JP2018156564A - Mediation device, mediation method, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an intermediary device, an intermediary method and a program capable of reducing a data communication amount when information of a plurality of devices is transmitted to a management server. An intermediary device is an intermediary device that mediates the transmission of information between a plurality of devices and a management device, and includes a collecting unit, a generating unit, and a transmitting unit. The collecting unit collects device information including a plurality of items related to the device from the device. The generation unit generates aggregated data in which device information is aggregated for each item set as an item common to a plurality of devices among a plurality of items of collected device information. The transmission unit transmits the aggregated data to the management device. [Selection diagram] Fig. 3

Description

  The present invention relates to a mediation apparatus, a mediation method, and a program.

  Conventionally, a technique of an intermediary device that collects data of a plurality of devices to be managed and transmits the collected data to a management server on a network is known.

  In recent years, IoT (Internet of Things), in which various devices are connected to a network and exchange information, has begun to spread. Along with this, there are services that collect information from various devices connected to a network and utilize the enormous amount of information.

  However, when the number of devices from which data is collected increases, the data transmitted from the mediation device to the server increases and the network load increases. For this reason, when information on a plurality of devices is transmitted to the management server, it has been required to reduce the amount of data communication.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above, and an object of the present invention is to reduce the amount of data communication when information on a plurality of devices is transmitted to a management server.

  In order to solve the above-described problems and achieve the object, an intermediary device according to the present invention is an intermediary device that mediates transmission of information between a plurality of devices and a management device, and includes a collection unit and a generation unit And a transmission unit. The collection unit collects device information including a plurality of items related to the device from the device. The generating unit generates aggregated data obtained by aggregating device information for each piece of information set as an item common to a plurality of devices among a plurality of items of the collected device information. The transmission unit transmits the aggregated data to the management device.

  According to the present invention, there is an effect that the amount of data communication can be reduced when information on a plurality of devices is transmitted to the management server.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the overall configuration of the device management system according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of the mediation apparatus according to the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of the mediation apparatus according to the first embodiment. FIG. 4A is a diagram illustrating an example of a table configuration of a device information database according to the first embodiment. FIG. 4B is a diagram illustrating another example of the table configuration of the device information database according to the first embodiment. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a data configuration of device information transmitted from the device according to the first embodiment to the mediation apparatus. FIG. 6A is a diagram illustrating an example of aggregated data according to the first embodiment. FIG. 6B is a diagram illustrating another example of the aggregated data image according to the first embodiment. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of aggregated data according to the first embodiment. FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of device information that is converted into a transmission format without being aggregated according to the first embodiment. FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a procedure of device information aggregation processing according to the first embodiment. FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a procedure of device information aggregation processing according to the second embodiment. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of an association image of the aggregated data and the device ID according to the third embodiment. FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of aggregated data at the time of initial transmission according to the third embodiment. FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of aggregated data in the second and subsequent transmissions according to the third embodiment. FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a procedure of device information aggregation processing according to the third embodiment.

  Exemplary embodiments of an intermediary device, an intermediation method, and a program will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the overall configuration of the device management system S according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the device management system S according to the present embodiment includes a management server 30, a plurality of devices 20a to 20m to be managed, a plurality of mediation devices 10a and 10b, and firewalls 51a and 51b. Prepare.

  The plurality of devices 20a to 20m and the plurality of mediation devices 10a and 10b are connected to local networks 50a and 50b provided with firewalls 51a and 51b, respectively.

  The local networks 50a and 50b are connected to the network 40 via firewalls 51a and 51b. Hereinafter, the local networks 50a and 50b are collectively referred to as the local network 50. The local network 50 is a LAN (Local Area Network) or the like, but is not limited thereto.

  The firewalls 51 a and 51 b are for maintaining the security of the local network 50. The firewalls 51a and 51b monitor communication between the local network 50 and the network 40, and detect and block unauthorized access from the network 40 to the local network 50.

  The devices 20 a to 20 m are devices having a communication function, and are devices to be managed by the management server 30. Hereinafter, the devices 20a to 20m are collectively referred to as the device 20. The device 20 is, for example, a door (hereinafter referred to as an opening / closing detection door) in which a sensor for detecting opening / closing of the door is incorporated, or an illumination (hereinafter referred to as lighting detection illumination) in which a sensor for detecting the presence / absence of lighting is incorporated. There is, but is not limited to this. Further, the number of devices 20 is not limited to the example shown in FIG. The device 20 transmits device information about itself to the mediation device 10a or the mediation device 10b.

  The device information is information including a plurality of items related to the device 20. The device information includes, for example, the serial number of the device 20, a lighting state, and the like when the device 20 is lighting detection illumination. Details of the device information in this embodiment will be described later.

  The mediation devices 10a and 10b are devices that mediate transmission of information between a plurality of devices and the management device. Hereinafter, the intermediary devices 10a and 10b are collectively referred to as the intermediary device 10. The mediation devices 10 a and 10 b transmit the device information collected from the devices 20 to the management server 30 via the network 40. Further, the intermediary device 10 may receive a command signal or the like from the management server 30 to the device 20 and forward it to the device 20. The device management system S shown in FIG. 1 includes two mediation devices 10, but the number of mediation devices 10 may be larger or one.

  The network 40 is a communication network such as the Internet. The management server 30 is connected to the network 40. Further, the management server 30 is connected to the mediation device 10 via the network 40 and the local network 50.

  The management server 30 collects and stores the device information of the device 20 received from the mediation device 10. The management server 30 is an example of a management device in the present embodiment.

  The management server 30 may remotely manage the device 20 based on the collected device information. In this case, the management server 30 may adopt a configuration in which a command signal or the like is transmitted to the device 20 via the network 40 and the intermediary device 10. Further, the management server 30 may analyze the state of the device 20 from the collected device information.

  Next, a hardware configuration of the mediation apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of the mediation apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the intermediary device 10 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 101, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 102, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 103, an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) 104, and a communication interface. 105. The CPU 101, ROM 102, RAM 103, HDD 104, and communication interface 105 are connected by an internal bus 106.

  The CPU 101 expands and executes a program stored in the HDD 104 on the RAM 103 and controls each component to input / output data and process data.

  The ROM 102 is a nonvolatile storage medium. The ROM 102 stores a start program for reading a basic input / output system (BIOS) and a bootstrap loader from the HDD 104 to the RAM 103. The bootstrap loader reads an OS (Operating System) from the HDD 104 to the RAM 103.

  The RAM 103 may be any readable / writable storage medium. For example, an SRAM (Static Random Access Memory), a DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory), or the like can be employed.

  The HDD 104 is a non-volatile storage medium. The HDD 104 may be replaced with an SSD (Solid State Drive) or the like. The HDD 104 stores an OS and a device driver.

  The communication interface 105 is an interface that communicates with other devices via a network. The communication interface 105 is connected to the local network 50, for example, and communicates with the device 20 via the local network 50.

  The hardware configuration of the intermediary device 10 illustrated in FIG. 2 is an example, and any configuration that includes a normal computer configuration may be used.

  The hardware configuration of the management server 30 is the same as the hardware configuration of the mediation device 10.

  Next, a functional configuration of the mediation apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of the mediation apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment. As illustrated in FIG. 3, the mediation apparatus 10 according to the present exemplary embodiment includes a collection unit 11, a generation unit 12, a transmission unit 13, and a storage unit 15.

  The storage unit 15 is configured by, for example, the HDD 104. As illustrated in FIG. 3, the storage unit 15 stores a device information database (DB) 151. In addition, the storage unit 15 stores a management target device list and an aggregation rule.

  The management target device list is a list of management target devices of the management server 30. In addition, the management target device list stored in the storage unit 15 of the mediation device 10 only needs to include the management target device 20 connected to the local network 50 to which the mediation device 10 is connected. The devices 20 included in the management target device list are devices 20 for which the mediation device 10 collects device information.

  The aggregation rule is a rule for aggregating device information. In the intermediary device 10 of this embodiment, the aggregation rule is set in advance. The aggregation rule includes, for example, a predetermined condition for aggregating device information and an aggregation item. Specifically, the aggregation rule may determine the type of the device 20 as a predetermined condition for collecting device information. Further, the aggregation item is an item used for aggregating device information. Specifically, items that can be set with the same information among the plurality of devices 20 among the items common among the plurality of devices 20 may be set as the aggregate item. Details of the device information aggregation procedure will be described later.

  The device information database 151 is a database in which device information collected by the mediation device 10 from the device 20 is registered. FIG. 4A is a diagram illustrating an example of a table configuration of the device information database 151 according to the present embodiment. In the example illustrated in FIG. 4A, device information of three devices 20 is registered in the device information database 151.

  As shown in FIG. 4A, the device information database 151 of the present embodiment includes “network address”, “product name”, “serial number”, and “open / closed state” as items. The items shown in FIG. 4A are examples, and the items in the device information database 151 are not limited to this.

  The item “network address” is an item in which information such as the address of the device 20 in the local network 50 is set.

  The item “product name” is an item in which the product name of the device 20 is set. The product name is an example of the type of the device 20 in the present embodiment. The item “product name” is an example of a type item in which the type of the device 20 in the present embodiment is set.

  The item “serial number” is an item in which a serial number assigned to the device 20 is set. The serial number of the device 20 may be a number assigned when the device 20 is manufactured, for example.

  The item “open / close state” is an item in which information indicating whether the open / close detection door as the device 20 is in an open state (OPEN) or a closed state (CLOSE) is set. The item “open / close state” is not limited to a character string such as “OPEN”, and a numerical value such as “0” or “1” may be set.

  In addition, when the device 20 to be managed connected to the local network 50 includes a plurality of types of products, the item of device information may be different for each type of product. FIG. 4B is a diagram showing another example of the table configuration of the device information database 151 according to the present embodiment. In the example illustrated in FIG. 4B, device information of six devices 20 with two types of product names is registered in the device information database 151.

  In the example shown in FIG. 4B, the device information database 151 includes an item “lighting state” that is not in the example of FIG. 4A. The item “lighting state” is an item in which information indicating whether the lighting detection illumination as the device 20 is turned on (ON) or turned off (OFF) is set. The item “lighting state” is not limited to a character string such as “ON”, and a numerical value such as “0” or “1” may be set.

  As shown in FIG. 4B, when the product name of the device 20 is “open / close detection door DO01A”, information is set in the items “network address”, “product name”, “serial number”, and “open / close state”. The When the product name of the device 20 is “lighting detection illumination L002B”, information is set in the item “lighting state” instead of “open / close state”.

  The items “open / close state” and item “lighting state” are examples of state items in which information indicating the state of the device 20 in the present embodiment is set. Items in which information indicating the state of the device 20 is set are not limited to these, and may be set according to the type of the device 20.

  The items of the device information database 151 are set in advance according to the items of the collected device information. Further, the device information database 151 is not limited to one database, and may be a plurality of databases each having different items, for example. The device information database 151 is an example of a device information storage format, and the device information may be stored in another format.

  Returning to FIG. 3, the collection unit 11 collects device information from the devices 20 included in the managed device list. Further, the collection unit 11 registers device information transmitted from each device 20 in the device information database 151. The collection unit 11 collects device information from the device 20 at regular time intervals, for example. Or the collection part 11 may start collection of apparatus information, when a trigger signal etc. are received from the outside.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a data configuration of device information transmitted from the device 20 according to the present embodiment to the mediation device 10. The device information 200 for one device transmitted from one device 20 to the intermediary device 10 shown in FIG. 5 is set in the item name such as the product name, serial number, and open / close state of the device 20 and in each item. Value (information). The data format of the device information 200 for one device shown in FIG. 5 is an example, and the device information 200 may be described in a language such as XML (Extensible Markup Language) or JSON (JavaScript (registered trademark) Object Notation). .

  Returning to FIG. 3, the generation unit 12 generates aggregated data obtained by aggregating device information registered in the device information database 151. The aggregated data is data obtained by aggregating device information for each piece of information set in items common among the plurality of devices 20 among the plurality of items of device information.

  FIG. 6A is a diagram illustrating an example of an image of aggregated data according to the present embodiment. FIG. 6A shows an image 800a of aggregated data obtained by aggregating device information of the three devices 20 shown in FIG. 4A.

  All the items of the device information of the three devices 20 illustrated in FIG. 6A are common items. Of the items included in the device information, “network address” and “serial number” are items in which different information is set for each device 20. On the other hand, “product name” and “open / closed state” are items in which the same information may be set in a plurality of devices 20.

  The generation unit 12 according to the present embodiment aggregates device information based on the aggregation rules stored in the storage unit 15. For example, if the aggregation rule is “If the information set in the item“ product name ”is“ open / close detection door DO01A ””, the device information is aggregated with the information set in the item “product name”, and the item “open / close It is assumed that the information set in the item “serial number” is aggregated for each piece of information set in “status”. ” In other words, in this case, the condition set in the aggregation rule is that the information set in the item “product name” is “open / closed detection door DO01A”. In this case, the item “product name” and the item “open / close state” are set in advance as the aggregated items.

  In this case, the generation unit 12 sets the product name, the open / close state, and the open / close state of the device information registered in the device information database 151 for the device information whose item “product name” is “open / close detection door DO01A”. Sort device information according to the information set in.

  The rearrangement of the device information is to arrange the device information for each device 20 in an order different from the order stored in the device information database 151. Specifically, in the example shown in FIG. 4A, device information is registered in the device information database 151 in ascending order of network address numbers. The generation unit 12 extracts device information from the device information database 151 one by one, and rearranges them according to the product name and the open / closed state. In the example of FIG. 4A, the product names of all the device information are the same, but the information indicating the open / close state is different. For this reason, as illustrated in FIG. 6A, the generation unit 12 uses the third piece of device information (device information with the network address “10.20.30.44”) in the device information database 151 as the device information database 151. It moves after the first device information (device information whose network address is “10.20.30.41”). The device information rearranged by the generation unit 12 may be temporarily stored in a memory such as the RAM 103, for example.

  In FIG. 6A, the generation unit 12 arranges the device information whose open / close state is “OPEN” in an order before the device information “CLOSE”, but the arrangement order is an example, and arranges them in ascending order of the open / close state. Also good. Further, the arrangement order according to the information set in the items may be set in advance by the aggregation rule.

  The generation unit 12 aggregates serial numbers for a plurality of pieces of device information in which the same product name and the same open / closed state are set after the device information is rearranged. When the network address is also a transmission target to the management server 30, the generation unit 12 collects the product name and the open / closed state, like the serial number.

  FIG. 6B is a diagram illustrating another example of the aggregated data image according to the present embodiment. FIG. 6B shows an aggregated data image 800b in which the device information of the six devices 20 shown in FIG. 4B is aggregated. When the devices 20 that are different types of products are included in the management target, a plurality of aggregation rules may be set in advance.

  For example, in addition to the above-described aggregation rule, the storage unit 15 uses the information set in the item “product name” when the information set in the item “product name” is “lighting detection illumination L002B”. And the information set in the item “serial number” is collected for each piece of information set in the item “lighting state”. In other words, in this case, the condition set in the aggregation rule is “information set in the item“ product name ”is“ lighting detection illumination L002B ””. In this case, the item “product name” and the item “lighting state” are set in advance as consolidated items.

  In this case, when the product name included in the device information is “lighting detection illumination L002B”, the generation unit 12 rearranges the device information according to the product name and the lighting state. And the production | generation part 12 collects a serial number about the some apparatus information to which the same product name and the same lighting state were set.

  The items “product name”, “open / closed state”, and “lighting state” are examples of aggregation items that aggregate device information in the present embodiment.

  6A and 6B described above are diagrams showing the aggregated data images 800a and 800b, but the generation unit 12 generates aggregated data, for example, in the format shown in FIG. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of aggregated data according to the present embodiment. The aggregated data shown in FIG. 7 is a specific example of aggregated data corresponding to the aggregated data image 800a shown in FIG. 6A. As shown in FIG. 7, the generation unit 12 lists and describes the serial number of the device 20 whose information “OPEN” is set in the item “open / close state” after the product name, and then the item “open / close” The number of the devices 20 whose information set to “state” is “CLOSE” is listed and described.

  As described above, the generation unit 12 aggregates device information based on the product name and the open / closed state, thereby reducing the amount of data description.

  In general, when the type of the device 20 is different, the configuration of items of the device information and information set in each item may be different. In such a case, the generation unit 12 can aggregate the device information more appropriately by aggregating the device information by the aggregation item predetermined for each product name.

  Further, the predetermined condition set in the aggregation rule is not limited to the product name of the device 20. For example, the storage unit 15 stores a rule for aggregating device information for each piece of information set in a predetermined aggregation item when the serial number of the device 20 is in a predetermined number range as an aggregation rule. Also good.

  Moreover, the production | generation part 12 is converted into a transmission format, without aggregating apparatus information, when the aggregation rule is not set. In other words, the generation unit 12 determines whether or not to aggregate depending on whether or not predetermined aggregation is necessary. FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of device information converted into a transmission format without being aggregated according to the present embodiment. In this case, as illustrated in FIG. 8, the generation unit 12 sequentially describes the item name of each item and the information set in each item for the number of records of the device information registered in the device information database 151. When FIG. 7 and FIG. 8 are compared, although the content indicated by the data is not reduced, the amount of data described in FIG. 7 is further reduced.

  7 and 8, the network address of the device 20 is not included in the aggregated data. However, when the network address is a transmission target to the management server 30, the generation unit 12 writes the network address together with the serial number. May be described.

  The data description formats shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 are examples of the data transmission format in this embodiment, and the aggregated data and the device information in the transmission format are described in a data description language or the like in another format. Also good.

  Returning to FIG. 3, the transmission unit 13 transmits the aggregated data aggregated by the generation unit 12 to the management server 30. When the generation unit 12 does not aggregate device information, the transmission unit 13 transmits the device information converted into the transmission format to the management server 30.

  The transmission unit 13 may delete the device information registered in the device information database 151 after transmitting the device information to the management server 30. Alternatively, the transmission unit 13 may add a flag or the like for distinguishing the device information registered in the device information database 151 and transmitted to the management server 30 and exclude it from the next and subsequent aggregation and transmission targets. .

  Next, device information aggregation processing according to the present embodiment configured as described above will be described. FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a procedure of device information aggregation processing according to the present embodiment. The processing of this flowchart may be started, for example, at regular intervals, or may be started upon receiving a trigger signal or the like from the outside.

  The collection unit 11 collects device information from the devices 20 included in the device list to be managed and registers the device information in the device information database 151 (S1).

  The generation unit 12 determines whether or not the aggregation rule is stored in the storage unit 15. When the aggregation rule is not stored in the storage unit 15, the generation unit 12 determines that the aggregation rule is not set (S2 “No”). In this case, the generation unit 12 converts the device information registered in the device information database 151 into a transmission format (S3). For example, as illustrated in FIG. 8, the generation unit 12 generates data describing an item name to be transmitted and information set in the item using a data description language or the like.

  The transmission unit 13 transmits the device information converted into the transmission format by the generation unit 12 to the management server 30 (S4).

  If the aggregation rule is stored in the storage unit 15, the generation unit 12 determines that the aggregation rule is set (S2 “Yes”). In this case, the generation unit 12 extracts one piece of device information from the device information database 151 (S5).

  The generation unit 12 determines whether the extracted device information satisfies the application rule of the aggregation rule (S6). For example, the storage unit 15 stores a plurality of aggregation rules. The first aggregation rule is “if the information set in the item“ product name ”is“ open / closed detection door DO01A ””, the device information is aggregated with the information set in the item “product name” , The information set in the item “serial number” is aggregated for each piece of information set in the item “open / close state” ”. In this case, the generation unit 12 determines whether the information set in the item “product name” of the extracted one piece of device information matches the “open / close detection door DO01A”. When the information set in the item “product name” of the device information matches “open / closed detection door DO01A”, the generation unit 12 determines that the device information satisfies the application rule of the aggregation rule (S6 “Yes”). .

  When the device information satisfies the aggregation rule application condition (S6 “Yes”), the generation unit 12 rearranges the device information based on the aggregation rule (S7). For example, the generation unit 12 rearranges the device information according to the product name and the open / closed state.

  Further, when the generation unit 12 determines that the device information does not satisfy the application condition of the aggregation rule (S6 “No”), the generation unit 12 does not apply the aggregation rule. For example, when the information set in the item “product name” of the extracted one piece of device information is “lighting detection illumination L002B”, the generation unit 12 does not apply the first aggregation rule described above.

  The generation unit 12 determines whether or not to apply to all the aggregation rules for each piece of device information (S8). When there is an aggregation rule that has not been determined whether to apply (S8 “No”), the generation unit 12 repeats the processes of S6 to S8.

  When the determination on whether to apply to all the aggregation rules is completed (S8 “Yes”), the generation unit 12 determines whether the extraction has been completed for all the device information (S9).

  When extraction has not been completed for all device information (S9 “No”), the generation unit 12 extracts the next piece of device information from the device information database 151 (S5). The generation unit 12 repeats the processes of S5 to S9 until extraction of all device information is completed.

  When extraction has been completed for all device information (S9 “Yes”), the generation unit 12 generates aggregated data in which the rearranged device information is aggregated in a transmission format (S10). For example, as illustrated in FIG. 7, the generation unit 12 generates aggregated data in which serial numbers are listed for each piece of information set in the product name and the open / closed state using a data description language or the like.

  The transmission unit 13 transmits the aggregated data generated by the generation unit 12 to the management server 30 (S11).

  Thus, in this embodiment, the mediation apparatus 10 that mediates transmission of information between the plurality of devices 20 and the management server 30 collects device information including a plurality of items related to the device 20 from the device 20. Unit 11 and a generation unit 12 that generates aggregated data in which device information is aggregated. The generation unit 12 generates aggregated data in which device information is aggregated for each piece of information set in items common among the plurality of devices 20 among the plurality of items of collected device information, and the transmission unit 13 performs the aggregation Data is transmitted to the management server 30. For this reason, according to the mediation apparatus of this embodiment, when information on a plurality of devices is transmitted to the management server 30, the amount of data communication can be reduced.

  Moreover, in this embodiment, the production | generation part 12 produces | generates aggregated data for every information set to the item preset as an aggregation item which aggregates apparatus information among the items which are common among the some apparatuses 20. FIG. . For this reason, according to the intermediary device 10 of the present embodiment, items that can efficiently aggregate device information can be designated in advance, and device information can be appropriately aggregated.

  Further, the aggregated items in the present embodiment include the product name of the device 20, the open / closed state, and the lighting state. Moreover, the production | generation part 12 of this embodiment produces | generates aggregated data for every information set to the product name and the opening / closing state or the lighting state. For this reason, according to the intermediary device 10 of the present embodiment, when different types of devices 20 are included as management targets, the device information is classified by the type of each device 20, and the efficiency of each device 20 state is increased. Can be aggregated.

  Note that the aggregation rules and the aggregation items in the mediation device 10 of the present embodiment are not limited to the above-described example, and are set according to the type of the device 20 to be managed, the usage of the management server 30, and the like. Also good.

(Embodiment 2)
In the intermediary device 10 according to the first embodiment, the aggregation item for the aggregation of device information is determined in advance. On the other hand, the intermediary device 10 according to the present embodiment determines the aggregation item according to the information set for each item.

  The overall configuration of the device management system S of the present embodiment is the same as the configuration of the first embodiment described with reference to FIG. The hardware configurations of the mediation device 10 and the management server 30 of the present embodiment are the same as the configurations of the first embodiment described with reference to FIG.

  The mediation apparatus 10 of this embodiment includes a collection unit 11, a generation unit 12, a transmission unit 13, and a storage unit 15, as in the first embodiment described with reference to FIG.

  The collection unit 11 and the transmission unit 13 of the present embodiment have the same functions as those of the first embodiment described with reference to FIG.

  As in the first embodiment, the storage unit 15 according to the present embodiment stores a device list to be managed, an aggregation rule, and a device information database 151. The device list to be managed and the device information database 151 are the same as those in the first embodiment.

  The aggregation rule of this embodiment includes a predetermined condition for aggregating device information. Specifically, the aggregation rule may determine that the type of the device 20 is a predetermined type as a predetermined condition for collecting the device information.

  The generation unit 12 according to the present exemplary embodiment has the same functions as those of the first exemplary embodiment, and determines items for which device information is aggregated. Specifically, the generation unit 12 determines an aggregation item according to information set as an item common to the plurality of devices 20 included in the device information. For example, the generation unit 12 determines an item having device information in which pieces of information set among a plurality of devices 20 are the same as an aggregation item. In addition, when there are a plurality of items for which the determined device information is aggregated, the generation unit 12 determines a priority order for using each item for aggregation. For example, the generation unit 12 sets the items to be aggregated in preference to the items with a large number of pieces of device information having the same information set in the common items.

  In the example illustrated in FIG. 4A, among the three pieces of device information registered in the device information database 151, the number of pieces of device information having the same information set in the item “product name” is three. On the other hand, the number of pieces of device information having the same information set in the item “open / close state” is two. In other items, there is no device information in which the set information is the same. In this case, the generation unit 12 determines the item “product name” and the item “open / closed state” as aggregated items. Further, the generation unit 12 aggregates the device information in preference to the item “product name” having a larger number of pieces of device information having the same information set in the common item, and then the item “open / close state”. Collect device information. Specifically, the generation unit 12 aggregates all three pieces of device information with the item “product name”, and further collects device information for each piece of information set in the item “open / close state”.

  Specifically, as in the example illustrated in FIG. 7, the generation unit 12 describes the serial number of the device 20 whose item “open / close state” is “OPEN” after the product name, and then the item “open / close” The number of the device 20 whose “state” is “CLOSE” is described, and aggregated data is generated.

  In FIG. 7, the generation unit 12 uses all items having the same information set between the plurality of devices 20 as the aggregate item, but the aggregate item is an example. For example, when there are a large number of items with the same information set among a plurality of devices 20, the generation unit 12 may determine that some of the items are aggregated. For example, the generation unit 12 prioritizes items having a large number of pieces of device information having the same information set in common items, and determines items until the upper limit of the number of items to be aggregated as items to be aggregated. May be. The upper limit of the number of items to be aggregated may be stored in the storage unit 15 in advance.

  Next, device information aggregation processing according to the present embodiment configured as described above will be described. FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a procedure of device information aggregation processing according to the present embodiment. The processing of this flowchart may be started, for example, at regular intervals, or may be started upon receiving a trigger signal or the like from the outside.

  From the collection of device information in S11 and the process of registration in the device information database 151 to the process of transmitting the converted device information to the management server 30 in S14, S1 to S4 in the flowchart of the first embodiment shown in FIG. This is the same as the process.

  When the aggregation rule is set (S12 “Yes”), the generation unit 12 selects one item of the device information database 151 (S15). Then, the generation unit 12 counts the number of pieces of device information having the same information set in the selected item (S16).

  Next, the generation unit 12 determines whether or not the counting of the number of pieces of device information with the same set information has been completed for all items of the device information database 151 (S17).

  When counting has not been completed for all items in the device information database 151 (S17 “No”), the generation unit 12 selects one of the following items from the device information database 151 (S15). The generation unit 12 repeats the processes of S15 to S17 until the counting of all items in the device information database 151 is completed.

  When counting has been completed for all items in the device information database 151 (S17 “Yes”), the generation unit 12 determines items for which device information is aggregated and a priority order (S18). Specifically, the generation unit 12 determines to aggregate the device information from items having a large number of pieces of device information with the same set information.

  From the device information extraction process of S19, the process of determining whether or not the application condition of the aggregation rule of S20 is satisfied is the same as the process of S5 to S6 of the flowchart of the first embodiment shown in FIG.

  When the extracted device information satisfies the application rule of the aggregation rule (S20 “Yes”), the generation unit 12 determines the device information based on the items for aggregation of the device information determined in the process of S18 and the priority order. The device information is rearranged for each item of information to be aggregated (S21).

  From the process of determining whether or not all the aggregation rules in S22 have been applied, the process of transmitting the aggregated data to the management server 30 in S25 is the same as the processes in S8 to S11 in the flowchart of the first embodiment shown in FIG. It is the same.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the generation unit 12 is an item that aggregates device information according to information set as an item common among the plurality of devices 20 among the plurality of items of device information. Determine aggregated items. For this reason, according to the intermediary device 10 of the present embodiment, it is possible to aggregate device information without setting items to be aggregated in advance. For this reason, according to the intermediary device 10 of the present embodiment, it is not necessary to make individual settings according to the differences in items for each device 20 to be managed, and it can be applied universally to a variety of device information. it can.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the generation unit 12 preferentially selects items that have the same number of pieces of device information with the same information set in items common among the plurality of devices 20 as aggregated items. For this reason, according to the intermediary device 10 of the present embodiment, it is possible to aggregate the device information so that the data description amount is reduced without setting the aggregation order in advance.

  In this embodiment, an aggregation rule that defines a predetermined condition for aggregating device information is set in advance. However, a configuration in which no aggregation rule is set may be employed. For example, the generation unit 12 may determine an aggregation item according to information set as a common item for all device information registered in the device information database 151 regardless of the product name of the device 20. good.

(Embodiment 3)
In the mediation apparatus 10 according to the first embodiment, the information set in the item of device information registered in the device information database 151 is transmitted to the management server 30 without being changed. On the other hand, the intermediary device 10 according to the present embodiment further reduces the data description amount by replacing some items of the device information with other information.

  The overall configuration of the device management system S of the present embodiment is the same as the configuration of the first embodiment described with reference to FIG. The hardware configurations of the mediation device 10 and the management server 30 of the present embodiment are the same as the configurations of the first embodiment described with reference to FIG.

  The mediation apparatus 10 of this embodiment includes a collection unit 11, a generation unit 12, a transmission unit 13, and a storage unit 15, as in the first embodiment described with reference to FIG.

  The collection unit 11 of the present embodiment has the same functions as those of the first embodiment described with reference to FIG.

  The storage unit 15 of the present embodiment stores a device ID, an intermediary device ID, and the number of times of transmission of aggregated data, in addition to the same contents as those of the first embodiment.

  The device ID is identification information that identifies the device 20. The device ID may be unique to the device information collection target device 20 of the mediation apparatus 10.

  The mediation device ID is identification information that identifies the mediation device 10. The mediation device ID may be information that can identify each mediation device 10 when there are a plurality of mediation devices 10 connected to the management server 30.

  The number of times of transmission of the aggregate data is the number of times that the intermediary device 10 has transmitted the aggregate data to the management server 30 in the past. The number of times that the intermediary device 10 transmits device information that is not aggregated to the management server 30 is not included in the aggregate data transmission count.

  The generation unit 12 according to the present embodiment generates aggregated data by replacing a fixed information item among a plurality of items included in the device information with a device ID that identifies the device 20.

  The fixed information item is an item in which information fixed for each device 20 is set. For example, in the example shown in FIG. 4B, the items “network address”, “product name”, and “serial number” of the device information database 151 are set to information fixed for each device 20, and the content of the information is changed in the middle. There is no change. For this reason, in the example illustrated in FIG. 4B, “network address”, “product name”, and “serial number” are fixed information items. These items are examples, and the fixed information items are not limited to these.

  FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of an image 800c for associating the aggregated data with the device ID according to the present embodiment. As illustrated in FIG. 11, the generation unit 12 associates a device ID with each piece of device information registered in the device information database 151.

  The device ID only needs to be associated with the device information for each device 20 and may be added as an item in the device information database 151 or may be stored separately in the storage unit 15.

  For the first time when the aggregate data is transmitted to the management server 30, the generation unit 12 corresponds to the device information stored in the device information database 151, the device ID associated with each device information, and the mediation device ID of the mediation device 10. To generate aggregate data. FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of aggregated data at the time of initial transmission according to the present embodiment. As illustrated in FIG. 12, the generation unit 12 describes the device ID along with the serial number of each device 20.

  In FIG. 12, “device ID” is set to “ID” in order to further reduce the description amount, but the description format of the device ID is not limited to this format. In the example shown in FIG. 12, the network address is not included in the aggregated data, but when the network address is a transmission target to the management server 30, the generation unit 12 describes the network address along with the serial number. May be.

  Further, as illustrated in FIG. 12, the generation unit 12 adds an intermediary device ID “X0001” that identifies the intermediary device 10 to the aggregated data.

  At the first time when the aggregate data is transmitted to the management server 30, the generation unit 12 adds the mediation device ID and the device ID to the aggregate data as shown in FIG. For this reason, it is possible to notify the management server 30 that has received the aggregated data of the association between the device information of the device 20 and the device ID in the mediation apparatus 10. Thereby, the management server 30 can specify each device 20 from the mediation device ID of the mediation device 10 that is the transmission source of the aggregated data and the device ID assigned to each device 20.

  FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of aggregated data at the second and subsequent transmissions according to the present embodiment. As illustrated in FIG. 13, the generation unit 12 generates aggregated data by replacing the fixed information item with the device ID in the second and subsequent transmissions. As shown in FIG. 13, the aggregated data at the second and subsequent transmissions does not include the product name of the device 20 and the serial number. Since the product name and serial number of the device 20 are information fixed for each device 20 and are the same as the information transmitted to the management server 30 for the first time, the generation unit 12 of this embodiment uses the fixed information. Omit the item.

  The management server 30 includes, from the device ID included in the aggregate data first transmitted from the mediation device ID of the mediation device 10 that is the transmission aggregated data transmission source, and the ID included in the aggregate data at the second and subsequent transmissions, The value of the fixed information item of each device 20 can be specified.

  The intermediary device ID and the device ID shown in FIGS. 11 to 13 are examples, and are not limited thereto.

  In addition, the transmission unit 13 of the present embodiment has the same function as that of the first embodiment, and updates the number of times of transmission of aggregated data stored in the storage unit 15. For example, the transmission unit 13 adds 1 to the number of times of transmission of the aggregate data after transmitting the aggregate data to the management server 30. The intermediary device 10 may hold the history of the number of times of transmission of aggregated data by other methods.

  Next, device information aggregation processing according to the present embodiment configured as described above will be described. FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a procedure of device information aggregation processing according to the present embodiment. The processing of this flowchart may be started, for example, at regular intervals, or may be started upon receiving a trigger signal or the like from the outside.

  The processing from the collection of device information in S31 and the registration to the device information database 151 to the processing for determining whether or not the extraction of all device information in S39 has been completed are shown in the flowchart of the first embodiment shown in FIG. This is the same as the processing from S1 to S9.

  When the extraction of all device information has been completed (S39 “Yes”), the generation unit 12 refers to the number of times of transmission of the aggregated data stored in the storage unit 15. When the number of times of transmission of the aggregate data is 0 (S40 “Yes”), that is, when the aggregate data is transmitted to the management server 30 for the first time, the generation unit 12 uses the rearranged device information as a device corresponding to each device 20. The ID is associated (S41).

  When the aggregate data transmission count is other than 0 (S40 “No”), that is, when aggregate data is transmitted to the management server 30 for the second time or later, the generation unit 12 fixes the rearranged device information fixed information. The item is replaced with the device ID (S42).

  Then, the generation unit 12 generates, in a transmission format, the device information in which the device ID is added by the process of S41 or the aggregated data in which the device information in which the fixed information item is replaced by the device ID by the process of S42 is aggregated. (S43). Further, the generation unit 12 adds the mediation device ID to the aggregated data (S44).

  And the transmission part 13 transmits the aggregated data which added the mediation apparatus ID which the production | generation part 12 produced | generated to the management server 30 (S45). After transmission to the management server 30, the transmission unit 13 adds 1 to the number of times of transmission of the aggregated data stored in the storage unit 15 and updates it (S46).

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the generation unit 12 identifies a fixed information item that is an item in which information fixed for each device 20 is set among a plurality of items included in the device information. The aggregated data is generated by replacing the identification information. For this reason, according to the mediation apparatus 10 of the present embodiment, the amount of data communication transmitted to the management server 30 can be further reduced.

  In the present embodiment, the generation unit 12 rearranges the device information in the device information database 151 and then replaces the device ID with the device ID. However, the processing procedure is not limited to this. For example, the generation unit 12 may rearrange the device information after replacing the fixed information item in the device information database 151 with the device ID.

  In the present embodiment, the mediation device 10 notifies the management server 30 of the association between the device ID and each device 20 when the aggregated data is transmitted for the first time, but the association between the device ID and each device 20 is performed. May be employed separately from the aggregated data.

  Further, in the present embodiment, as in the first embodiment, a configuration is adopted in which device information is aggregated based on an aggregation rule, but the scope of application of the present embodiment is not limited to this. For example, the configuration of the present embodiment may be combined with the configuration of the second embodiment.

(Modification 1)
The generation unit 12 may further integrate the names of items included in the device information in addition to the functions described in the above embodiments. For example, when the name of the item included in the device information is different for each type of the device 20, the generation unit 12 may change the name of each item to a common name.

  Specifically, the device information of a certain device 20 has an item named “serial number”, and the device information of another device 20 has an item named “product number”, which is set in these items. Suppose that the contents of the data are the same. In such a case, the generation unit 12 changes the item name from “product number” to “serial number”, and aggregates the device information for each piece of information set in the item with the common item name after the change. Generate aggregate data.

  Regarding the change of the item name, for example, the storage unit 15 stores the name of the item before and after the change in association with each other. Further, the association of the names of items before and after the change may be defined in advance in the aggregation rule.

  In the intermediary device 10 of this modification, the generation unit 12 changes the name of the item included in the device information to another predetermined name, and for each piece of information set in the item with the common name of the changed item. , Generate aggregate data. For this reason, according to the intermediary device 10 of this modification, it is possible to further reduce the amount of data communication by integrating different items depending on the device 20 and efficiently aggregating device information.

(Modification 2)
In addition to the functions described in the above embodiments and modifications, the generation unit 12 may further convert information set in the item of device information.

  For example, assume that the device 20 to be managed is an air conditioner with a temperature sensor. In this case, the device 20 sets a numerical value indicating the measured room temperature in the item “temperature” and transmits it to the mediation apparatus 10. In this case, the generation unit 12 converts the value set in the item “temperature” to “low” if it is less than 20, “normal” if it is 20 or more and 29 or less, and “high” if it is 30 or more. . By converting the information set in the item, the generation unit 12 can reduce the amount of data by aggregating various temperature values into three types.

  The description of data to be converted by the generation unit 12 is an example, and it is only necessary to be able to classify the information set in the item. For example, the generation unit 12 may convert information set in the item of device information collected from the device 20 into characters such as “A”, “B”, and “C”. Further, the generation unit 12 may convert the information set in the collected device information item into a numerical value such as “1”, “2”, “3”, and the like. The item to be converted is not limited to “temperature”.

  The correspondence between the items to be converted and the information before and after conversion is stored in advance by the storage unit 15, for example. Further, the items to be converted and the correspondence between the information before and after the conversion may be defined in advance in the aggregation rule.

  In the intermediary device 10 of this modification, the generation unit 12 converts the information set in the items included in the device information into other predetermined information, and generates aggregated data for each converted information. For this reason, according to the intermediary device 10 of the present modification, even if various items can be set, the amount of data communication is further reduced by reducing the type of information set in the items by conversion. be able to.

  The management target device 20 described in each of the above-described embodiments and modifications is not limited to the open / close detection door and the lighting detection illumination. For example, the device 20 is a device having a communication function in an image forming apparatus, a network home appliance, a vending machine, a medical device, an industrial machine, a power supply device, an air conditioning system, a measuring system such as gas, water, or electricity. Also good.

  For example, the image forming apparatus includes a multifunction peripheral having at least two of a copy function, a printer function, a scanner function, and a facsimile function, a copier, a printer, a scanner device, and a facsimile device. The image forming apparatus uses various information transmission means such as data format or image format for the identification information of the device, the operation status of the device, the presence or absence of abnormal operation, the information regarding the replacement timing of consumables, the inspection result by the device, etc. Is transmitted to the mediating apparatus 10 using.

  Further, for example, as an industrial machine, there are a processing device, an inspection device, a transport device, a picking device, and the like. Further, the device 20 may be an imaging device or a sound collection device that is installed around these devices to grasp the state of the device. The industrial machine uses various information transmission means such as data format or image format for identifying information of the device, information on the operating status of the device and the presence or absence of abnormal operation, information on the replacement time of consumables, inspection results by the device, etc. And transmitted to the mediation apparatus 10.

  In addition, for example, medical equipment includes a fundus examination apparatus, an X-ray examination apparatus, a blood pressure monitor, a body fat scale, a visual acuity meter, a pacemaker, and the like. The medical device transmits the identification information of the device, the operation status of the device, the presence / absence of abnormal operation, the measurement result by the device, and the like to the intermediary device 10 using various information transmission means such as a data format or an image format. .

  The device information aggregation program executed by the mediating apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment is a file in an installable format or an executable format, and is a CD-ROM, a flexible disk (FD), a CD-R, a DVD (Digital Versatile Disk). Or the like recorded on a computer-readable recording medium.

  In addition, the device information aggregation program executed by the mediation apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment may be provided by being stored on a computer connected to a network such as the Internet and downloaded via the network. . In addition, a device information aggregation program executed by the mediation apparatus 10 of the present embodiment may be provided or distributed via a network such as the Internet. In addition, a device information aggregation program executed by the mediation apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment may be provided by being incorporated in advance in a ROM or the like.

  The device information aggregation program executed by the mediation apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment has a module configuration including the above-described units (collection unit, generation unit, transmission unit), and CPU (processor) is the actual hardware. ) Reads the device information aggregation program from the storage medium and executes it, so that each unit is loaded onto the main storage device, and the collection unit, the generation unit, and the transmission unit are generated on the main storage device. Yes.

10, 10a, 10b Mediation device 11 Collection unit 12 Generation unit 13 Transmission unit 15 Storage unit 20, 20a to 20m Device 30 Management server 40 Network 50, 50a, 50b Local network 51a, 51b Firewall 105 Communication interface 106 Internal bus 151 Device information Database S Device management system

Japanese Patent No. 4833302 Japanese Patent No. 45561492 JP 2013-097530 A Japanese Patent No. 5033852 JP 2011-197768 A

Claims (10)

An intermediary device that mediates transmission of information between a plurality of devices and a management device,
A collection unit for collecting device information including a plurality of items related to the device from the device;
A generating unit that generates aggregate data in which the device information is aggregated for each piece of information set in an item common among a plurality of devices among the plurality of items of the collected device information;
A transmission unit for transmitting the aggregated data to the management device;
An intermediary device comprising: The generation unit generates the aggregated data for each information set in a predetermined item as an aggregation item for aggregating the device information among items common to the plurality of devices.
The mediation apparatus according to claim 1. The aggregate item includes a type item in which the type of the device is set, and a status item in which information indicating the status of the device is set,
The generation unit generates the aggregated data for each information set in the type item and the status item.
The intermediary device according to claim 2. The generation unit determines an aggregation item that is an item for aggregating the device information according to information set in the common item.
The mediation apparatus according to claim 1. The generating unit preferentially selects items that have the same number of pieces of device information with the same information set in the common items as the aggregated items.
The intermediary device according to claim 4. The generation unit further generates the aggregated data by replacing a fixed information item, which is an item in which information fixed for each device is set, among the plurality of items, with identification information that identifies the device. To
The intermediary device according to any one of claims 1 to 5. The generating unit further changes the name of the item to another predetermined name, and generates the aggregated data for each information set in the item having the common name of the changed item.
The intermediary device according to any one of claims 1 to 6. The generation unit further converts the information set in the item into other predetermined information, and generates the aggregated data for each converted information.
The intermediary device according to any one of claims 1 to 7. An intermediary method executed by an intermediary device that mediates transmission of information between a plurality of devices and a management device,
A collecting step of collecting device information, which is information including a plurality of items related to the device, from a plurality of devices;
A generation step of generating aggregated data in which the device information is aggregated for each piece of information set in the common item when there is an item common among a plurality of devices among the plurality of items of the collected device information; ,
A transmission step of transmitting the aggregated data to the management device;
Including intermediary methods. A collecting step of collecting device information, which is information including a plurality of items related to the device, from a plurality of devices;
A generation step of generating aggregated data in which the device information is aggregated for each piece of information set in the common item when there is an item common among a plurality of devices among the plurality of items of the collected device information; ,
A transmission step of transmitting the aggregated data to a management device;
A program that causes a computer to execute.

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