Gateway and gateway setting tool

• US 20040059814A1
• Filed: 07/18/2003
• Published: 03/25/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 11/19/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha (Mitsubishi Electric Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha (Mitsubishi Electric Corporation)
• Inventors: Kushiro, Noriyuki, Nakata, Masanori, Ito, Yoshiaki, Ochiai, Yoshiko, Suzuki, Shigeki, Komiya, Noriyuki
• Granted Patent: US 8,112,498 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/224
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/258 Data format conversion from or to a database
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/88 Mark-up to mark-up conversion conversion for visualization in web browsing G06F16/9577
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2803 Home automation networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2832 Interconnection of the control functionalities between home networks single bridge functionality H04L12/4625
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/46 Interconnection of networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/4625 Single bridge functionality, e.g. connection of two networks over a single bridge
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/66 Arrangements for connecting between networks having differing types of switching systems, e.g. gateways
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/022 Multivendor or multi-standard integration
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0233 Object-oriented techniques, for representation of network management data, e.g. common object request broker architecture [CORBA]

Abstract

To provide an easy and simple mapping between objects representing different network systems A and B. In the configuration where data of an object, a system component, is available in another system, it is provided with an intermediate model 102 which is mutually accessible. The intermediate model has an intermediate object 103 corresponding to a component. Each system performs mapping to the intermediate object 103 an item of a corresponding component 106 of the system, and transmits data to an mapped item. In addition, the system accesses the intermediate object to obtain data corresponding to the item when component data of the other system is needed.

Claims

1. A gateway apparatus provided in a configuration where data of an object representing a component of a system is available for another system, the gateway apparatus comprising:

an intermediate model which is set up by one system, the intermediate model including an intermediate object corresponding to the component, wherein the one system maps an item of a corresponding component of the one system to the intermediate object, and transfers data to a mapped item;

wherein the another system obtains the data corresponding to the item of the intermediate object when the data of the intermediate object is needed as component data.

3. The gateway apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein when accessing the data of the intermediate object, each system performs mapping to the intermediate object whose component items agree more than a predetermined rate with items to be accessed of the each system as the intermediate object.

4. The gateway apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the intermediate object is added with supplemental information, and wherein each system accesses the intermediate object based on the supplemental information.

5. The gateway apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the intermediate model and its intermediate objects, and the system and its components are displayed on a same screen for mapping between the system and the intermediate model.

6. The gateway apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein mapping to the intermediate object is performed by data which is written in a structured data description language.

2. An object based gateway apparatus in a configuration where data of an object representing a component of a system is available in another system, the object based gateway apparatus comprising:

an intermediate model which is mutually accessible, the intermediate model having an intermediate object which corresponds to the component, wherein each system maps an item of a corresponding component of the each system to the intermediate object, and transmits data to a mapped item, and wherein the each system accesses the intermediate object to obtain the data corresponding to the item when component data of the another system is needed.

7. A gateway apparatus, comprising:

a system A communicating section transmitting and receiving a communication command A of a system A;

a system B communicating section transmitting and receiving a communication command B of a system B built on a protocol which is different from a protocol on which the system A is built;

a system A object database exchanging the communication command A with the system A, interpreting a content of the communication command A, and holding object data;

a system B object database exchanging the communication command B with the system B, interpreting a content of the communication command B, and holding object data;

a mapping database holding mapping data representing a correspondence between the object data of the system A object database and the object data of the system B object database;

a mapping executing section exchanging object data A with the system A object database, exchanging object data B with the system B object database, performing mapping between the object data A and the object data B based on the mapping database, and mutually exchanging the object data A and the object data B; and

a setup data transmitting and receiving section exchanging the object data A with the system A object database, exchanging the object data B with the system B object database, exchanging the mapping data with the mapping database, and exchanging the object data A, the object data B, and the mapping data with an external device.

11. The gateway apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the gateway apparatus exchanges data written in a structured data description language with the gateway setup tool.

8. A gateway setup tool, comprising:

a setup data inputting section setting up groups of objects representing a system A and a system B, respectively;

a system A object setup database holding object data of the system A which is set up by the setup data inputting section;

a system A object data processing section receiving data from the system A object setup database, compressing the data, and returning it;

an all system A object database including model data of an object available for the system A which exchanges data with the system A object setup database;

a system B object setup database holding object data of the system B which is set up by the setup data inputting section;

a system B object data processing section receiving data from the system B object setup database, compressing the data, and returning it;

an all system B object database including model data of an object available for the system B which exchanges data with the system B object setup database;

a mapping setup database holding mapping data for mapping which is set up by the setup data inputting section;

a mapping data processing section receiving data from the mapping setup database, compressing the data, and returning it;

an all mapping database including model data of mapping between an object available for the all system A object database and an object available for the all system B object database, and exchanging data with the mapping setup database;

a mapping generating section performing mapping between each data of the system A object setup database and each data of the system B object setup database with reference to the all mapping database, and transmitting it to the mapping setup database;

a setup data displaying section displaying data as needed of the system A object setup database, the system B object setup database, the mapping setup database, the all system A object database, the all system B object database, or the all mapping database; and

a setup data transmitting and receiving section for exchanging data among the system A object setup database, the system B object setup database, and the mapping setup database;

wherein the gateway setup tool transmits and receives data to and from the gateway apparatus through the setup data transmitting and receiving section.

9. The gateway setup tool according to claim 8, wherein the gateway setup tool assigns supplemental information for mapping it to object setup data of one of the system A object setup database and the system B object setup database;

and

wherein the mapping generating section generates mapping data between objects based on the supplemental information.

10. The getaway setup tool according to claim 8, wherein the getaway setup tool exchanges data written in a structured data description language with the gateway apparatus.