ENERGY MANAGEMENT DEVICE AND POWER MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

• US 20130042124A1
• Filed: 08/01/2012
• Published: 02/14/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 08/12/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: Isozaki, Hiroshi, Ito, Satoshi, Kanai, Jun
• Granted Patent: US 9,043,622 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 713/310
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3203 Power management, i.e. event-based initiation of a power-saving mode
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6218 to a system of files or objects, e.g. local or distributed file system or database
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6272 by registering files or documents with a third party
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/81 by operating on the power supply, e.g. enabling or disabling power-on, sleep or resume operations
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/85 interconnection devices, e.g. bus-connected or in-line devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2129 Authenticate client device independently of the user
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2141 Access rights, e.g. capability lists, access control lists, access tables, access matrices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/04 Forecasting or optimisation specially adapted for administrative or management purposes, e.g. linear programming or "cutting stock problem" market predictions or forecasting for commercial activities G06Q30/0202
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/06 Energy or water supply
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/20 for managing network security; network security policies in general filtering policies H04L63/0227
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 40/20 Information technology specific aspects, e.g. CAD, simulation, modelling, system security

Abstract

An energy management system has an application storage, an application executing unit, a plurality of network interfaces, a policy setting unit configured to set whether each application should be permitted to access each of the network interfaces, a policy storage configured to store identification information for each application set by the policy setting unit, and access permit/inhibit information showing whether the application is permitted to access each of the network interfaces, an I/F management unit managing a correspondence relationship between a network address and each of the network interfaces, and to specify a network interface used by the application executed by the application executing unit, and an access controller configured to judge whether the application executed by the application executing unit is permitted to access the network interface to be used thereby, based on the access permit/inhibit information stored in the policy storage.

Claims

1. An energy management system comprising:

an application storage configured to store at least one or more application including an application for power management;

an application executing unit configured to execute an application stored in the application storage;

a plurality of network interfaces arranged corresponding to a plurality of networks, respectively;

a policy setting unit configured to set whether each application should be permitted to access each of the network interfaces;

a policy storage configured to store identification information for each application set by the policy setting unit, and access permit/inhibit information showing whether the application is permitted to access each of the network interfaces;

an I/F management unit configured to manage a correspondence relationship between a network address and each of the network interfaces, and to specify a network interface used by the application executed by the application executing unit; and

an access controller configured to judge whether the application executed by the application executing unit is permitted to access the network interface to be used thereby, based on the access permit/inhibit information stored in the policy storage.

2. The energy management system of claim 1,

wherein the access controller permits access to a network interface when access permit/inhibit information showing access permission thereto is stored in the policy storage, and inhibits access to the network interface when such access permit/inhibit information is not stored in the policy storage.

3. The energy management system of claim 1,

wherein the application executing unit notifies the access controller about an IP address used by an execution target application and identification information for the application,

the I/F management unit specifies a network interface to be used based on the IP address used by the execution target application, and notifies the access controller about the network interface, and

the access controller inquires of the I/F management unit about the network interface corresponding to the IP address used by the execution target application, and inquires of the policy storage about whether access to the network interface notified by the I/F management unit is permitted.

4. The energy management system of claim 1,

wherein the network interfaces includes a private network interface and a public network interface.

5. The energy management system of claim 4,

wherein the policy setting unit permits an application requesting access to a device connected to a private network to access the private network interface, but inhibits the application from using the public network interface.

6. The energy management system of claim 4,

wherein the policy setting unit permits an application requesting access to a device connected to a public network to access the public network interface, but inhibits the application from accessing the private network interface.

7. The energy management system of claim 1, further comprising:

a network configuration management unit configured to detect a change in configuration of a private network; and

a network configuration information storage configured to store configuration information about the private network, and to update the stored configuration information regarding the private network when the network configuration management unit detects a change in configuration of the private network,

wherein when the network interface used by the application executed by the application executing unit is a private network interface, the access controller reads latest configuration information from the network configuration information storage, and detects whether access to each network corresponding to the read configuration information is permitted based on the policy storage.

8. The energy management system of claim 7, further comprising:

an application execution management unit configured to manage the application currently being executed by the application executing unit,

wherein the application execution management unit creates and manages a management table including identification information for each application, access permit/inhibit information showing whether the application is permitted to access each private network, and access permit/inhibit information showing whether the application is permitted to access a public network interface for a public network, based on the latest configuration information read from the network configuration information storage and the access permit/inhibit information stored in the policy storage, and

the access controller judges whether access to the network interface used by the application executed by the application executing unit is permitted based on the access permit/inhibit information managed by the application execution management unit.

9. The energy management system of claim 8,

wherein when the application executing unit terminates execution of the application, the application execution management unit eliminates the identification information and access permit/inhibit information for the application from the management table, and

the policy storage stores the identification information and access permit/inhibit information for each application regardless of whether each application is being executed.

10. An energy management system comprising:

an application storage configured to store at least one or more application including an application for power management;

an application executing unit configured to execute an application stored in the application storage;

a plurality of network interfaces arranged corresponding to a plurality of networks including a public network and a private network, respectively;

a policy setting unit configured to set whether each application should be permitted to access each of the network interfaces;

a policy storage configured to store identification information for each application set by the policy setting unit, and access permit/inhibit information showing whether the application is permitted to access each of the network interfaces;

an access controller configured to judge whether the application executed by the application executing unit is permitted to access the network interface to be used thereby, based on the access permit/inhibit information stored in the policy storage; and

an application execution management unit configured to manage an application currently being executed by the application executing unit, by creating a management table registering identification information for the application and access permit/inhibit information showing whether the application is permitted to access the network interfaces,

wherein the application execution management unit has;

a start mode setting unit configured to judge whether the application executed by the application executing unit is permitted to access the private network based on the access permit/inhibit information stored in the policy storage, in order to set the access permit/inhibit information for the application in the management table to a permit mode if permitted or to an inhibit mode if not permitted;

a termination mode setting unit configured to judge, when terminating the application, whether the application is inhibited from accessing the private network based on the access permit/inhibit information stored in the policy storage, in order to promptly terminate the application if not inhibited or to detect whether another application is registered in the management table if inhibited and set every application being executed to the inhibit mode for inhibiting access to the private network if registered or to the permit mode for permitting access to the private network if not registered; and

a registration eliminating unit configured to eliminate the registration information regarding the terminated application from the management table after setting the mode by the termination mode setting unit.

11. The energy management system of claim 10,

wherein the access controller permits access to a network interface when access permit/inhibit information showing access permission thereto is stored in the policy storage, and inhibits access to the network interface when such access permit/inhibit information is not stored in the policy storage.

12. A power management system, comprising:

a power system management device;

a customer'"'"'s power management device configured to communicate with the power system management device through a public network;

a power-related information providing server configured to communicate with the power system management device through a public network; and

a maintenance management device configured to communicate with the power system management device through the public network,

wherein the power system management device comprises;

an energy management system;

a power meter management device configured to communicate with the energy management system through a power system network;

a relay configured to relay communication between the power meter management device and the customer'"'"'s power management device; and

a remote terminal unit configured to communicate with the energy management system through the power system network, and

the customer'"'"'s power management device comprises;

a smart meter configured to communicate with the relay through the public network; and

a home server configured to communicate with the power meter management device through the public network, and

the energy management system comprises;

an application storage configured to store at least one or more application including an application for power management;

an application executing unit configured to execute an application stored in the application storage;

a plurality of network interfaces arranged corresponding to a plurality of networks including the public network and the power system network, respectively;

a policy setting unit configured to set whether each application should be permitted to access each of the network interfaces;

a policy storage configured to store identification information for each application set by the policy setting unit, and access permit/inhibit information showing whether the application is permitted to access each of the network interfaces;

an I/F management unit configured to manage a correspondence relationship between a network address and each of the network interfaces, and to specify a network interface used by the application executed by the application executing unit; and

an access controller configured to judge whether the application executed by the application executing unit is permitted to access the network interface to be used thereby, based on the access permit/inhibit information stored in the policy storage.

13. The power management system of claim 12,

wherein the access controller permits access to a network interface when access permit/inhibit information showing access permission thereto is stored in the policy storage, and inhibits access to the network interface when such access permit/inhibit information is not stored in the policy storage.

14. The power management system of claim 12,

wherein the application executing unit notifies the access controller about an IP address used by an execution target application and identification information for the application,

the I/F management unit specifies a network interface to be used based on the IP address used by the execution target application, and notifies the access controller about the network interface, and

the access controller inquires of the I/F management unit about the network interface corresponding to the IP address used by the execution target application, and inquires of the policy storage about whether access to the network interface notified by the I/F management unit is permitted.

15. The power management system of claim 12,

wherein the network interfaces includes a private network interface and a public network interface.

16. The power management system of claim 15,

wherein the policy setting unit permits an application requesting access to a device connected to a private network to access the private network interface, but inhibits the application from using the public network interface.

17. The power management system of claim 15,

wherein the policy setting unit permits an application requesting access to a device connected to a public network to access the public network interface, but inhibits the application from accessing the private network interface.

18. The power management system of claim 12, further comprising:

a network configuration management unit configured to detect a change in configuration of a private network; and

a network configuration information storage configured to store configuration information regarding the private network, and to update the stored configuration information regarding the private network when the network configuration management unit detects a change in configuration of the private network,

wherein when the network interface used by the application executed by the application executing unit is a private network interface, the access controller reads latest configuration information from the network configuration information storage, and detects whether access to each network corresponding to the read configuration information is permitted based on the policy storage.

19. The power management system of claim 18, further comprising:

an application execution management unit configured to manage the application currently being executed by the application executing unit,

wherein the application execution management unit creates and manage a management table including identification information for each application, access permit/inhibit information showing whether the application is permitted to access each private network, and access permit/inhibit information showing whether the application is permitted to access a public network interface for a public network, based on the latest configuration information read from the network configuration information storage and the access permit/inhibit information stored in the policy storage, and

the access controller judges whether access to the network interface used by the application executed by the application executing unit is permitted based on the access permit/inhibit information managed by the application execution management unit.

20. The power management system of claim 19,

wherein when the application executing unit terminates execution of the application, the application execution management unit eliminates the identification information and access permit/inhibit information for the application from the management table, and

the policy storage stores the identification information and access permit/inhibit information for each application regardless of whether each application is being executed.