 3 and visualizes the signal in the server device 3.

The superimposed signal transmitted through the transmission path 7 is superimposed on the transmission signal 30 described above. Specifically, the superposition signal is transmitted in the superposition possible period appropriately selected from the synchronization pulse 31 of the transmission signal 30, the return period 33, the interruption period 34, the short circuit detection period 35, and the pause period 36. When an impedance matching device for separating the superimposed signal from the transmission signal is provided between the transmission unit 1 and the terminal 2 and the transmission line 7, the transmission unit 1 and the terminal 2 are not affected by the superimposed signal. The transmission signal 30 can be transmitted between the transmission unit 1 and the terminal 2.

On the other hand, the

communication management devices

5 and 6 function as an interface or modem for connecting to the transmission path 7 with respect to the server device 3 and the terminal device 4. By providing such

communication management devices

5 and 6, the transmission path 7 can be shared in transmission of two types of communication signals. That is, in order to use the transmission line 7 as a path through which the server device 3 and the terminal device 4 communicate, communication signal conversion is performed using the

communication management devices

5 and 6 connected to the transmission line 7. In other words, in communication between the server device 3 which is a communication device and the terminal device 4, a route passing through the

communication management devices

5 and 6 and the transmission line 7 is adopted.

In this case, although the server apparatus 3 and the terminal apparatus 4 need identification information for communication, the

communication management apparatuses

5 and 6 do not need identification information for communication. Therefore, the communication management device 6 always operates to wait for the reception of the communication signal passing through the transmission path 7. In addition, when the terminal device 4 is a measuring device, the application which collects communication by the server device 3 and the terminal device 4 and the information which the measuring device measured by the server device 3 is considered, but the terminal device 4 is considered. Depending on the type of communication, applications in which the communication management devices 6 communicate with each other are also conceivable.

The transmission signal 30 for performing communication between the transmission unit 1 and the terminal device 2 is bipolar, and polling is always performed. Therefore, power is constantly supplied to the transmission path 7 by the transmission signal 30. . Therefore, by using the transmission signal 30, power can be supplied not only to the terminal 2 but also to the

communication management devices

5 and 6. However, since the power supplied by the transmission unit 1 has an upper limit, the power that can be simultaneously supplied from the transmission unit 1 to the terminal 2 and the

communication management devices

5 and 6 connected to the transmission line 7 is limited.

Now, considering only the communication performed between the server device 3 and the terminal device 4, the transmission unit 1 is regarded as a power supply device for supplying power to the

communication management devices

5 and 6, and the configuration of FIG. Simplify as shown in. The power supply device 10 in FIG. 1 corresponds to the transmission unit 1 in FIG.

Here, the upper limit value of the current that can be supplied to the transmission path 7 by the power supply device 10 is Q [mA], and the current consumed by the communication management device 5 when the communication management device 5 communicates with the server device 3 is r1 [mA It is assumed that the current consumed by the communication management device 6 when the communication management device 6 communicates with the terminal device 4 is r2 [mA]. Under this condition, the number N of the

communication management devices

5 and 6 connectable to the transmission path 7 is N = 1 + int [(Q−r1) / r2]. int [X] means the integer part of X.

For example, the maximum value of the current supplied from the power supply 10 to the transmission line 7 is 200 mA, the current consumed by the communication management device 5 is 10 mA, and the current consumed by the communication management device 6 is 15 mA. Do. In this case, N = 1 + int [(200−10) / 15] = 13. That is, the number of communication management devices 6 connecting the terminal devices 4 can be connected to the transmission path 7 at maximum 12 at maximum. That is, when the conventional configuration is adopted, the maximum number (hereinafter also referred to as “Nmax”) of the communication management devices 6 that can be connected to the transmission line 7 is 12 under the above conditions.

Hereinafter, a technique for increasing the maximum number of communication management devices 6 connectable to the transmission path 7 will be described with reference to FIG.

The communication management device 6 to which the terminal device 4 is connected is, as shown in FIG. 2, a first communication unit 61 for transmitting communication signals through the transmission path 7 and a second communication unit 61 for communicating with the terminal device 4 through the transmission path 9. A communication unit 62 is provided. The first communication unit 61 transmits a packet to be transmitted between the server device 3 and the terminal device 4 by superimposing a superposition signal on the transmission signal transmitted through the transmission path 7 and is superimposed on the transmission signal. The packet is received by separating the superimposed signal. In addition, processing of determining whether or not to transmit a packet between the first communication unit 61 and the second communication unit 62 between the first communication unit 61 and the second communication unit 62 A unit 60 is provided. Furthermore, the communication management device 6 identifies the power supply unit 63 to which power is supplied from the power supply device 10 through the transmission line 7 and identification information of the terminal device 4 connected to the communication management device 6 via the transmission line 9 (hereinafter referred to as And a storage unit 64 for storing an “address”.

The processing unit 60 operates in the normal communication mode in which power is supplied from the power supply unit 63 to the second communication unit 62 and in the reception standby mode in which supply of power from the power supply unit 63 to the second communication unit 62 is stopped. Equipped with For example, the power supply unit 63 supplies power to the second communication unit 62 via the switch 65, and the processing unit 60 is configured to turn the switch 65 on and off. The power supply unit 63 supplies power to the processing unit 60 and the first communication unit 61 regardless of the operation mode of the processing unit 60.

The processing unit 60 always selects the reception standby mode, and in the reception standby mode, when the first communication unit 61 receives the superimposed signal, the address of the terminal device 4 included in the received packet extracted from the superimposed signal is The address is compared with the address stored in the storage unit 64. When the collated address is stored in the storage unit 64, the processing unit 60 starts the supply of power from the power supply unit 63 to the second communication unit 62 and causes the communication with the terminal device 4 to be performed. That is, when the processing unit 60 receives a packet including the content of communication to the terminal device 4 in the reception standby mode, the processing unit 60 shifts to the normal communication mode and causes the second communication unit 62 to supply power. The processing unit 60 also has a function of converting the protocol between the first communication unit 61 and the second communication unit 62.

The basic configuration of the communication management device 5 to which the server device 3 is connected is the same as that of the communication management device 6. That is, the processing unit, the first communication unit, the second communication unit, the power supply unit, and the storage unit are provided. These configurations correspond to the processing unit 60, the first communication unit 61, the second communication unit 62, the power supply unit 63, and the storage unit 64 in the communication management device 6, respectively. However, since the server device 3 issues a request to the terminal device 4 in the normal operation and collects information in response to the response from the terminal device 4, the processing unit of the communication management device 5 does not operate in the reception standby mode. That is, in the communication management apparatus 5, power is supplied from the power supply unit to the second communication unit in addition to the processing unit and the first communication unit regardless of the operation mode of the processing unit. The storage unit in the communication management device 5 is used to store the address of the server device 3.

As apparent from the above-described operation, the communication management device 6 always operates in the reception standby mode, and stops the supply of power to the second communication unit 62. In the normal operation, since the server device 3 transmits a request for each terminal device 4, among the plurality of communication management devices 6 connected to the transmission path 7, the communication management device 6 for transitioning to the normal communication mode is 1 Become one by one. In short, the server device 3 is configured to transmit the first communication signal in a peer-to-peer manner to each of the plurality of terminal devices 4 via the communication management device 5. The communication management apparatus 6 is configured such that the transmission destination of the first communication signal received through its own first communication unit 61 is connected to its own second communication unit 62 via the second transmission path 9. When the communication device 4 is the second communication device 4, it operates in the normal communication mode for at least the minimum transmission period, and transmits one of the first communication signals to the second communication device 4 via the second communication unit 62. It is configured to transmit a second communication signal including part or all of the information. The normal communication mode is a mode for supplying power from the power supply unit 63 in the second communication management device 6 to the second communication unit 62. The minimum transmission period is the time required to transmit the second communication signal including the information of part or all of the first communication signal to the second communication device 4. Preferably, the server device 3 is configured to defer transmission of the next first communication signal until the second communication management device 6 operates in the reception standby mode. For example, after transmitting the first communication signal in a peer-to-peer manner to a certain terminal device 4 via the communication management device 5, the server device 3 has a predetermined waiting time, and then the following is performed until the waiting time elapses. It may be configured to defer transmission of the first communication signal. In this case, the next first communication signal is transmitted after the waiting time has elapsed. The waiting time may be at least the minimum transmission period, or may be the total of the minimum transmission period and the margin time. In one example, when the number of communication management devices 6 connected to the transmission path 7 is Nmax-1 or less, the waiting time can be set to at least the minimum transmission period.

Now, the upper limit value of the current that can be supplied to the transmission line 7 by the power supply device 10 (see FIG. 1) is Q [mA], and the current consumed by the communication management device 5 when the communication management device 5 communicates with the server device 3 It is assumed that r1 [mA]. Further, the current consumed when one communication management device 6 operates in the normal communication mode is r2 [mA], and the current consumed when operating in the reception standby mode is r3 [mA]. Under this condition, the number N of the

communication management devices

5 and 6 connectable to the transmission line 7 is N = 2 + int [(Q−r1−r2) / r3]. int [X] means the integer part of X.

For example, the maximum value of the current supplied from the power supply device 10 to the transmission path 7 is 200 mA, and the current consumed by the communication management device 5 is 10 mA. The current consumed by the communication management device 6 in the normal communication mode is 15 mA, and the current consumed by the communication management device 6 in the reception standby mode is 10 mA. In this case, N = 2 + int [(200-10-15) / 10] = 19. That is, the number of communication management devices 6 connected to the terminal device 4 can be connected to the transmission path 7 at a maximum of eighteen. That is, under the same conditions, six communication management devices 6 connectable to the transmission path 7 can be increased as compared with the case where the communication management device 6 does not have the reception standby mode.

By the way, in order to store the address of the terminal device 4 in the storage unit 64 provided in the communication management device 6, the terminal device 4 connected to each communication management device 6 is manually confirmed, and the terminal device 4 is manually operated. It is conceivable to store the address. However, when a large number of terminal devices 4 are provided and a plurality of terminal devices 4 are connected to the plurality of communication management devices 6, the address of the terminal device 4 is manually stored in each storage unit 64. It is inconvenient to store them in a large amount of labor. In particular, when the address is manually stored in the storage unit 64 at the time of change such as deletion or addition of the terminal device 4, the possibility of erroneous input becomes high, and maintenance of the communication system becomes difficult.

Therefore, by communicating with the terminal device 4 connected via the transmission path 9 for each communication management device 6, the address of the terminal device 4 is automatically collected, and the collected address is automatically stored in the storage unit 64. It is desirable to make it remember. Therefore, the processing unit 60 includes a connection management unit 601 that collects the addresses of the terminal devices 4 connected via the transmission path 9. Although the timing at which the connection management unit 601 collects the address of the terminal device 4 is basically at the time of activation of the communication management device 6, the connection management unit is also used to automatically detect deletion or addition of the terminal device 4. The step 601 collects the address of the terminal device 4 every predetermined time even after activation.

Here, in order for the processing unit 60 to collect the address of the terminal device 4, it is necessary to supply power from the power supply unit 63 to the second communication unit 62. Therefore, the communication management device 6 that collects the address of the terminal device 4 consumes more power. Therefore, in each communication management device 6, the timing for collecting the address of the terminal device 4 is appropriately changed.

For example, the timing of calculating the time by an appropriate calculation rule from the address individually set in the communication management device 6, and collecting the address of the terminal device 4 after the time calculated from the activation of the communication management device 6 has elapsed. Just start it. In addition, random numbers may be generated in each communication management device 6, and from this random number, the start time of the time zone to start collecting the addresses may be calculated according to an appropriate calculation rule. Here, as long as the current capacity of the power supply device 10 does not exceed the maximum value of the current supplied to the transmission line 7, it is permitted that the time zones for collecting the addresses of the terminal devices 4 in the plurality of communication management devices 6 overlap. Be done.

Although the above-mentioned operation is described at the time of start-up, the same operation is repeated every predetermined time even after start-up. That is, time is measured in each communication management device 6, and for each predetermined time interval, the start time of the time slot for collecting the address of the terminal device 4 is determined in the same operation as at the time of activation. Since the address of the terminal device 4 is acquired not only at startup but also after startup every predetermined time, there is no need to restart the communication system when deleting or adding the terminal device 4, and convenience can be improved. .

The time interval for calculating the time zone for acquiring the address of the terminal device 4 is managed not by each communication management device 6 but by another device such as the server device 3 and the address of the terminal device 4 is collected in each communication management device 6 Time interval may be notified. Alternatively, the timing of collection start for each communication management apparatus 6 is determined in another apparatus such as the server apparatus 3 so that the timings of collecting the address of the terminal apparatus 4 are different in each communication management apparatus 6, and communication management is performed. The time may be notified to the device 6 individually.

A process of collecting the address of the terminal device 4 and storing the address in the storage unit 64 when the communication management device 6 is activated will be described collectively in FIG. The connection management unit 601 determines whether or not the address of the terminal device 4 is stored in the storage unit 64 at startup (S1). If the address is stored in the storage unit 64 (S1: yes), this processing ends, and if the address is not stored in the storage unit 64 (S1: no), the start of the time period for collecting the address is started The time is determined and it waits until the start time (S2).

After that, power is supplied from the power supply unit 63 to the second communication unit 62, and an address is specified to request each terminal device 4 to respond (S3). If there is a response from the terminal device 4 (S4: yes), this address is stored in the storage unit 64 (S5). By storing the terminal device 4 connected to the communication management device 6 through the transmission path 9 in the storage unit 64 by performing the process of confirming the response from the terminal device 4 for all the addresses (S6) it can. When a response is requested to the terminal device 4 (S3), if there is no response from the terminal device 4 (S4: no), the next address is specified and the response from the terminal device 4 is confirmed (S6) .

In the above-described operation, the start time of the time zone for collecting the address of the terminal device 4 is shifted in each communication management device 6, but each time the terminal device 4 is connected for one address, the next address is checked. The waiting time to confirm the presence or absence may be changed at random. In this case, in each of the communication management devices 6, the start time of the time zone for collecting the address of the terminal device 4 is not made different, but the time interval for verifying the presence or absence of one address in each communication management device 6 is irregularly set. It will be changed.

In this operation, as shown in FIG. 7, the communication management device 6 sequentially transmits the addresses (address 1, address 2,...) Of the terminal device 4 to request a response from the terminal device 4. When the terminal device 4 having the address is connected to the transmission line 9, a response from the terminal device 4 is obtained. Here, every time the address is transmitted once, the waiting time until the next address is transmitted is randomly changed regardless of the presence or absence of the response from the terminal device 4. By this operation, the time intervals for sending out the addresses become unequal intervals, and it is possible to shift the time when each communication management device 6 operates the second communication unit 62.

That is, a shift occurs in the timing of collecting the address of the terminal device 4 in each communication management device 6, and the total power consumption of the communication management device 6 can be suppressed. In other words, the current consumed by the

communication management devices

5 and 6 connected to the transmission path 7 can be prevented from exceeding the current capacity allowed for the power supply device 10. Also in this operation, in the allowable range of the current capacity of the power supply device 10, the periods of collecting the addresses of the terminal devices 4 in the plurality of communication management devices 6 may overlap.

By the way, in the communication management device 6, the operation of transmitting the communication signal in response to the communication management device 5 connected to the server device 3 and the operation of acquiring the address of the terminal device 4 are not simultaneously performed. it is obvious. Therefore, while the other communication management device 6 is transmitting a communication signal in response to the communication management device 5, the second communication unit 62 is not supplied with power in the other communication management device 6. It can be seen that the system operates with relatively low power consumption.

From this, it can be said that a period during which another communication management device 6 transmits a communication signal to the communication management device 5 is a timing suitable for performing an operation of acquiring the address of the terminal device 4. Therefore, the connection management unit 601 of each communication management device 6 monitors the communication signal transmitted through the transmission path 7 by the first communication unit 61, and detects the communication signal directed to the communication management device 5. The start time of the time zone to collect may be determined.

In this operation, since the communication management device 6 collects the address of the terminal device 4 triggered by the time of the response from the terminal device 4 to the server device 3, it is not necessary to measure the time of collecting the address. In addition, there is no need to restart the communication system in order to collect the address of the terminal device 4 as the terminal device 4 is deleted or added.

In the above-described operation, the storage unit 64 of the communication management device 6 stores the address of the terminal device 4, but the storage unit of the communication management device 5 needs to store the address of the server device 3 in the storage unit . The storage unit of the communication management device 5 stores the address of the server device 3 when the second communication unit receives a communication signal including a request from the server device 3 to the terminal device 4 as well as when the communication system is activated. It may be stored in a unit.

By the way, in the above-described operation, it is assumed that the server device 3 does not simultaneously transmit a request to the terminal devices 4 connected to different communication management devices 6. However, in practice, the communication management apparatus 5 connected to the server apparatus 3 may transmit a communication signal by broadcast to the communication management apparatus 6 to which the terminal apparatus 4 is connected. In preparation for such a case, the processing unit 60 determines whether the communication signal from the communication management device 5 is broadcast or unicast, and at the time of broadcast, the timing for transmitting a request to the terminal device 4 is appropriately determined. A different transmission management unit 602 is provided.

The transmission management unit 602 determines the timing for transmitting a request to the terminal device 4 by the same operation as the operation of the connection management unit 601. That is, the start time of the time zone for transmitting the request from the server device 3 to the terminal device 4 is determined by an appropriate calculation rule, or the time interval for transmitting the request from the server device 3 to the terminal device 4 is not equal. Do.

By performing the above-described operation on the broadcast communication signal in the transmission management unit 602, it is possible to prevent the communication management devices 6 from simultaneously transmitting requests to the terminal device 4 for the broadcast communication signal. it can. That is, the communication management device 6 can be operated within the range of the current capacity of the power supply device 10.

The communication signal received by the communication management device 6 is monitored by the processing unit 60 and normally delivered to the second communication unit 62 in units of received packets, regardless of whether it is unicast or broadcast. Therefore, the processing unit 60 needs a buffer for storing the received packet as a unit.

On the other hand, when the received packet is unicast and the transmission destination address 21 of the received packet is present in the storage unit 64 without providing the buffer in the processing unit 60, the packet is transmitted through the second communication. A configuration for outputting to the unit 62 may be adopted. In this case, since the processing unit 60 does not require a buffer, it is possible to shorten the time until the request from the server device 3 is delivered to the terminal device 4. Note that, for broadcast packets, as described above, it is necessary to distribute the time for handing over the request from the server device 3 to the terminal device 4, so a buffer for waiting for time is necessary.

In the configuration described above, it is determined whether the communication signal received by the communication management device 6 to which the terminal device 4 is connected is a communication signal with the terminal device 4 as a transmission destination. If unnecessary communication signals (superimposed signals) are not sent out not only in this operation but also in the communication management apparatus 5 to which the server apparatus 3 is connected, it is conceivable that unnecessary operation of the communication management apparatus 6 can be omitted. .

Therefore, in the processing unit of the communication management device 5, prior to transmitting a request from the server device 3 to the terminal device 4 via the communication management device 6, the processing of the terminal device 4 connected to each communication management device 6 Perform an operation to collect addresses. This operation is preferably performed every predetermined time, but may be performed before the communication management device 5 transmits a communication signal to the communication management device 6. Alternatively, immediately after the communication signal is transmitted from the first communication unit to the transmission path 7 and immediately after the communication signal is transmitted from the second communication unit to the transmission path 8, the address of the terminal device 4 can be used as the communication management device 6. You may collect from

Here, when the processing unit of the communication management device 5 detects that the addresses of the terminal devices 4 overlap in the plurality of communication management devices 6, it converts a packet whose destination is the corresponding terminal device 4 into a superimposed signal. Prohibit sending out. This operation can prevent the plurality of communication management devices 6 from simultaneously communicating with the terminal device 4. At this time, it is desirable that the communication management device 5 notify the server device 3 that the address of the terminal device 4 is set in duplicate. In the communication system that allows the duplication of the address of the terminal device 4, when the address of the terminal device 4 is duplicated, the communication management device 6 to which each of the terminal devices 4 with the duplicated address is connected is Communication signals may be transmitted at different times.

In the above description, in order to explain the difference in function between the communication management device 5 to which the server device 3 is connected and the communication management device 6 to which the terminal device 4 is connected, the

communication management devices

5 and 6 are distinguished and described ing. However, in actuality, the communication management device 5 and the communication management device 6 have the same configuration, and depending on the state of communication in the second communication unit, whether the server device 3 is connected or the terminal device 4 is connected. Each operation is performed by recognizing the That is, which operation of the communication management device 5 or the communication management device 6 is to be performed is determined by communication with a device connected via the

transmission paths

8 and 9.

The operation of the communication management apparatus is summarized in FIG. In FIG. 4, the operation to select which one of the communication management device 5 and the communication management device 6 is to be selected is described. In the following description, the code attached to FIG. 2 is adopted, but this is not intended to explain the communication management apparatus 6, and the code of FIG. 2 is used for convenience to show the configuration of the communication management apparatus. It is used.

In the communication management apparatus, after the process at the time of activation (such as the process of collecting the address of the terminal device 4 shown in FIG. 3) is performed (S1), the first communication unit 61 and the second communication unit 62 The presence or absence of a communication signal is confirmed (S2, S3). If there is a communication signal in the first communication unit 61 (S3: yes) and it is a request to collect the address of the terminal device 4 (S4: yes), the address of the terminal device 4 is read from the storage unit 64 and the communication management device Return to 5 (S5).

If the communication signal received by the first communication unit 61 does not request address collection (S4: no), the address of the transmission destination included in the received packet is confirmed (S6). Here, if the transmission destination address is a broadcast, each communication management device 6 performs processing to make the time of communication with the terminal device 4 different (S7). When the transmission destination address is registered in the storage unit 64, the received packet is transferred to the second communication unit 62 (S8).

Here, it is determined whether the communication management device is operating as the communication management device 5 connected to the server device 3 (S9). If the communication management device 5 is a server, the server through the first communication unit 61 is determined. After requesting the device 3 to return the address (S10) and confirming the response to this request (S11), the contents of the storage unit 64 are updated (S12). When the communication management device is not the communication management device 5 connected to the server device 3 (S9: no), the process returns to step S2, and the communication signal is received by the first communication unit 61 and the second communication unit 62. I will wait.

On the other hand, if the transmission destination address is not registered in the storage unit 64 instead of the broadcast in step S6, the received packet is discarded (S13). If the communication management device is not operating as the communication management device 5 connected to the server device 3 (S14: no) and it is a timing to collect the address of the terminal device 4 (S15: yes), The address of the terminal device 4 is collected through the communication unit 62 of (S16). In addition, if it is operating as the communication management device 5 connected to the server device 3 (S14: yes), or if it is not the timing to collect the address of the terminal device 4 (S15: no), return to steps S2 and S3. The first communication unit 61 and the second communication unit 62 wait for reception of communication signals.

By the way, when the communication signal is detected by the second communication unit 62 in step S2 (S2: yes), the source address of the received packet is confirmed (S17). Here, if it is a packet received from the server device 3 (S17: yes), it operates as the communication management device 5 connected to the server device 3, and stores the address of the server device 3 in the storage unit 64. (S18).

Next, the storage unit 64 checks the address duplication of the terminal device 4 (S19), and if there is duplication in the transmission destination address of the received packet (S19: yes), discards the packet (S20) . On the other hand, if a duplicate address is not detected (S19: no), the packet is transferred to the first communication unit 61 (S21), and the address of the terminal device 4 is requested through the first communication unit 61 (S22). That is, the communication management device 5 requests the communication management device 6 for the address of the terminal device 4. By receiving the response to the request (S23), the contents of the storage unit 64 are updated in the communication management device 5 connected to the server device 3 (S24).

On the other hand, when the packet received from the terminal device 4 is detected in step S17 (S17: no), the address of the terminal device 4 connected to the communication management device is stored in the storage unit 64 (S25). The packet is transferred to the first communication unit 61 (S26).

When the communication management apparatus 5 connected to the server apparatus 3 and the communication management apparatus 6 connected to the terminal apparatus 4 are determined, the packet 20 shown in FIG. 6 may be used. That is, when the packet 20 of FIG. 6B is received as a response after the packet 20 of FIG. 6A is transmitted, it can be determined as the communication management device 5 connected to the server device 3. Therefore, when the pair of transmission of the packet 20 including only the transmission destination address 21 and reception of the packet 20 including only the transmission source address 22 is detected by the communication management device, it is assumed that the server device 3 is connected. You should judge. In this case, by default, it functions as the communication management device 6 connected to the terminal device 4.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to several preferred embodiments, various modifications and variations can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the true spirit and scope of the present invention, ie, the claims.

Claims

A plurality of communication management devices connected to a first transmission path, a communication device connected to each of the communication management devices via a second transmission path, and the communication management device through the first transmission path And the communication management apparatus is configured to transmit the first communication signal received from the first transmission path through the second transmission path when the transmission destination of the first communication signal is the communication device. A communication system comprising: a function of communicating with a communication apparatus; and a function of operating in a reception standby mode for reducing power consumption when not communicating with the communication apparatus.
The communication management apparatus includes: a first communication unit that transmits a first communication signal through the first transmission path; a second communication unit that communicates with the communication apparatus through the second transmission path; A power supply unit to which power is supplied from the power supply device through a first transmission line, a storage unit for storing identification information of the communication apparatus connected to the second transmission line, and the second power supply unit from the power supply unit Of the communication device included in the received first communication signal when the first communication unit receives the first communication signal while operating in the reception standby mode in which the supply of power to the communication unit is stopped. The identification information is collated with the storage unit, and when the received first communication signal includes the identification information of the communication device, the power supply unit starts supply of power from the power supply unit to the second communication unit to perform the communication. Providing a processing unit for communicating with the device Communication system according to claim 1, wherein.
The communication management apparatus is connected to the second transmission line at a timing set so as to be different in each of the communication management devices at least at the time of startup between startup and every predetermined time after startup. The communication system according to claim 2, further comprising: a connection management unit that collects identification information of a device and stores the collected identification information in the storage unit.
When the communication management device detects a first communication signal sent from another communication management device in the first communication path, the communication management device is set to a different timing in each of the communication management devices. The communication system according to claim 2, further comprising a connection management unit that collects identification information of the communication device connected to the second transmission path and stores the collected identification information in the storage unit.
The first communication signal transmits a packet having communication contents and an end after identification information of a transmission destination, and the processing unit identifies the communication device included in the packet received by the first communication unit. The method according to any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein the received packet is allowed to pass through the second communication unit to the end when the coincidence between the information and the identification information stored in the storage unit is confirmed. Communication system.
The first communication signal transmits a packet having communication contents and an end after identification information of a transmission destination, and the processing unit is a packet of a packet received by the first communication unit being a broadcast packet to the communication device. Operating in the normal communication mode at different timings in the respective communication management devices, and transmitting the received packet from the second communication unit to the communication device as the second communication signal. The communication system according to any one of claims 2 to 4, characterized in that
A part of the plurality of communication management devices is connected to the server device as the communication device through the second transmission path, and the rest of the plurality of communication management devices are connected through the second transmission path. A communication system in which a terminal device as a device is connected and the server device and the terminal device communicate via the communication management device, wherein the communication management device to which the server device is connected is the terminal device The identification information of the terminal device stored in the storage unit of the communication management device connected is collected, and when the server device transmits a request to the terminal device, the collected identification information is duplicated. The communication system according to any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein transmission of the request is not performed at a certain time.
A part of the plurality of communication management devices is connected to the server device as the communication device through the second transmission path, and the rest of the plurality of communication management devices are connected through the second transmission path. A communication system in which a terminal device as a device is connected and the server device and the terminal device communicate via the communication management device, wherein the communication management device to which the server device is connected is the terminal device The identification information of the terminal device stored in the storage unit of the communication management device connected is collected, and when the server device transmits a request to the terminal device, the collected identification information is duplicated. 6. The communication system according to claim 5, wherein transmission of the request is not performed at a certain time.
A part of the plurality of communication management devices is connected to the server device as the communication device through the second transmission path, and the rest of the plurality of communication management devices are connected through the second transmission path. A communication system in which a terminal device as a device is connected and the server device and the terminal device communicate via the communication management device, wherein the communication management device to which the server device is connected is the terminal device The identification information of the terminal device stored in the storage unit of the communication management device connected is collected, and when the server device transmits a request to the terminal device, the collected identification information is duplicated. 7. The communication system according to claim 6, wherein transmission of the request is not performed at a certain time.
The plurality of communication management devices include a first communication management device and at least one second communication management device, and the communication device transmits the first communication management device via a second transmission path. And a second communication device connected to the at least one second communication management device via a second transmission path, the first communication device comprising: The first communication manager is configured to transmit a first communication signal in a peer-to-peer manner to the at least one second communication device via the first communication manager, the second communication manager having its own first When the transmission destination of the first communication signal received through the second communication unit is the second communication device connected to its own second communication unit via the second transmission path, at least during the minimum transmission period Operating in the normal communication mode, via the second communication unit The second communication apparatus is configured to transmit a second communication signal including information on part or all of the first communication signal, and the normal communication mode is performed in the second communication management apparatus. The mode is a mode for supplying power from the power supply unit to the second communication unit, and the minimum transmission period is a second communication signal including the information of a part or all of the first communication signal. The communication system according to claim 2, wherein it is the time required to transmit to the communication device.
A communication management device in the communication system according to claim 1.
A first communication unit for transmitting a first communication signal through a first transmission line, a second communication unit for transmitting a second communication signal through a second transmission line, and a power supply through the first transmission line A power supply unit to which power is supplied from the apparatus, a storage unit storing identification information of the communication apparatus connected to the second transmission path, and stopping supply of power from the power supply unit to the second communication unit When the first communication unit receives the first communication signal while operating in the reception standby mode, the identification information of the communication device included in the received first communication signal is collated with the storage unit, and reception is performed. A processing unit that causes the power supply unit to start supply of power from the power supply unit to the second communication unit and causes communication with the communication apparatus when the first communication signal includes identification information of the communication apparatus; A communication management device characterized by comprising.