Facility equipment cooperation system, equipment control method, and agent apparatus

• US 20090231092A1
• Filed: 03/12/2009
• Published: 09/17/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 03/13/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: Ishiyama, Masahiro, Maegawa, Tomonori, Doi, Yusuke, Kaneko, Yu
• Granted Patent: US 8,378,779 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/5.200
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 15/02 electric
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/2642 Domotique, domestic, home control, automation, smart house

Abstract

An apparatus communicating with a gateway apparatus on a control system network for facility equipment, via an information system network, includes a unit which stores not less than one piece of virtual point information defining a virtual point combined with not less than one piece of facility equipment, a user authentication unit which performs user authentication for a user associated with a client, a unit which receives a request for control on one virtual point from the client, a unit which creates a remote control command for the facility equipment associated with the request based on the virtual point information when the request has been received and the user authentication has succeeded, and a unit which transmit the remote control command to the gateway via the information system network when tenant authentication for a tenant associated with the agent apparatus which is performed by the gateway has succeeded.

Claims

1. A facility equipment cooperation system including a gateway apparatus connecting to a plurality of pieces of facility equipment in a building via a control system network, and an agent apparatus communicating with the gateway apparatus, via an information system network other than the control system network and installing for each tenant in the building,

the agent apparatus comprising:

a storage unit configured to store not less than one piece of virtual point information defining a virtual point combined with not less than one piece of facility equipment as an operation target;

a user authentication unit configured to perform user authentication for a user associated with a client apparatus;

a request reception unit configured to receive a request for control on any of the virtual points from the client apparatus;

a first command creation unit configured to create a remote control command based on a specific remote protocol for the facility equipment associated with the request based on the virtual point information associated with the request when the request has been received from the client apparatus and the user authentication associated with the client apparatus has succeeded; and

a first command transmission unit configured to transmit the remote control command to the gateway apparatus via the information system network when tenant authentication for a tenant associated with the agent apparatus which is performed by the gateway apparatus has succeeded, and

the gateway apparatus comprising;

a tenant authentication unit configured to perform the tenant authentication associated with the agent apparatus;

a command reception unit configured to receive the remote control command from the agent apparatus via the information system;

a second command creation unit configured to create a local control command based on a specific local protocol for the facility equipment associated with the remote control command based on the remote control command when the remote control command has been received from the agent apparatus and the tenant authentication associated with the agent apparatus has succeeded; and

a second command transmission unit configured to transmit the created local control command to the facility equipment or a controller of the facility equipment associated with the local control command via the control system network.

2. The system according to claim 1, wherein the first command creation unit creates the remote control command only when the tenant authentication associated with the agent apparatus has succeeded in a case in which the request has been received from the client apparatus and the user authentication associated with the client apparatus has succeeded.

3. The system according to claim 1, wherein

the storage unit stores the virtual point information in correspondence with each user, and

the agent apparatus further comprises a reception unit configured to receive, from the client apparatus, editing operation including one or more of addition, modification, and deletion for the virtual point information corresponding to a specific user.

4. The system according to claim 1, wherein

the storage unit stores the virtual point information in correspondence with each user, and

the client apparatus requests the agent apparatus to perform the user authentication, receives, from the user, an instruction to select one of the virtual points associated with the user which is a control target after the user authentication has succeeded, and transmits, to the agent apparatus, a request for control on the virtual point associated with the received instruction.

5. The system according to claim 1, wherein when a specific event is detected, the client apparatus automatically transmits a request for control on a specific virtual point corresponding to the specific event to the agent apparatus.

6. The system according to claim 1, wherein

each of the virtual points includes, for not less than one piece of facility equipment associated with the virtual point, a combination of an equipment identifier identifying the facility equipment and a gateway identifier identifying the gateway apparatus corresponding to the facility equipment, and

the first command creation unit creates the remote control command for at least each gateway identifier when the virtual point information associated with the request includes a plurality of different equipment identifiers and a plurality of different gateway identifiers.

7. The system according to claim 1, wherein

the gateway apparatus further comprises a list information storage unit configured to store, for each of the tenants, list information of equipment identifiers identifying not less than one piece of facility equipment for which control by a user associated with the tenant is permitted, and

the second command creation unit creates the local control command for the facility equipment only when the list information is referred to based on an equipment identifier of the facility equipment associated with the remote control command and control on the facility equipment is permitted.

8. The system according to claim 1, wherein the gateway apparatus further comprises an arbitration processing unit configured to perform arbitration processing conforming to a predetermined criterion upon receiving a plurality of remote control commands for the same facility equipment at the same time or different timings within a predetermined period of time.

9. The system according to claim 1, wherein the gateway apparatus further comprises a providing unit configured to provide each of the agent apparatuses with information concerning facility equipment configured to be controlled by the agent via the gateway apparatus.

10. The system according to claim 1, wherein the user authentication unit performs the user authentication in conjunction with an external single sign-on system.

11. An agent apparatus communicating with a gateway apparatus connecting to a plurality of pieces of facility equipment in a building via a control system network, via an information system network other than the control system network, and installing for each tenant in the building, comprising:

a storage unit configured to store not less than one piece of virtual point information defining a virtual point combined with not less than one piece of facility equipment as an operation target;

a user authentication unit configured to perform user authentication for a user associated with a client apparatus;

a request reception unit configured to receive a request for control on any of the virtual points from the client apparatus;

a command creation unit configured to create a remote control command based on a specific remote protocol for the facility equipment associated with the request based on the virtual point information associated with the request when the request has been received from the client apparatus and the user authentication associated with the client apparatus has succeeded; and

a command transmission unit configured to transmit the remote control command to the gateway apparatus via the information system network when tenant authentication for a tenant associated with the agent apparatus which is performed by the gateway apparatus has succeeded.

12. The apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the command creation unit creates the remote control command only when the tenant authentication associated with the agent apparatus has succeeded in a case in which the request has been received from the client apparatus and the user authentication associated with the client apparatus has succeeded.

13. The apparatus according to claim 11, wherein

the storage unit stores the virtual point information in correspondence with each user, and

the agent apparatus further comprises a reception unit configured to receive, from the client apparatus, editing operation including one or more of addition, modification, and deletion for the virtual point information corresponding to a specific user.

14. The apparatus according to claim 11, wherein

the storage unit stores the virtual point information in correspondence with each user, and

the client apparatus requests the agent apparatus to perform the user authentication, receives, from the user, an instruction to select one of the virtual points associated with the user which is a control target after the user authentication has succeeded, and transmits, to the agent apparatus, a request for control on the virtual point associated with the received instruction.

15. The apparatus according to claim 11, wherein when a specific event is detected, the client apparatus automatically transmits a request for control on a specific virtual point corresponding to the specific event to the agent apparatus.

16. The apparatus according to claim 11, wherein

each of the virtual points includes, for not less than one piece of facility equipment associated with the virtual point, a combination of an equipment identifier identifying the facility equipment and a gateway identifier identifying the gateway apparatus corresponding to the facility equipment, and

the command creation unit creates the remote control command for at least each gateway identifier when the virtual point information associated with the request includes a plurality of different equipment identifiers and a plurality of different gateway identifiers.

17. The apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the user authentication unit performs the user authentication in conjunction with an external single sign-on system.

18. An equipment control method for a facility equipment cooperation system including a gateway apparatus connecting to a plurality of pieces of facility equipment in a building via control system network, and an agent apparatus communicating with the gateway apparatus, via an information system network other than the control system network and installing for each tenant, comprising:

storing, in the agent apparatus, not less than one piece of virtual point information defining a virtual point combined with not less than one piece of facility equipment as an operation target;

performing, in the agent apparatus, user authentication for a user associated with a client apparatus;

receiving, in the agent apparatus, a request for control on any of the virtual points from the client apparatus;

creating, in the agent apparatus, a remote control command based on a specific remote protocol for the facility equipment associated with the request based on the virtual point information associated with the request when the request has been received from the client apparatus and the user authentication associated with the client apparatus has succeeded;

performing, in the gateway apparatus, the tenant authentication for the tenant associated with the agent apparatus;

transmitting, in the agent apparatus, the remote control command to the gateway apparatus via the information system network when the tenant authentication for the tenant has succeeded;

receiving, in the gateway apparatus, the remote control command from the agent apparatus via the information system network;

creating, in the gateway apparatus, a local control command based on a specific local protocol for the facility equipment associated with the remote control command based on the remote control command when the remote control command has been received from the agent apparatus and the tenant authentication associated with the agent apparatus has succeeded; and

transmitting, in the gateway apparatus, the created local control command to the facility equipment or a controller of the facility equipment associated with the local control command via the control system network.

19. An equipment control method for a facility equipment cooperation system including a gateway apparatus connecting to a plurality of pieces of facility equipment in a building via a control system network, and an agent apparatus communicating with the gateway apparatus, via an information system network other than the control system network and installing for each tenant, comprising:

storing, in the agent apparatus, not less than one piece of virtual point information defining a virtual point combined with not less than one piece of facility equipment as an operation target;

performing, in the agent apparatus, user authentication for a user associated with a client apparatus;

performing, in the gateway apparatus, the tenant authentication for the tenant associated with the agent apparatus;

receiving, in the agent apparatus, a request for control on any of the virtual points from the client apparatus;

creating, in the agent apparatus, a remote control command based on a specific remote protocol for the facility equipment associated with the request based on the virtual point information associated with the request when the request has been received from the client apparatus and both the user authentication associated with the client apparatus and the tenant authentication associated with the agent apparatus have succeeded;

transmitting, in the agent apparatus, the remote control command to the gateway apparatus via the information system network when the tenant authentication for the tenant has succeeded;

receiving, in the gateway apparatus, the remote control command from the agent apparatus via the information system network;

creating, in the gateway apparatus, a local control command based on a specific local protocol for the facility equipment associated with the remote control command based on the remote control command when the remote control command has been received from the agent apparatus and the tenant authentication associated with the agent apparatus has succeeded; and

transmitting, in the gateway apparatus, the created local control command to the facility equipment or a controller of the facility equipment associated with the local control command via the control system network.