Centralized Management Unit and Management System of Facility Equipment

• US 20080154397A1
• Filed: 11/21/2006
• Published: 06/26/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 03/29/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
• Original Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
• Inventors: Masui, Hirotaka
• Granted Patent: US 7,610,116 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 700/90
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/30 for purposes related to the operation of the system, e.g. for safety or monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/54 using one central controller connected to several sub-controllers
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/56 Remote control
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/65 for selecting an operating mode
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/22 comprising specially adapted graphical user interfaces [GUI]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/34 Signalling channels for network management communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/00 Arrangements for monitoring or testing data switching networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/083 using passwords cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication using a predetermined code H04L9/3226

Abstract

There is provided a compact centralized management unit of facility equipment, as well as a management system using the centralized management unit, that is capable of accommodating changes in data transmission simply and at low cost. The centralized management unit has an input-side interface connected to the facility equipment, an output-side interface for outputting the management data of the facility equipment, a storage section for storing a control program of the facility equipment, and an arithmetic processing section for controlling the facility equipment in accordance with an instruction of the control program. The storage section stores a first transmission program corresponding to the input-side interface and a second transmission program corresponding to an interface of the connection intermediating device. The arithmetic processing section obtains the management data from the facility equipment via the input-side interface in accordance with an instruction of the first transmission program and outputs the management data to the output-side interface in accordance with an instruction of the second transmission program.

Claims

1. A centralized management unit of facility equipment, which obtains management data by being connected to at least one piece of facility equipment to be managed and transmits the data to a monitoring terminal via a connection intermediating device, comprising:

an input-side interface connected to said facility equipment to be managed;

an output-side interface for outputting said management data of said facility equipment and for receiving information transmitted from said monitoring terminal;

a storage section for storing a control program of said facility equipment; and

an arithmetic processing section for controlling said facility equipment in accordance with an instruction of said control program;

wherein

said storage section stores a first transmission program corresponding to said input-side interface and a second transmission program corresponding to an interface of said connection intermediating device; and

said arithmetic processing section obtains said management data from said facility equipment via said input-side interface in accordance with an instruction of said first transmission program and outputs said management data to said output-side interface in a mode corresponding to the interface of said connection intermediating device in accordance with the instruction of said second transmission program.

2. The centralized management unit of the facility equipment as set forth in claim 1, further comprising an interface member for reversibly converting an electrical signal corresponding to said output-side interface to an electrical signal corresponding to said interface of said connection intermediating device;

wherein

said interface member is connected to said output-side interface.

3. The centralized management unit of the facility equipment as set forth in claim 1, wherein said arithmetic processing section stores a program in an area for storing said second transmission program, on the basis of information received from said output-side interface on said program to be stored in said area where said second transmission program is stored.

4. The centralized management unit of the facility equipment as set forth in claim 1, wherein said second transmission program is adapted to use a transmission mode through which information can be exchanged with each of three or more connected devices.

5. The centralized management unit of the facility equipment as set forth in claim 3, further comprising path switching means for branching output destinations of said output-side interface;

wherein

said path switching means is adapted to output said management data of said facility equipment from one branch path; and

a program setting device for setting information related to a program to be stored in the area where said second transmission program is stored is connected to the other branch path.

6. The centralized management unit of the facility equipment as set forth in claim 5, wherein

said path switching means is composed of a socket and a switch contact member.

7. The centralized management unit of the facility equipment as set forth in claim 5, further comprising a path selection recognizing means for recognizing that equipment is connected to which branch path of said path switching means;

wherein

said arithmetic processing section receives said second transmission program via said output-side interface in accordance with the instruction of said first transmission program when said path selection recognizing means recognizes connection with said program setting device and outputs said management data to said output-side interface in accordance with the instruction of said second transmission program when said path selection recognizing means recognizes connection with said connection intermediating device.

8. The centralized management unit of the facility equipment as set forth in claim 1, wherein

said storage section holds information on whether each program is usable or not that defines whether each program is usable or not;

and

said arithmetic processing section executes a program defined to be usable by said information on whether each program is usable or not, among respective programs stored in said storage section.

9. The centralized management unit of the facility equipment as set forth in claim 8, further comprising inputting means for inputting a password for changing said information on whether each program is usable or not so that said information denotes that said program is usable;

wherein

said arithmetic processing section changes a part correlated with said password under a predetermined relationship among said information on whether each program is usable or not by receiving said password inputted from said inputting means.

10. The centralized management unit of the facility equipment as set forth in claim 1, further comprising a display section for displaying information transmitted from said monitoring terminal.

11. A management system of facility equipment, comprising:

the centralized management unit of the facility equipment as set forth in claim 1;

a connection intermediating device for connecting said centralized management unit to a network; and

a monitoring terminal for exchanging data with said centralized management unit via said network.