JP2007036624A - Communication management apparatus, device, and communication system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a communication management apparatus, a device, and a communication system whereby a terminal can freely communicate with the device via a network while realizing low power consumption of the device being a communication opposite party of the terminal and efficient utilization of resources. <P>SOLUTION: A server 104 acquires reconnection information denoting reconnection of the communication with the server 104 after interruption of the communication from the device 101. A management table storage section 143 of the server 104 stores the reconnection information. A start instruction section 183 of the device 101 starts a main processing section 107. A sub communication section 181 interrupts the communication with the server 104 and a main communication section 171 makes a reconnection request to the server 104. When the management table storage section 143 stores the reconnection information, a server control section 142 of the server 104 permits the reconnection and a server communication section 141 transfers the information transmitted from the terminal 102 to the device 101. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a communication management apparatus that manages communication between a terminal and a device via a network, a device that communicates with a terminal, and a communication system.

  In recent years, it has become common to connect a local area network (LAN) and the Internet by a router equipped with a network address translation (NAT) function or a network address port translation (NAPT) function regardless of a company or a home.

  When communication is performed between devices connected to the Internet, a global IP address uniquely assigned around the world is used. On the other hand, global IP addresses tend to be insufficient due to a rapid increase in the number of devices connected to the Internet. Therefore, in a LAN in an organization or home that is not directly connected to the Internet, a unique private IP address is often used only within the LAN defined by RFC1918.

  Since the private IP address is not a unique address on the Internet, a device having a private IP address cannot communicate with a device connected to the Internet as it is. The NAT or NAPT function solves this problem, and provides a mutual conversion function between a global IP address and a private IP address so that a device assigned with a private IP address can communicate via the Internet.

  According to the NAT or NAPT technology, it is possible to easily connect to a server on the Internet from a device in a LAN having a private IP address. On the other hand, it is not easy to connect to devices in a LAN having a private IP address when desired from devices on the Internet. For this reason, for example, a mobile phone is connected to home appliances in the home via the Internet. Therefore, it was difficult to realize the functions to be controlled.

  A method disclosed in Patent Document 1 has been proposed as a method for enabling free communication from a device on the Internet to a device in a LAN having a private IP address.

  FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a communication sequence in a conventional communication system in which communication from a terminal on the Internet to a device in the LAN is started.

  The method disclosed in Patent Document 1 will be described with reference to FIG. In Patent Document 1, communication between at least one device 501 connected to the Internet 105 and at least one terminal 102 connectable to the Internet 105 is transferred via a server 504 connected to the Internet 105. The system is illustrated. In the communication system, the server 504 and the device 501 operate as follows.

  The device 501 periodically sends a notification packet to the server 504 (S501), whereby the server 504 holds a device ID that is an identifier for identifying the device 501, an IP address on the Internet side of the router 103, and port information. (S502). When communication from the terminal 102 to the device 501 is desired, the terminal 102 transmits a transmission control protocol (TCP) connection request using the Secure Socket Layer (SSL) to the server (S503). Accordingly, a server certificate notification is sent from the server 504 to the terminal 102 in accordance with a normal SSL procedure (S504), and is authenticated by the terminal 102. If authentication is successful, encrypted communication is possible. Subsequently, the terminal 102 transmits a device connection request (S505). When there is a connection request (S505), the server 504 searches the held device ID information (S506), and when determining that the designated device 501 is connected, the server 504 selects a unique session identifier. Generate (S507). Further, a connection request packet including the session identifier is sent to the device 501 as a response to the notification packet (S508). When the device 501 receives the connection request packet from the server 504, the device 501 transmits a TCP / SSL connection request to the server 504 (S509), and establishes a TCP connection with the server 504. As a result, a server certificate notification is sent from the server 504 to the device 501 and authenticated in accordance with a normal SSL procedure (S510). If authentication is successful, encrypted communication is possible.

  After a TCP connection encrypted with SSL is established between the server 504 and the device 501, the server 504 receives the session identifier transmitted from the device 501 over the TCP connection (S511), and receives it in the TCP connection. The associated session identifier is associated (S512), thereby associating a plurality of TCP connections with a plurality of connection requests from the terminal.

  After the session identifier verification (S512), the server 504 transmits a device connection response including the session identifier to the terminal 102 as a response to the device connection request (S505) (S513). As a result, the terminal 102 and the device 101 are notified of the same session identifier.

  If the terminal 102 specifies a session identifier to request transfer and the TCP connection associated with the specified session identifier has been established, the server 504 communicates from the terminal 102 over the established TCP connection. Is transferred in parallel for each session identifier.

  The terminal 102 includes the session identifier notified from the server 504 in the information including the processing request to the device 501 and transmits the information to the server 104 (S514). The server 504 transfers the information transmitted from the terminal 102 to the device 501 over the TCP connection with the device 101 specified by the session identifier (S515), and transfers the response from the device 501 (S516) to the terminal 102. (S517). Thereafter, TCP disconnection is performed from the server 504 or the device 501, and a series of communication sequences is completed.

  According to the communication system exemplified in Patent Document 1, the connection request packet transmitted from the server 504 to the device 501 is transmitted as a response to the notification packet from the device 501. Therefore, even when the device 501 is connected to the Internet 105 by the router 103 equipped with the NAT function, the connection request packet can be delivered to the device 501 across the router 103. Further, when establishing a TCP connection from the device 501 to the server 504, a connection request is made from the device 501 to the server 504. Therefore, it is possible to establish a TCP connection without setting a static NAT. As a result, a TCP connection can be established between the server 504 and the device 501 when desired. Therefore, when the server 504 transfers the communication over the TCP connection, it is possible to communicate with the device 501 connected to the LAN 106 when desired from the terminal 102 regardless of the presence or absence of the NAT router.

  In addition, a plurality of TCP connections can be established between the server 504 and the device 501, and the communication content on each TCP connection at that time can be managed with different session identifiers. As a result, it is possible to perform parallel communication for each session identifier from the terminal 102 to the device 501 without losing consistency by mixing communication contents. When the device 501 does not support a plurality of TCP connections, the server 504 transmits only the communication specified by the session identifier generated for the terminal 102 that has made the connection request last on the established TCP connection. Transfer to device 501.

  Note that in order to be able to start communication from a terminal to a device in the LAN at any time using the server 504, the device in the LAN is always placed in a state where communication with the server 104 is possible. Need to be.

  In recent AV equipment and the like, a relatively high performance CPU is often used as a main CPU for performing main operations. When the main CPU is operated when the equipment is in a standby state, power consumption is reduced. There is a problem that it gets bigger. On the other hand, when the main CPU is stopped in a standby state in order to reduce power consumption, there is a problem in that communication processing with the server cannot be executed, so that it is not possible to freely communicate with a device from a terminal on the Internet.

  Therefore, there is a device that includes a processing unit for performing communication separately from a processing unit that performs main operations, and that always activates only the processing unit for the communication.

  FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a device that includes a processing unit for communication separately from a processing unit that performs main operations.

  11 includes a main processing unit 507 that is a processing unit for executing main operations of the device 501, a sub processing unit 508 that is a processing unit for performing communication with a server, and packet transmission / reception. A packet transmission / reception unit 509 which is a processing unit for performing the processing.

  The sub processing unit includes software for communicating with a server via the Internet, software for protocol conversion for establishing a conversation between a terminal for exchanging information and the main processing unit via the server, and the like. Thereby, the device 501 can communicate with the server and communicate with the terminal via the server.

  In the device 501 shown in FIG. 11, when the power is turned off by the user, the main processing unit 507 is deenergized and all operations are stopped, but the packet transmitting / receiving unit 509 and the sub processing unit 508 are activated. Will remain.

That is, even when the power source of the device 501 is turned off and the power source of the main processing unit 507 (hereinafter referred to as “main power source”) is turned off, the sub processing unit 508 can communicate with the server. . When the main processing unit 507 needs to operate, the main processing unit 507 is activated, and the sub processing unit 508 relays communication between the server and the main processing unit 507.
Japanese Patent No. 3445986

  In the configuration of the device 501 shown in FIG. 11, the sub processing unit 508 has a processing unit, software, and the like necessary for protocol conversion and the like in order to enable communication between the device 501 and the server regardless of whether the main power is on or off. It is necessary to have resources. As a result, the sub processing unit 508 becomes expensive in cost. In addition, when the device 501 is viewed as a whole, there is a waste that the main processing unit 507 is not utilized effectively even though the main processing unit 507 has abundant resources such as a memory and a high-performance CPU. Become.

  In order to solve these problems, the sub processor 508 has only a relatively low-performance CPU (sub CPU) and software resources for network communication, which is the minimum necessary communication function, and the main processor After 507 is activated, a functional configuration that allows the main processing unit 507 to communicate with the server can be considered.

  As a result, the sub processing unit 508 does not need to have a protocol conversion function or the like in communication between the terminal and the main processing unit, and performs the communication with the server such as a function of transmitting a notification packet, so that the minimum necessary resources You only have to have. In addition, after the main processing unit 507 is activated, communication with the server is performed using the abundant resources of the main processing unit 507, so that generation of useless resources in the device 501 can be suppressed.

  A configuration in which the main processing unit 507 and the sub processing unit 508 have a communication function is implemented in a device that achieves both low power consumption and operation (such as device power-on) via a network as described above. After the main processing unit 507 is activated, the overall device control and the entire network communication processing are processed by the main CPU included in the main processing unit 507.

  However, according to the above functional configuration, for example, when the main power of the device 501 is turned off, the sub processing unit 508 needs to start the main processing unit 507 through communication with the server, and the main processing unit 507 is started. Switching of the communication subject in the device 501 occurs. Specifically, the TCP connection with the server established by the sub-processing unit 508 is temporarily disconnected, and the main processing unit 507 re-establishes the TCP connection with the server.

  In this case, in the conventional server, as described above, the TCP connection is individually managed by the session identifier, and when the TCP connection is disconnected from the device 501, the server has some problem in the device 101. It is determined that the communication with the device 501 has ended.

  As a result, when the server receives a request from the terminal to the device 501 after the sub processing unit 508 of the device 501 disconnects the TCP connection, the server does not transfer the request to the device 501 but returns an error response to the terminal 102. Will be.

  In addition, when the main processing unit 507 attempts to reestablish a TCP connection in the device 501, there is a problem that the server determines that the TCP connection request is an illegal request and rejects the TCP connection request.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and allows a terminal to freely communicate with a device via a network while realizing low power consumption and efficient use of resources of the device with which the terminal is communicating. It is an object of the present invention to provide a communication management device, a device, and a communication system for making it possible.

In order to achieve the above object, a communication management apparatus according to the present invention communicates with a terminal and a device connected to a network, and manages communication between the terminal and the device. Reconnection information acquisition means for acquiring reconnection information from the device to effect reconnection of communication with the communication management device after the device disconnects communication with the communication management device; A first storage unit that stores the reconnection information acquired by the reconnection information acquisition unit, a request for reconnection of communication from the device to the communication management device is performed, and the reconnection information is When stored in the first storage means, the permission means for permitting the reconnection, and when the reconnection is permitted by the permission means, the information transmitted from the terminal can be communicated by the reconnection. And a transfer means for transferring the equipment becomes.

  Thereby, the communication management apparatus can know whether or not the device disconnects and reconnects communication. Therefore, even when the communication is disconnected from the device, the disconnection is not determined as an error, for example, and a subsequent connection request can be accepted. Then, information can be transferred to a device whose communication has been resumed by this reconnection. As a result, if the device has a plurality of communication processing means for reducing power consumption, etc., and is a device that selectively switches the communication processing means depending on the power supply state etc., that is, the communication is disconnected at the time of switching the communication processing means Even in the case of a device in which the problem occurs, it is possible to freely communicate with the device from the terminal via the network.

  The communication management device according to the present invention further stores information on the device when information on the device is transmitted from the terminal to the communication management device before the reconnection is permitted by the permission unit. The transfer unit may transfer information stored in the second storage unit to the device when the reconnection is permitted by the permission unit.

  Thereby, the communication management apparatus can hold the information without invalidating the information even when the terminal transmits information to the device while the communication with the device is disconnected. Furthermore, when communication with the device is resumed, the information held therein can be transferred to the device. That is, the user of the terminal does not need to be aware of the timing at which the device requests reconnection. Therefore, even in this configuration, it is possible to freely communicate with the device from the terminal via the network.

  In the communication management device of the present invention, the first storage means further stores a timing condition for whether or not reconnection from the device to the communication management device is possible in association with the reconnection information, and the communication The management device further transmits the information on the device from the terminal to the communication management device before the reconnection is permitted by the permission unit, and the timing corresponding to the reconnection information is transmitted. Response means for transmitting a predetermined response to the terminal may be provided when the reconnection request is not made from the device within a period specified by a condition.

  This allows the communication management device to send a request to the terminal when there is no reconnection request from the device within a period that satisfies the timing condition if the terminal sends information to the device while the communication with the device is disconnected. This can be notified. Therefore, for example, even when a device becomes incapable of communication due to a failure of the device or disconnection of a network line, the terminal user is not allowed to wait for communication with the device indefinitely. In addition, this timing condition does not unnecessarily restrain the communication management apparatus for processing one communication session, and the user can use the communication management apparatus without worrying about the load on the communication management apparatus. it can.

  The communication management apparatus of the present invention further includes a terminal request receiving unit that receives a connection request for the device transmitted from the terminal, and a request identifier that specifies the connection request received by the terminal request receiving unit. A generating unit for generating, a notifying unit for notifying the device of the request identifier generated by the generating unit, and a communication identifier for identifying a communication session between the device and the communication management device transmitted from the device. An identifier receiving means for receiving, wherein the first storage means further stores the request identifier generated by the generating means in association with the reconnection information, and the permission means receives the communication from the device. A request for reconnection of communication to the management apparatus is made, and a request identifier having a predetermined relationship with the communication identifier received by the identifier receiving means When the reconnection information is stored in the first storage unit in association with the reconnection information, the reconnection may be permitted, and the first storage unit may allow the reconnection to be permitted before the reconnection is permitted. When the terminal request receiving means receives a new connection request for the device from the terminal, a request identifier for specifying the new connection request generated by the generating means is further associated with the reconnection information and stored. The permitting unit requests communication reconnection from the device to the communication management apparatus, and the communication identifier received by the identifier receiving unit is reconnected to the first storage unit. When there is a predetermined relationship with any of the request identifiers stored in association with the information, the reconnection may be permitted.

  Thereby, the communication management apparatus can hold the latest request identifier generated in response to the connection request from the terminal to the device and the request identifier generated before that. Therefore, there is a connection request from the terminal to the device during the disconnection of communication with the device, and a reconnection request is made from the device to the communication management device even though a new request identifier is generated. Even when a communication identifier having a predetermined relationship is notified, the permission unit of the communication management device may permit the reconnection because the communication identifier has a predetermined relationship with the held request identifier. it can. Therefore, information from the terminal can be transferred to the device over the communication resumed by the reconnection.

  For example, even when a connection request is continuously transmitted from the terminal due to a user's mistaken operation, etc., the communication management device and the device can connect the communication management device and the device many times in response to the plurality of connection requests. Communication and processing for establishment are not performed. That is, useless communication and processing do not occur in the communication management device and device. Further, the user does not need to be aware of the communication state between the communication management device and the device, and can freely communicate with the device from the terminal via the network.

  Further, the device of the present invention is a device that communicates with a communication management device via a network, and an acquisition request receiving unit that receives an acquisition request for information related to communication of the device transmitted from the communication management device, As a response to the acquisition request received by the acquisition request receiving means, reconnection information transmission for transmitting reconnection information for reconnecting communication with the communication management apparatus after disconnecting communication with the communication management apparatus And after the reconnection information transmitting means transmits the reconnection information, a disconnecting means for disconnecting communication with the communication management apparatus, and after the disconnection means disconnects communication with the communication management apparatus And a connection request transmitting means for transmitting a request for reconnection of communication with the communication management apparatus to the communication management apparatus.

  Thereby, the apparatus of this invention can notify a communication management apparatus in advance that it reconnects after cut | disconnecting communication with a communication management apparatus. That is, it can be notified that the disconnection of communication occurring after this is not an error or the like. Therefore, when exchanging information with the communication management apparatus, even if it is necessary to once disconnect and reconnect, the communication management apparatus does not reject the reconnection. As a result, the user of the device can freely communicate with the device from the terminal via the network and the communication management device.

  Further, the device of the present invention further receives an identifier for identifying an identifier for identifying a communication session between the communication management device and the device before the communication with the communication management device is disconnected by the disconnection unit. The connection request transmitting means further includes an identifier having a predetermined relationship with the identifier received by the identifier receiving means, and a communication identifier for specifying a communication session between the communication management device and the device. May be transmitted to the communication management device.

  Thereby, when reconnecting to the communication management apparatus, the communication identifier can be transmitted to the communication management apparatus. This communication identifier is an identifier having a predetermined relationship with an identifier for specifying a communication session between the communication management device and the device, and informs the communication management device that the device has communicated with the communication management device before reconnection. It becomes possible to let you know. Therefore, even in this configuration, the device does not reject reconnection from the communication management device, and the user of the device can freely communicate with the device from the terminal via the network and the communication management device. Become.

  The device of the present invention further includes a first communication unit and a second communication unit, and the first communication unit includes the acquisition request reception unit, the reconnection information transmission unit, the disconnection unit, and the identifier reception unit. Furthermore, after the acquisition request receiving unit receives the acquisition request, the second communication unit includes an activation unit that activates the second communication unit, and the second communication unit includes the connection request transmission unit. Furthermore, it has an identifier acquisition means for acquiring an identifier received by the identifier reception means, and the connection request transmission means uses an identifier having a predetermined relationship with the identifier acquired by the identifier acquisition means as the communication identifier. May be transmitted to the communication management device.

  Thus, the apparatus of this invention can be set as the structure provided with a 1st communication means and a 2nd communication means. Thus, for example, the first communication means has only a basic network communication function, and the second communication means has a function capable of processing not only communication with the communication management apparatus but also requests from the terminal. It can be. Furthermore, the first communication means can be always activated, and the second communication means can be activated as necessary by the activation means included in the first communication means. Since the first communication means that is always activated need only have a basic network communication function, it is possible to reduce the power consumption and the manufacturing cost of the entire device, and the user of the device can It is possible to freely communicate with the device via the network and the communication management device.

  Furthermore, the present invention can be realized as a method using steps constituting characteristic components of the communication management device, device, and communication system of the present invention, or can be realized as a program including these steps, or the program can be stored. Also, it can be realized as a storage medium such as a CD-ROM or as an integrated circuit. The program can also be distributed via a transmission medium such as a communication network.

  The present invention provides a communication management apparatus for enabling a terminal to communicate freely with a device via a network while realizing low power consumption and efficient use of resources of the device which is a communication partner of the terminal , Devices and communication systems can be provided.

  In particular, in a device that has a plurality of communication processing means and selectively performs communication processing with a server depending on the power state of the device for reasons such as low power consumption in the entire device and reduction of manufacturing cost, Even when the processing means is switched, it is possible to communicate freely from a terminal on the Internet.

  Further, by using the communication management apparatus, device, and communication system of the present invention, it is possible to freely communicate from a terminal on the Internet to a device in the LAN to which a private IP address is assigned.

  Embodiments of a communication management apparatus, device, and communication system according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  First, the configuration of a communication system, a server, and a device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described using FIG. 1 and FIG.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a communication system according to an embodiment of this invention.

  The communication system shown in FIG. 1 realizes communication between the terminal 102 on the Internet 105 and the device 101 on the LAN 106. As shown in FIG. 1, the communication system of the present embodiment includes a device 101 on a LAN 106, a server 104 and a terminal 102 connected to the Internet 105, and a router 103 that connects the LAN 106 and the Internet.

  The server 104 is an example of a communication management apparatus according to the present invention, and is a device that manages communication between the terminal 102 and the device 101 on the LAN 106. The terminal 102 and the device 101 can communicate with each other via the server 104.

  The terminal 102 is a terminal device that can communicate with the device 101 and is realized by, for example, a mobile phone.

  The router 103 is a router device that implements the NAPT function, and enables communication between the device 101 on the LAN 106 and the server 104 on the Internet by performing mutual conversion between a global IP address and a private IP address.

  The device 101 is an example of the device of the present invention, and is a device having a function of performing communication via a network. For example, it is realized by a hard disk recorder.

  FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram illustrating an example of functional configurations of the server 104 and the device 101 in the present embodiment.

  As described above, the server 104 is a computer that manages communication between the terminal 102 and the device 101 on the LAN 106, and includes a server communication unit 141, a server control unit 142, a management table storage unit 143, and a communication content storage unit. 144.

  The server communication unit 141 is a processing unit for exchanging information with the device 101 and the terminal 102. The server control unit 142 is a processing unit that controls the operation and processing of the server 104. In the communication management apparatus of the present invention, the information receiving function of the terminal request receiving unit and the identifier receiving unit is realized by the server communication unit 141. The information acquisition or transmission function of the connection information acquisition unit, transfer unit, response unit, and notification unit is realized by the server control unit 142 and the server communication unit 141. In addition, the server control unit 142 realizes a function of permitting reconnection of devices included in the permission unit and a function of generating a request identifier included in the generation unit.

  The management table storage unit 143 is an example of a first storage unit in the communication management apparatus of the present invention, and is a storage device for storing a management table. The management table stores information for managing communication between the terminal 102 and the device 101 in a table format. The management table will be described later with reference to FIGS. 5 (A) to 5 (C).

  The communication content storage unit 144 is an example of a second storage unit in the communication management device of the present invention, and is a storage device for storing the content of processing requests and the like for the device 101 transmitted from the terminal 102.

  The server control unit 142 writes information to and reads information from the management table storage unit 143 and the communication content storage unit 144.

  As described above, the device 101 is a device having a function of performing communication via a network, and includes a main processing unit 107, a sub processing unit 108, and a packet transmitting / receiving unit 109.

  The main processing unit 107 is an example of a second communication unit in the device of the present invention, and is a processing unit that executes main processing of the device 101. The sub processing unit 108 is an example of a first communication unit in the device of the present invention, and is a processing unit whose main role is to communicate with the server 104. The packet transmission / reception unit 109 is a processing unit for transmitting / receiving a packet to / from the server 104.

  When the power is turned off by operating the power button (not shown) of the user device 101, the main power, which is the power of the main processing unit 107, is turned off and all operations are stopped. However, the packet transmission / reception unit 109 and the sub processing unit 108 are always energized, and can communicate with the server 104 even when the power of the device 101 is turned off by the user. The sub processing unit 108 can activate the main processing unit 107 as necessary. After the main processing unit 107 is activated, the main processing unit 107 is responsible for communication with the server 104 in the device 101.

  The main processing unit 107 includes a main communication unit 171, a memory 172, a device control unit 173, and a process execution unit 174. Each component is controlled by a main CPU (not shown) included in the main processing unit 107.

  The main communication unit 171 is a processing unit for communicating with the server 104, and is a processing unit that also has a function for establishing a conversation between the terminal 102 and the device control unit 173. Note that the main communication unit 171 implements the function of transmitting a reconnection request possessed by the connection request transmitting means in the device of the present invention and the function of obtaining the identifier possessed by the identifier obtaining means.

  The memory 172 is a storage device for storing information necessary for the main communication unit 171 to communicate with the server 104 and the device control unit 173. The device control unit 173 is a processing unit for controlling main processes executed by the device 101.

  The process execution unit 174 is a processing unit that executes main processes in accordance with instructions from the device control unit 173. When the device 101 is realized as a hard disk recorder, the main process is a process such as recording / playback of content, and has resources such as a storage device necessary for the process.

  As described above, the device 101 can be realized as an AV device such as a hard disk recorder. However, in the description of the present embodiment, illustration and description of components for the original functions of the device 101 such as a content recording / playback function are omitted in order to clearly describe the features of the present invention. .

  The sub processing unit 108 includes a sub communication unit 181, a memory 182, and an activation instruction unit 183. Each component is controlled by a sub CPU (not shown) included in the sub processor 108.

  The sub communication unit 181 is a processing unit for communicating with the server 104. The function of receiving the information that the acquisition request receiving unit and the identifier receiving unit have in the device of the present invention, the function of transmitting the reconnection information that the reconnection information transmitting unit has, and the function of disconnecting the communication that the disconnecting unit has are This is realized by the sub communication unit 181.

  The memory 182 is a storage device for storing information necessary for the sub communication unit 181 to communicate with the server 104.

  The activation instruction unit 183 is an example of activation means in the device of the present invention, and is a processing unit for activating the main processing unit 107 based on a request from the server 104 received by the sub communication unit 181. The activation instruction is sent to the main processing unit 107 via the sub communication unit 181.

  Next, the communication flow and the operation of each device in the communication system configured as described above will be described with reference to FIGS.

  It is assumed that the IP address of the device 101 is a private IP address “192.168.1.2” and the IP address of the server 104 is a global IP address “4.117.168.6”. In addition, the Internet 105 side address of the router 103 is generally assigned by an Internet service provider by a protocol such as Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) or Point to Point Protocol (PPP), and dynamically changes at this point. Is assumed to be the global IP address “202.224.159.142”. For convenience of explanation, it is assumed that there is only one address on the Internet 105 side of the router 103. In the present embodiment, the IP address conforms to IPv4. Also, it is assumed that the device ID that is a device identifier uniquely assigned to the device 101 is “1234”.

  Based on the above assumptions, the following description will be given. Since the server 104 performs different operations depending on the operation timing of the terminal 102 and the device 101, the communication sequence is divided into four cases according to the operation timing of the terminal 102 and the device 101, and each communication sequence is described. . At the start of each communication sequence, the device 101 is in a standby state. That is, the main processing unit 107 is in a state where the operation is stopped when the power is off, and the sub processing unit 108 is in a state of communicating with the server 104.

<First communication sequence>
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a first communication sequence in the communication system according to the embodiment of this invention. Note that “main” in the device 101 in the figure refers to the main processing unit 107 of the device 101, and “sub” refers to the sub processing unit 108 of the device 101. Hereinafter, the same applies to FIGS.

  A communication sequence in the communication system of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. The device 101 periodically transmits a notification UDP packet (S201). The notification UDP packet includes the device ID of the device 101. The notification UDP packet is forward NAPT converted by the router 103, then sent to the Internet 105, and received by the server 104. The notification UDP packet is generated by the sub processing unit 108 of the device 101 and transmitted to the server 104 by the packet transmitting / receiving unit 109. Hereinafter, the packet transmission / reception unit 109 only relays transmission / reception of information in the device 101, and a description thereof is omitted.

  4A is a diagram illustrating an example of a data configuration of a notification UDP packet transmitted from the device 101, and FIG. 4B is a diagram illustrating data of a notification UDP packet that has undergone a forward NAPT conversion by the router 103. It is a figure which shows an example of a structure. 4C and 4D are diagrams showing UDP packets transmitted from the server 104 to the device 101, which will be described later in the description of the communication sequence below.

  In the figure, “SA” is information indicating the IP address of the transmission source, and “DA” is information indicating the IP address of the transmission destination. “SP” is information indicating the port number used by the router 103 for communication, and “DP” is information indicating the port number of the destination server 104.

  As shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, the device ID “1234” of the transmission source device 101 is included in the payload of the notification UDP packet. Also, the router 103 converts the SA, which is the IP address of the transmission source, from the private IP address “192.168.1.2” of the device 101 to the global IP address “202.224.159.142” of the router 103. ing.

  Furthermore, the SP that is the port number of the transmission source is converted from the port number “1” used for communication with the device 101 to the port number “100” used for communication with the server 104.

  By these conversions, it is possible to notify the global IP address and port number of the router 103, which is the destination information when the server 104 transmits information to the device 101.

  Note that the transmission cycle of the notification UDP packet is set to be shorter than the time during which the router 103 discards the UDP packet NAPT table due to timeout. As a result, the NAPT table is continuously retained in the router 103 without being discarded due to timeout.

  When the server 104 receives the notification UDP packet subjected to NAPT conversion by the router 103, the server 104 extracts each IP address and port number of SA, DA, SP, and DP in the header and the device ID included in the payload. As shown in a), these pieces of information are registered in the management table stored in the management table storage unit 143 as a set of entries corresponding to the device 101 (device ID “1234”) (S202).

  FIG. 5A is a diagram illustrating an example of the data configuration of the management table in which information included in the notification UDP packet is registered.

  The “state” of the data item is information indicating the connection state between the server 104 and the device 101. This information is called status information. At present, “00”, which is a value indicating a TCP unconnected state, is set. The data items “session identifier” and “previous session identifier” are identifiers for individually managing TCP connections, and are set or changed after the TCP connection is established. At this point, the TCP connection between the device 101 and the server 104 has not been established, and no identifier is set.

  The data item “timeout” is information indicating a time limit for permitting reconnection when the device corresponding to the entry reconnects after disconnecting the TCP connection, and is indicated by time. This information is called timeout information. When the information indicating that reconnection is received after the TCP connection is disconnected from the device 101, the server control unit 142 registers the information.

  Also, if the entry corresponding to the device ID of the device 101 has already been registered, and the SA and SP addresses in the header of the received notification UDP packet have been changed, the values of those addresses in the entry Also update. Thus, even if the IP address on the Internet (WAN) 105 side of the router 103 is dynamically allocated, the latest address is held in the entry. By executing the above sequence, preparation for communication is completed. The management and registration of these management tables and the processing in the server 104 described below are executed by the server control unit 142.

  When communication from the terminal 102 to the device 101 is started in a situation where the above communication preparation is completed, the terminal 102 transmits a TCP / SSL request for requesting an SSL TCP connection to the server 104 (S203). ). Accordingly, a server certificate notification is sent from the server 104 to the terminal 102 according to a normal SSL procedure (S204), and is authenticated by the terminal 102.

  If authentication is successful, encrypted communication is possible. Subsequently, the terminal 102 transmits a device connection request including the device ID “1234” of the device 101 to the server 104 (S205). The device ID is assumed to be known by the terminal 102 or the user who operates the terminal 102. The server 104 that has received the device connection request searches for the corresponding device ID from the management table shown in FIG. 5A using the device ID “1234” included in the device connection request from the terminal 102 as a search key. As a result, an entry corresponding to the device ID “1234” of the device 101 is obtained (S206).

  Next, the server 104 generates a unique session identifier, for example, “A” and stores it in the management table shown in FIG. 5A (S207). Also, “01”, which is a value indicating TCP connection waiting, is also stored as entry status information. The session identifier is an example of a request identifier in the communication management apparatus of the present invention.

  FIG. 5B is a diagram illustrating an example of a data configuration of the management table in which the session identifier is registered and the state information is updated. As shown in FIG. 5B, the session identifier “A” is registered in the entry corresponding to the device ID “1234” of the device 101 in the management table shown in FIG. Further, the status information is updated to “01” which is a value indicating that TCP connection is waiting.

  Further, the server 104 acquires each address of SA, DA, SP, and DP from the entry corresponding to the device 101 in the management table shown in FIG. Using the acquired information, a connection request UDP packet including the session identifier “A” in the payload is transmitted (S208). Here, the connection request UDP packet is configured as a response to the notification UDP packet (S201).

  FIG. 4C is a diagram illustrating an example of the data configuration of the connection request UDP packet transmitted from the server 104, and FIG. 4D is a connection request UDP packet that has undergone NAPT conversion in the return path by the router 103. It is a figure which shows an example of data structure of.

  The values of DA and DP, which are information related to the transmission destination of the connection request UDP packet shown in FIG. 4C, are the values of SA and SP, which are information related to the transmission source of the notification UDP packet shown in FIG. ing. Similarly, the SA and SP values of the connection request UDP packet are the DA and DP values of the notification UDP packet. Thereby, it can be seen that the connection request UDP packet is a response packet transmitted as a response to the notification UDP packet.

  Also, as shown in FIGS. 4C and 4D, the session identifier “A” is included in the payload of the connection request UDP packet. Also, the router 103 rewrites the DA that is the IP address of the transmission destination from the global IP address “4.117.168.6” of the router 103 to the private IP address “192.168.1.2” of the device 101. ing.

  Further, the DP that is the destination port number is converted from the port number “80” used for communication with the server 104 to the port number “1” used for communication with the device 101.

  With this conversion, the connection request UDP packet transmitted from the server 104 is delivered to the device 101.

  The router 103 also performs bidirectional NAPT conversion in communication between the device 101 and the server 104 as described above in the subsequent communication sequence, but the description of the processing is omitted in the following description.

  Upon receiving the connection request UDP packet, the sub processing unit 108 of the device 101 transmits a TCP / SSL connection request to the server 104 (S209). Since the TCP connection request is made from the LAN side to the Internet side, the TCP connection can be established without any trouble beyond the router 103 having the NAPT function. Accordingly, a server certificate notification is sent from the server 104 to the device 101 in accordance with a normal SSL procedure (S210), and is authenticated by the device 101. If authentication is successful, encrypted communication is possible. The session identifier “A” included in the connection request UDP packet is stored in the memory 182 of the sub processing unit 108.

  As described above, an encrypted TCP connection is established between the server 104 and the device 101. However, since the UDP packet is a connectionless type, the server 104 responds to the connection request UDP packet as it is. Cannot determine whether established. For this purpose, the procedure described below is executed.

  First, the device 101 returns the session identifier notified by the connection request UDP packet to the server together with the device certificate over the TCP connection (S211). The device certificate proves that the device 101 is valid and is held in the memory 182 of the sub-processing unit 108.

  The server 104 verifies the device certificate received from the device 101 and collates the session identifier (S212). Subsequent steps are executed only when the device certificate is verified as the correct device. The session identifier is collated using the management table shown in FIG. As a result of the collation, when it is confirmed that the session identifier matches the one generated in response to the device connection request (S205) from the terminal 102 (S207), the server 104 changes the TCP connection to the device from the terminal 102. In response to the connection request (S205), it is determined to be used for transfer of communication between the terminal 102 and the device 101. Also, the status information of the corresponding entry in the management table of FIG. 5B is updated to “10”, which is a value indicating that the TCP connection is being made.

  FIG. 5C is a diagram illustrating an example of the data configuration of the management table in which the state information is updated. As shown in FIG. 5C, the status information is updated from “01” indicating TCP connection waiting to “10” which is a value indicating that TCP connection is in progress.

  After the verification of the session identifier, the session identifier “A” is included in the device connection response and notified to the terminal 102 (S213).

  Although the TCP connection and the connection request UDP packet can be associated with each other using the device ID instead of the session identifier, a plurality of TCP connections cannot be simultaneously established between the server 104 and the device 101 in that case. The problem arises.

  According to the present embodiment, a plurality of encrypted TCP connections can be established between the server 104 and the device 101, and information regarding individual TCP connections at that time is managed by separate session identifiers. As a result, it is possible to transfer communication with consistency on different TCP connections without randomly mixing the contents of a plurality of communications. That is, a plurality of communications can be performed in parallel for each session identifier from the terminal 102 to the device 101.

  Next, the server 104 transmits a status acquisition request to the device 101 (S214). The status acquisition request is information indicating a request to transmit to the server 104 what state the device 101 is in.

  The device 101 activates the main processing unit 107 when receiving the status acquisition request. Specifically, the activation instruction unit 183 of the sub processing unit 108 transmits an instruction for activation to the main processing unit 107 via the sub communication unit 181 (S215). When the main processing unit 107 receives the instruction, the main CPU wakes up to activate each component of the main processing unit 107 (S216).

  After starting, the main processing unit 107 acquires information necessary for server connection such as a session identifier from the sub processing unit 108 (S217). The acquired information is stored in the memory 172.

  Also, since the communication subject in the device 101 is switched from the sub processing unit 108 to the main processing unit 107, it is necessary to temporarily disconnect the TCP connection currently used for communication and reconnect to the server 104. Therefore, in response to the status acquisition request, the sub-processing unit 108 returns a response of “encrypted TCP disconnection / TCP reconnection implemented” (hereinafter referred to as “reconnection response”) (S218). The reconnection response is an example of reconnection information in the communication management device and device of the present invention.

  When the main power supply of the device 101 is on and the main processing unit 107 is activated, a response “encrypted TCP disconnection / TCP reconnection not executed” is transmitted. The server 104 that has received this response decides to use the TCP connection used at that time for the transfer of communication between the terminal 102 and the device 101 in response to the device connection request (S205) from the terminal 102.

  Upon receiving the reconnection response, the server control unit 142 of the server 104 recognizes that the encrypted TCP connection is temporarily disconnected from the device 101 and a TCP connection request is transmitted from the device 101 again, and reconnection is permitted. Registration is performed (S219). Specifically, the server control unit 142 updates the state information to “11”, which is a value indicating the TCP reconnection waiting. At the same time, a value obtained by adding a predetermined TCP reconnection timeout time to the current time is registered as the timeout information of the corresponding entry in the management table shown in FIG.

  FIG. 5D is a diagram illustrating an example of a data configuration of the management table in which reconnection permission registration is performed. As shown in FIG. 5D, the status information is updated from “10”, which is a value indicating that TCP connection is being performed, to “11”, which is a value indicating that TCP reconnection is waiting. Further, “10:12:15” is registered as the timeout information. This value is, for example, timeout information when the registration time is 10:11:15 and a predetermined TCP reconnection timeout time is 1 minute. In this case, the TCP connection request from the device 101 is recognized as valid when the server 104 receives a session identifier notification for the TCP connection by 10:12:15 by 10:12:15. is there.

  The main processing unit 107 of the device 101 instructs the sub processing unit 108 to stop communication with the server (S220). The sub processing unit 108 performs TCP / SSL disconnection processing (S221). Further, the main processing unit 107 is notified of the completion of the server communication stop (S222).

  The main processing unit 107 notified of the completion of the server communication stop by the sub processing unit 108 transmits a TCP / SSL connection request to the server 104 (S223). Upon receipt of the TCP / SSL connection request, the server 104 sends a server certificate notification to the device 101 in accordance with a normal SSL procedure (S224). The device 101 authenticates the server 104 based on the sent server certificate notification. If the authentication is successful, encrypted communication between the server 104 and the device 101 becomes possible. Thereafter, the main processing unit 107 performs communication with the server 104 in the device 101.

  Thereafter, the device 101 transmits a session identifier “A” and a device certificate (S225). The session identifier transmitted from the device 101 to the server 104 for reconnection is an example of the communication identifier in the communication management apparatus and device of the present invention.

  Receiving the session identifier “A” and the device certificate, the server 104 verifies the device certificate and collates the session identifier (S226). In the verification of the session identifier, the management table shown in FIG. 5D is searched for using the session identifier “A” transmitted from the device 101 as a key. By this search, an entry having the session identifier “A” notified from the device 101 as the session identifier or the previous session identifier is specified. Further, if the status information of the specified entry is “11”, which is a value indicating that TCP reconnection is being waited, and the time when the session identifier is received does not exceed the time-out time registered in the entry, this TCP connection Is used to transfer communication between the terminal 102 and the device 101 in response to a device connection request (S205) from the terminal 102. Further, the status information of the corresponding entry in the table of FIG. 5D is updated to “10” which is a value indicating that the TCP connection is being made.

  When a TCP connection is established between the server 104 and the device 101 by the procedure described above, the server 104 starts transferring communication between the terminal 102 and the device 101 over the TCP connection. That is, the server 104 transfers the information received by the communication (S301) for the processing request to the device 101 from the terminal 102 to the device 101 (S302). The device 101 executes processing according to the request and transmits a response to the server 104 (S303). The server 104 transfers the response to the terminal 102 (S304). Finally, when communication between the terminal 102 and the device 101 is completed, normal TCP / SSL connection is disconnected from the server 104 or the device 101 (S305), and a series of sequences is completed.

  When the TCP / SSL disconnection is performed, the server 104 deletes the corresponding entry in the management table of FIG. Alternatively, the status information of the corresponding entry is updated to “00” that is a value indicating that TCP is not connected.

  In the session identifier verification (S226), if the timeout time is exceeded, the server 104 determines that the request is an invalid TCP connection request, and performs TCP / SSL disconnection processing on the device 101.

<Second communication sequence>
Next, an operation when the server 104 receives a communication request from the terminal 102 to the device 101 while waiting for TCP reconnection from the device 101 will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7.

  In the communication sequences shown in FIG. 6 and FIG. 7, the operation contents or communication contents of those given the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 3 are the same unless otherwise specified.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a second communication sequence in the communication system according to the embodiment.

  In the communication sequence shown in FIG. 6, after the device 101 transmits the notification UDP packet (S201), after the TCP / SSL connection with the server 104 is temporarily terminated, the CP / SSL connection is disconnected (S221). This is the same as the communication sequence shown in FIG.

  However, in the communication sequence shown in FIG. 6, unlike the communication sequence shown in FIG. 3, from the TCP / SSL disconnection (S221) from the device 101 to the TCP / SSL connection request (S223), the terminal 102 transfers to the device 101. Communication request (S301) has occurred. A communication sequence in such a situation will be described below.

  In this case, the server 104 extracts the session identifier from the communication request of the terminal 102 and collates the session identifier using the management table shown in FIG. 5D (S401). The terminal 102 is notified of the session identifier by the device connection response (S213), and transmits the session identifier included in the communication request.

  The server 104 identifies an entry having this session identifier as a session identifier or a previous session identifier. Further, when the status information of the identified entry is “11”, which is a value indicating TCP reconnection waiting, and the current time does not exceed the time-out time registered in the entry, the server control unit 142 Contents such as a processing request from the device 102 to the device 101 are held in the communication content storage unit 144 (S402).

  Thereafter, before a timeout occurs, a TCP / SSL connection request is received from the device 101 (S223), and when a session identifier notification is received (S225), the session identifier is verified (S226). In the verification of the session identifier, a search is performed using the session identifier as a key. The server 104 identifies an entry having the session identifier notified from the device 101 as the session identifier or the previous session identifier from the management table shown in FIG. If the status information of the identified entry is a value “11” indicating a TCP reconnection waiting status and the time when the session identifier is received (S225) does not exceed the time-out time registered in the entry, The TCP connection is determined to be used for transfer of communication between the terminal 102 and the device 101 in response to a device connection request (S205) from the terminal 102. Further, the status information of the corresponding entry in the management table shown in FIG. 5D is updated to “10” which is a value indicating that the TCP connection is being made.

  When a TCP connection is established between the server 104 and the device 101, the server 104 starts to transfer communication between the terminal 102 and the device 101 over the TCP connection. That is, the server 104 transfers the content of the communication (S301) from the terminal 102 held in the communication content storage unit 144 to the device 101 (S302), and transfers the response (S303) from the device 101 to the terminal 102. (S304). Finally, when communication is completed, TCP disconnection (S305) is performed from the server 104 or the device 101, normal TCP connection is disconnected, and a series of sequences is completed.

<Third communication sequence>
FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a third communication sequence in the communication system according to the embodiment.

  The communication sequence shown in FIG. 7 is a sequence when the server 104 receives a communication request from the terminal 102 to the device 101 while waiting for TCP reconnection from the device 101, as in the communication sequence shown in FIG. is there. However, unlike the communication sequence shown in FIG. 6, this is a communication sequence when a reconnection request from the device 101 is not made before the time-out time.

  In the communication sequence shown in FIG. 7, as in the communication sequence shown in FIG. 6, the TCP / SSL disconnection (S221) from the device 101 and the TCP / SSL reconnection request (S223) are transferred from the terminal 102 to the device 101. Communication request (S301) has occurred. Also in this case, similarly to the communication sequence shown in FIG. 6, the session identifier is extracted from the communication request of the terminal 102, and the session identifier is verified using the management table shown in FIG. 5D (S401).

  Specifically, an entry having this session identifier as a session identifier or a previous session identifier is specified. Further, when the status information of the identified entry is “11”, which is a value indicating TCP reconnection waiting, and the current time does not exceed the time-out time registered in the entry, the server control unit 142 The content of communication from 102 to the device 101 is held in the communication content storage unit 144 (S402).

  After that, if the TCP reconnection request is not received from the device within the period (T1) until the timeout time registered in the corresponding entry, the server 104 requests the communication request from the terminal 102 to the device 101. As a response to (S301), a response including predetermined contents, for example, a response indicating the occurrence of an error is returned (S403). In addition, the TCP reconnection non-permission registration is performed by updating the status information of the corresponding entry in the management table to the value “00” indicating the TCP unconnected state (S404). Further, the communication content from the terminal 102 held in the communication content storage unit 144 to the device 101 is also deleted.

  When the server 104 receives a TCP / SSL reconnection request from the device 101 after a period T2 (T2> T1) has elapsed since the time-out time is registered in the management table entry (S223), and a session identifier notification is received (S225) The server 104 checks the session identifier. In the verification of the session identifier, a search is performed using the session identifier as a key. The server 104 has an entry having a session identifier notified from the device 101 in the management table shown in FIG. 5D, but the status information of the entry is set to a value “00” indicating that TCP is not connected. Therefore, it is determined that this TCP connection is invalid. As a result, the TCP / SSL connection is rejected (S405). The TCP / SSL connection request is rejected (S405) by transmitting an rst packet.

  The server 104 may delete the corresponding entry in the management table in the reconnection non-permission registration (S405). After that, a TCP / SSL reconnection request is received from the device 101 (S223), a session identifier notification is received (S225), and when matching the session identifier, there is no corresponding entry, so the TCP connection request is invalidated. The request may be determined and the request may be rejected (S405).

<Fourth communication sequence>
Next, an operation when the server 104 receives a new connection request to the device 101 from the terminal 102 while waiting for TCP reconnection from the device 101 will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a fourth communication sequence in the communication system according to the embodiment.

  In addition, in the communication sequence shown in FIG. 8, the operation | movement content or communication content is the same about what attached the same code | symbol as FIG.

  Further, the communication sequence shown in FIG. 3 is performed from when the device 101 transmits the notification UDP packet (S201) until the TCP / SSL connection is disconnected with the server 104 and then the TCP / SSL connection is disconnected (S220). The description is omitted.

  In the communication sequence shown in FIG. 8, a new connection request (S408) from the terminal 102 to the device 101 occurs between the TCP / SSL disconnection (S221) from the device 101 and the TCP / SSL reconnection request (S223). is doing.

  Specifically, the terminal 102 transmits a TCP connection request (S406) by SSL to the server 104. Accordingly, a server certificate notification is sent from the server 104 to the terminal 102 in accordance with a normal SSL procedure (S407), and is authenticated by the terminal 102. If authentication is successful, encrypted communication is possible.

  The terminal 102 transmits a device connection request including the device ID of the device 101 to the server 104 (S408). The server 104 that has received the device connection request searches the management table using the device ID designated by the terminal 102 as a search key, and obtains an entry corresponding to the device ID (S409).

  For example, when the session identifier “A” is set in the entry as shown in FIG. 5D and the value “11” indicating TCP reconnection waiting is set in the status information, the server 104 The session identifier “A” that has already been set is stored as the previous session identifier. In addition, a unique session identifier, for example, “B” is generated and stored in the corresponding entry of the management table as a session identifier (S410).

  FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of the data configuration of the management table when a new session identifier is generated and registered. The management table shown in FIG. 9 is an update of the management table shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 9, the newly generated “B” is registered as the session identifier, and “A”, which was the previous session identifier, is registered as the previous session identifier.

  After the registration, when the server 104 receives a TCP / SSL reconnection request from the device 101 (S223) and further receives a session identifier notification (S225), it verifies the session identifier (S226). In the verification of the session identifier, a search is performed using the session identifier as a key. By this search, an entry having the session identifier “A” notified from the device 101 as the session identifier or the previous session identifier is specified. Further, when the status information of the specified entry is a value indicating that TCP reconnection is being waited and the time when the session identifier is received does not exceed the time-out time registered in the entry, this TCP connection is In response to the connection request (S408), it is determined to use for transfer of communication between the terminal 102 and the device 101. Further, the status information of the corresponding entry in the management table shown in FIG. 9 is updated to “10” which is a value indicating that the TCP connection is being made.

  Further, the server 104 includes the session identifier “B” in the device connection response, which is a response to the device connection request (S408), and transmits it to the terminal 102 (S227).

  In the communication sequence shown in FIG. 8, the session identifier notified from the server 104 to the device 101 is only “A” (S208). Therefore, the session identifier (S225) transmitted from the device 101 to the server 104 is “A”. In this case, the same session identifier does not exist in the session identifier field of the management table shown in FIG. However, “A” is present in the previous session identifier field due to the previous session identifier registration process (S410). Further, as shown in the management table of FIG. 9, the status information of the entry having “A” as the previous session identifier is a value “11” indicating waiting for TCP reconnection, and the time when the session identifier is received corresponds. The server 104 determines that the TCP / SSL connection from the device 101 is valid because the timeout time to be exceeded has not been exceeded.

  At this time, the session identifier notified from the server 104 by the terminal 102 is “B”. That is, the session identifier “B” used when the terminal 102 communicates with the device 101 is different from the session identifier “A” notified from the server 104 to the server 104 and returned to the server 104. However, as shown in the management table of FIG. 9, “B” and “A” are associated with the same entry as the session identifier and the previous session identifier. Therefore, the server 104 can transfer the communication between the terminal 102 and the device 101 over the TCP connection specified by this entry.

  When the TCP connection is established between the server 104 and the device 101, the server 104 starts to transfer communication between the terminal 102 and the device 101 over the TCP connection. That is, the server 104 transfers communication (S301) from the terminal 102 to the device 101 (S302), and transfers a response (S303) from the device 101 to the terminal 102 (S304). Finally, when the communication is completed, the TCP connection is disconnected from the server 104 or the device 101 to complete a series of communication sequences.

  In the communication sequence shown in FIG. 8, after the session identifier “B” is generated (S410), the terminal 102 further receives a device connection request until the terminal 102 starts communication with the device (S301). When transmitted to the server 104, another session identifier, for example, “C” is generated and registered as a session identifier in the management table. Also, the previous session identifier is left as “A”.

  Therefore, even when a device connection request is continuously transmitted a plurality of times from the terminal 102 due to an erroneous operation of the user, etc., the server 104 notifies the session identifier “A” notified from the device 101 (S225). "Is held as the previous session identifier, the server 104 can determine that the TCP connection from the device 101 is valid. That is, communication between the terminal 102 and the device 101 can be established.

  As described above, the server 104 according to the embodiment of the present invention can start communication from the terminal 102 to the device 101 via the network. Even when the device 101 once disconnects and reconnects to the server 104 for switching the communication means when starting the communication, the server 104 receives the information from the device 101 in advance. Can be acquired. Therefore, it is possible to determine that the reconnection is a valid connection without determining that the subsequent disconnection of the device 101 is an error or the like. Accordingly, communication can be transferred between the terminal 102 and the device 101 over the connection established in response to the connection request.

  Thereby, for example, a user of a device whose communication processing means is switched by turning on the main power to reduce power consumption, such as the device 101 of the present embodiment, can use the terminal 102 from the outside. A desired processing request can be freely made to the device.

  In addition, in the device 101 according to the embodiment of the present invention, the sub processing unit 108 is activated and can communicate with the server 104 even when the main power supply is off. Further, the sub-processing unit 108 only needs to have resources necessary for network communication, and manufacturing costs can be reduced. Further, it is possible to prevent waste of resources in the overall configuration of the device 101.

  Further, after the main power source is turned on, that is, after the main processing unit 107 is started, the communication processing means with the server 104 is switched from the sub processing unit 108 to the main processing unit 107. A session identifier which is information necessary for reconnection to the server 104 is passed to 107. When making a connection request to the server 104, the main processing unit 107 notifies the server 104 of the session identifier so that the server 104 can recognize the validity of the connection request.

  Further, from the user who uses the server 104 and the device 101, it is not necessary to be aware of the exchange between the server 104 and the device 101. The user simply transmits a connection request for the device 101 to the server 104 using the terminal 102, and transmits a processing request for the device 101 to the server 104.

  For example, as shown in the communication sequence of FIG. 6, even when a processing request to the device 101 is made before the reconnection of the device 101 is established, the server 104 communicates the communication content such as the processing request. It can be stored in the content storage unit 144 (S402 in FIG. 6). After establishing the reconnection with the device 101, the server 104 can transfer the communication contents such as the processing request from the held terminal to the device 101 (S302 in FIG. 6).

  Thereby, for example, the user may transmit a processing request without worrying about the state of the device 101. Even when the processing request is transmitted while the connection between the server 104 and the device 101 is not established, There is no need to send a connection request again after establishing the connection.

  Further, as shown in the communication sequence of FIG. 8, when a connection request is transmitted once after transmitting a connection request to the device 101 (S408 in FIG. 8), a new session identifier is generated. However, the server 104 stores the session identifier generated in response to the first connection request and notified to the device 101 as the previous session identifier (see FIG. 9). Therefore, it is possible to determine that the connection request () made by the device 101 to the server 104 in response to the first connection request is valid based on the session identifier notification (S225 in FIG. 8). Furthermore, communication between the terminal 102 and the device 101 can be transferred using a connection established in response to the connection request.

  Thereby, for example, even when a connection request to the device 101 is continuously transmitted from the terminal 102 due to a user's erroneous operation or the like, the server 104 and the device 101 correspond to the plurality of connection requests many times. Communication and processing for establishing a connection between the device 104 and the device 101 are not performed. That is, useless communication and processing do not occur. Further, the user does not need to be aware of the communication and processing of the server 104 and the device 101, and can freely communicate from the terminal 102 to the device 101.

  Further, for example, as shown in FIG. 5D, in the server 104, a timeout is set to limit the validity of reconnection of the device 101 according to the time. Further, an error response is made to the user when the timeout time elapses (S304 in FIG. 7). Thereby, for example, even when the device 101 cannot be reconnected to the server 104 due to a trouble such as a failure, the user is not kept waiting indefinitely. Further, the server 104 does not need to keep the communication contents from the terminal 102 held for the reconnection indefinitely.

  That is, the server 104 is not unnecessarily restrained for processing for one communication session, and the user can freely use the server 104 without worrying about the load on the server 104.

  In the above-described embodiment, the reason why the device 101 temporarily disconnects and reconnects to the server 104 is that the communication means with the server 104 is switched when the main processing unit 107 is activated. It was supposed to be. However, in order for the server 104 to correctly determine whether reconnection is possible, the reason for reconnection in a device that requests connection is not limited.

  For example, after the main processing unit 107 of the device 101 establishes a TCP connection with the server 104, some processing needs to be performed, so that the TCP connection may be temporarily disconnected until the processing is completed.

  Even in this case, the device 101 only has to transmit a reconnection response to the server 104 as in the present embodiment, and the function that allows the device 101 to allow the server 104 to reconnect and the communication that is a feature of the server 104. This does not affect the function that correctly recognizes disconnection and reconnection. That is, the above-described features of the server 104 can be exhibited even if the device is not a device such as the device 101 having a plurality of communication processing means.

  Note that the transfer of communication by the server 104 can be repeated any number of times as long as the TCP connection is maintained, whereby a series of communication can be performed between the terminal 102 and the device 101. it can.

  Further, FIG. 3 illustrates a state in which the device 101 responds to communication from the terminal 102. However, the present invention is not limited to this, while the TCP connection is maintained for any protocol communication transfer. Can be done.

  The session identifier may be unique as long as the communication session can be uniquely specified. For example, the session identifier may not be unique in the server 104 but may be unique when combined with the device ID.

  In addition, the device 101 sends the session identifier notified from the server 104 back to the server 104 as it is (for example, S225 in FIG. 3), and the server 104 stores the session identifier and the session identifier or previous session identifier registered in the management table. And collation.

  However, the device 101 may not send the notified session identifier back to the server 104 as it is. For example, the notified session identifier and device ID may be combined and transmitted as a new identifier. In this case, the server 104 may extract a session identifier from the new identifier according to the combination rule.

  That is, there is a predetermined relationship between the session identifier notified by the server 104 to the device 101 and the identifier transmitted from the device 101 to the server 104, and the server 104 stores formulas, rules, etc. indicating the predetermined relationship. It may be stored in 143 etc. Further, for example, the server control unit 142 may extract the session identifier from the identifier transmitted from the device 101 based on an expression, rule, or the like indicating the predetermined relationship.

  Accordingly, for example, the session identifier can be further encrypted and transmitted from the device 101 to the server 104 on the encrypted TCP connection, and the confidentiality of communication can be improved.

  Further, the case where the IPv4 address is used in the communication system according to the present embodiment has been described as an example, but the present invention has the same effect even when the IPv6 address is used. Furthermore, the present invention has the same effect even when a router or gateway is used that transmits a packet from the LAN to the Internet and a response to the packet but does not transmit a packet from the Internet to the LAN.

  In this embodiment, the terminal 102 is directly connected to the Internet as shown in FIG. 1. However, even if the terminal 102 is connected to the LAN, communication with the server 104 is hindered as long as communication from the terminal 102 is started. Therefore, the effect of the present invention is exhibited similarly. Furthermore, if a function similar to that of the device 101 is installed in the terminal 102, the terminal 102 and the device 101 can start communication with each other even if they are both in the LAN, and a completely symmetric communication system can be configured. it is obvious.

  In addition, the device 101 does not have to exist in the LAN 106 and may be directly connected to the Internet 105. Any state that allows bidirectional communication with the server 104 is acceptable.

  Further, as the present embodiment, the form of the communication system in which the device 101, the terminal 102, and the server 104 communicate via the Internet 105 has been described. However, it may be a form in which these devices 101 communicate via a network other than the Internet 105.

  Further, the communication protocol may not be TCP, and a communication protocol that can be used by the network and the device 101 to be used may be adopted.

  That is, the functions of the server 104 and the device 101 for an environment in which the terminal 102 can freely make a processing request to the device 101 do not depend on the type of network or the communication protocol. What is necessary is just to determine according to manufacturing cost etc., such as these.

  In this embodiment, the connection destination from the device 101 is only the server 104, and the server 104 transfers the communication between the terminal 102 and the device 101. If the address of the terminal 102 is notified by a connection request UDP packet, A configuration in which the device 101 directly transmits a TCP / SSL connection request to the terminal 102 is also possible. According to this configuration, the terminal 102 and the device 101 can directly communicate with each other, and there are other effects such as a reduction in the transfer load on the server 104.

  In this embodiment, the server 104 only transfers the communication between the terminal 102 and the device 101, but at the same time, the server 104 itself can communicate with the device 101 using a TCP connection. According to such a configuration, the server 104 can provide the terminal 102 with a function for communicating with the device 101, and at the same time, can provide services to the device such as setting and monitoring the device 101 and updating software. is there.

  Note that the device 101 and the server 104 in the present embodiment can be realized by a computer. At that time, it is possible to create computer programs for causing the device 101 and the server 104 to execute the communication sequences shown in FIGS. 3 and 6 to 8, respectively, and store them in a storage medium such as a CD-ROM. Can be distributed. According to this, communication from outside the house can be realized using a general-purpose computer.

  INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention can be used as a server, a device, and a communication system that can be easily connected from a WAN device to a device in the LAN at a desired timing in a network environment in which a LAN and the Internet are connected.

It is a figure which shows an example of a structure of the communication system of embodiment. It is a functional block diagram which shows an example of a functional structure of the server and apparatus of embodiment. It is a figure which shows the 1st communication sequence in the communication system of embodiment. It is a figure which shows the data structural example of the notification UDP packet and connection request UDP packet in embodiment. It is a figure which shows the example of a data structure of the management table of embodiment. It is a figure which shows the 2nd communication sequence in the communication system of embodiment. It is a figure which shows the 3rd communication sequence in the communication system of embodiment. It is a figure which shows the 4th communication sequence in the communication system of embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of a data structure of the management table when a new session identifier is produced | generated and registered. It is a figure which shows an example of the communication sequence in the conventional communication system which starts the communication with respect to the apparatus in LAN from the terminal on the internet. It is a figure which shows an example of a structure of the conventional apparatus provided with the process part for communication separately from the process part which performs main operation | movement.

Explanation of symbols

101 Equipment 102 Terminal 103 Router 104 Server 105 Internet 106 LAN
107 Main processing unit 108 Sub processing unit 109 Packet transmission / reception unit 141 Server communication unit 142 Server control unit 143 Management table storage unit 144 Communication content storage unit 171 Main communication unit 172, 182 Memory 173 Device control unit 174 Processing execution unit 181 Sub communication unit 183 Start-up instruction unit

Claims (20)

A communication management device connected to the network, which communicates with a terminal and a device connected to a network, and manages communication between the terminal and the device,
Reconnection information acquisition means for acquiring reconnection information indicating that reconnection of communication with the communication management device is performed after the device disconnects communication with the communication management device from the device;
First storage means for storing the reconnection information acquired by the reconnection information acquisition means;
When a request for reconnection of communication from the device to the communication management device is made and the reconnection information is stored in the first storage means, permission means for permitting the reconnection,
A transfer management device comprising: transfer means for transferring information transmitted from the terminal to the device that has become communicable by the reconnection when the reconnection is permitted by the permission means. The first storage means further stores a timing condition for whether or not reconnection from the device to the communication management device is possible in association with the reconnection information,
The permission unit is configured such that when a reconnection request is made from the device to the communication management device and the reconnection information is stored in the first storage unit, the reconnection request is The communication management device according to claim 1, wherein the reconnection is permitted when the temporal condition associated with the reconnection information is satisfied. Furthermore,
A second storage unit configured to store information on the device when information on the device is transmitted from the terminal to the communication management apparatus before the reconnection is permitted by the permission unit;
The communication management device according to claim 1, wherein the transfer unit transfers the information stored in the second storage unit to the device when the reconnection is permitted by the permission unit. The first storage means further stores a timing condition for whether or not reconnection from the device to the communication management device is possible in association with the reconnection information,
The communication management device further transmits information about the device from the terminal to the communication management device before the reconnection is permitted by the permission unit, and the information associated with the reconnection information The communication management device according to claim 1, further comprising response means for transmitting a predetermined response to the terminal when the reconnection request is not made from the device within a period specified by a time condition. Furthermore,
Terminal request receiving means for receiving a connection request for the device transmitted from the terminal;
Generating means for generating a request identifier for identifying the connection request received by the terminal request receiving means;
Notification means for notifying the device of the request identifier generated by the generation means;
An identifier receiving means for receiving a communication identifier that is transmitted from the device and identifies a communication session between the device and the communication management device;
The first storage means further stores the request identifier generated by the generation means in association with the reconnection information,
The permission means is a request for reconnection of communication from the device to the communication management device, and a request identifier having a predetermined relationship with the communication identifier received by the identifier reception means is the reconnection information. The communication management device according to claim 1, wherein the reconnection is permitted when the reconnection is stored in the first storage unit. The first storage means is generated by the generation means when the terminal request reception means receives a new connection request for the device from the terminal before the reconnection is permitted by the permission means. Storing a request identifier for identifying a new connection request in further association with the reconnection information;
The permission unit requests reconnection of communication from the device to the communication management device, and the communication identifier received by the identifier receiving unit is stored in the first storage unit with the reconnection information. The communication management device according to claim 5, wherein the reconnection is permitted when there is a predetermined relationship with any of the request identifiers stored in association with each other. A device that communicates with a communication management device via a network,
An acquisition request receiving means for receiving an acquisition request for information related to communication of the device, transmitted from the communication management device;
As a response to the acquisition request received by the acquisition request receiving means, reconnection information for transmitting reconnection information for reconnecting communication with the communication management device after disconnecting communication with the communication management device A transmission means;
A disconnecting unit that disconnects communication with the communication management device after the reconnection information is transmitted by the reconnection information transmitting unit;
An apparatus comprising: a connection request transmission unit configured to transmit a request for reconnection of communication with the communication management device to the communication management device after communication with the communication management device is disconnected by the disconnection unit. Furthermore,
An identifier receiving means for receiving an identifier for identifying a communication session between the communication management apparatus and the device before the communication with the communication management apparatus is disconnected by the disconnection means;
The connection request transmission means further uses an identifier having a predetermined relationship with the identifier received by the identifier reception means as a communication identifier for specifying a communication session between the communication management apparatus and the device. The device according to claim 7, which is transmitted to a device. The device includes first communication means and second communication means,
The first communication means includes
The acquisition request receiving means, the reconnection information transmitting means, the disconnecting means, and the identifier receiving means,
After the acquisition request receiving means receives the acquisition request, the acquisition request receiving means has an activation means for starting the second communication means,
The second communication means includes
The connection request transmitting means; and
Having identifier acquisition means for acquiring an identifier received by the identifier reception means;
The device according to claim 8, wherein the connection request transmission unit transmits an identifier having a predetermined relationship with the identifier acquired by the identifier acquisition unit to the communication management device as the communication identifier. A communication system comprising a terminal and a device connected to a network, and a communication management device connected to the network for managing communication between the terminal and the device,
The equipment is
An acquisition request receiving means for receiving an acquisition request for information related to communication of the device, transmitted from the communication management device;
As a response to the acquisition request received by the acquisition request receiving means, reconnection information for transmitting reconnection information for reconnecting communication with the communication management device after disconnecting communication with the communication management device A transmission means;
A disconnecting unit that disconnects communication with the communication management device after the reconnection information is transmitted by the reconnection information transmitting unit;
Connection request transmission means for transmitting a request for reconnection of communication with the communication management apparatus to the communication management apparatus after communication with the communication management apparatus is disconnected by the disconnection means;
The communication management device
Reconnection information acquisition means for acquiring the reconnection information as a response to the acquisition request by transmitting an acquisition request for acquiring information related to communication of the device to the device;
First storage means for storing the reconnection information acquired by the reconnection information acquisition means;
When a request for reconnection of communication from the device to the communication management device is made and the reconnection information is stored in the first storage means, permission means for permitting the reconnection,
A transfer unit configured to transfer information transmitted from the terminal to the device that has become communicable by the reconnection when the reconnection is permitted by the permission unit; The communication management device further includes:
A second storage unit configured to store information on the device when information on the device is transmitted from the terminal to the communication management apparatus before the reconnection is permitted by the permission unit;
The communication system according to claim 10, wherein the transfer unit transfers information stored in the second storage unit to the device when the reconnection is permitted by the permission unit. The first storage means of the communication management device further stores a timing condition for whether or not reconnection from the device to the communication management device is possible in association with the reconnection information,
The communication management device further transmits information about the device from the terminal to the communication management device before the reconnection is permitted by the permission unit, and the information associated with the reconnection information The communication system according to claim 10, further comprising response means for transmitting a predetermined response to the terminal when the reconnection request is not made from the device within a period specified by a time condition. The device further includes:
First identifier receiving means for receiving an identifier for identifying a communication session between the communication management apparatus and the device before the communication with the communication management apparatus is disconnected by the disconnection means;
The connection request transmission means further uses the identifier received by the first identifier reception means as an identifier having a predetermined relationship as a communication identifier for specifying a communication session between the communication management device and the device. To the management device,
The communication management device further includes:
Terminal request receiving means for receiving a connection request for the device transmitted from the terminal;
Generating means for generating a request identifier for identifying the connection request received by the terminal request receiving means;
Notifying means for notifying the device of the request identifier generated by the generating means as an identifier for specifying a communication session between the communication management device and the device;
Second identifier receiving means for receiving a communication identifier transmitted from the device;
The first storage means is generated by the generation means when the terminal request reception means receives a new connection request for the device from the terminal before the reconnection is permitted by the permission means. Storing a request identifier for identifying a new connection request in further association with the reconnection information;
The permission unit requests communication reconnection from the device to the communication management device, and the communication identifier received by the second identifier reception unit is stored in the first storage unit. The communication system according to claim 10, wherein the reconnection is permitted when there is a predetermined relationship with any of the request identifiers. The device has first communication means and second communication means,
The first communication means includes
Including the acquisition request receiving means, the reconnection information transmitting means, the disconnecting means, and the first identifier receiving means,
The acquisition request receiving means includes an activation means for activating the second communication means after receiving an acquisition request for information related to communication of the device,
The second communication means includes
Including the connection request transmitting means, and
Including an identifier acquisition means for acquiring the identifier received by the first identifier reception means;
The connection request transmission means uses the identifier acquired by the identifier acquisition means as a communication identifier for specifying a communication session between the communication management apparatus and the device to the communication management apparatus. The communication system according to claim 13. A method of communicating with a terminal and a device connected to a network, and managing communication between the terminal and the device,
An acquisition step of acquiring reconnection information indicating that communication is reconnected after disconnecting communication from the device;
A storage step of storing in the storage means the reconnection information acquired in the acquisition step;
When a request for reconnection of communication is made from the device and the reconnection information is stored in the storage means, a permission step for permitting the reconnection,
A transfer step of transferring information transmitted from the terminal to the device that has become communicable by the reconnection when the reconnection is permitted in the permission step. A method of communicating with a communication management device via a network,
A receiving step of receiving an acquisition request for information related to communication transmitted from the communication management device;
As a response to the acquisition request received in the reception step, an information transmission step of transmitting reconnection information for reconnecting communication with the communication management device after disconnecting communication with the communication management device;
A disconnecting step of disconnecting communication with the communication management device after the reconnection information is transmitted in the information transmitting step;
A request transmission step of transmitting a request for reconnection of communication with the communication management device to the communication management device after communication with the communication management device is disconnected in the disconnection step. A communication method in a communication system comprising a terminal and a device connected to a network, and a communication management device connected to the network for managing communication between the terminal and the device,
A request step for the communication management device to transmit an acquisition request for acquiring information related to communication of the device to the device;
A receiving step in which the device receives the acquisition request transmitted from the communication management device;
Information for transmitting reconnection information indicating that the device reconnects communication with the communication management device after disconnecting communication with the communication management device as a response to the acquisition request received in the reception step. Sending step;
The connection management device acquires the reconnection information that is a response to the acquisition request; and
A storage step in which the connection management device stores the reconnection information acquired in the acquisition step in a storage unit;
A disconnecting step of disconnecting communication with the communication management device after the reconnection information is transmitted in the information transmitting step;
A request transmission step of transmitting a request for reconnection of communication with the communication management device to the communication management device after the device is disconnected from the communication management device in the disconnection step;
When the request for reconnection of communication from the device to the communication management device is made and the reconnection information is stored in the storage means, the permission step in which the connection management device permits the reconnection; ,
A transfer step in which, when the reconnection is permitted in the permission step, the connection management device transfers information transmitted from the terminal to the device that has become communicable by the reconnection. A program for communicating with a terminal and a device connected to a network and managing communication between the terminal and the device,
An acquisition step of acquiring reconnection information indicating that communication is reconnected after disconnecting communication from the device;
A storage step of storing in the storage means the reconnection information acquired in the acquisition step;
When a request for reconnection of communication is made from the device and the reconnection information is stored in the storage means, a permission step for permitting the reconnection,
A program for causing a computer to execute a transfer step of transferring information transmitted from the terminal to the device that has become communicable by the reconnection when the reconnection is permitted in the permission step. A program for communicating with a communication management device via a network,
A receiving step of receiving an acquisition request for information related to communication transmitted from the communication management device;
As a response to the acquisition request received in the reception step, an information transmission step of transmitting reconnection information for reconnecting communication with the communication management device after disconnecting communication with the communication management device;
A disconnecting step of disconnecting communication with the communication management device after the reconnection information is transmitted in the information transmitting step;
A program for causing a computer to execute a request transmission step of transmitting a request for reconnection of communication with the communication management device to the communication management device after communication with the communication management device is disconnected in the disconnection step. A program for communication in a communication system comprising a terminal and a device connected to a network, and a communication management device connected to the network for managing communication between the terminal and the device,
A request step for the communication management device to transmit an acquisition request for acquiring information related to communication of the device to the device;
A receiving step in which the device receives the acquisition request transmitted from the communication management device;
Information for transmitting reconnection information indicating that the device reconnects communication with the communication management device after disconnecting communication with the communication management device as a response to the acquisition request received in the reception step. Sending step;
The connection management device acquires the reconnection information that is a response to the acquisition request; and
A storage step in which the connection management device stores the reconnection information acquired in the acquisition step in a storage unit;
A disconnecting step of disconnecting communication with the communication management device after the reconnection information is transmitted in the information transmitting step;
A request transmission step of transmitting a request for reconnection of communication with the communication management device to the communication management device after the device is disconnected from the communication management device in the disconnection step;
When the request for reconnection of communication from the device to the communication management device is made and the reconnection information is stored in the storage means, the permission step in which the connection management device permits the reconnection; ,
When the reconnection is permitted in the permission step, the connection management device causes the computer to execute a transfer step of transferring information transmitted from the terminal to the device that has become communicable by the reconnection. Program.

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