Remote monitoring system and remote monitoring apparatus

• US 9,888,008 B2
• Filed: 10/19/2015
• Issued: 02/06/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 10/24/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: Ootaki, Yuuki, Shiosaki, Kazuya, Murata, Jin, Tanno, Yoko
• Primary Examiner(s): Chiang, Jason C
• Application Number:
  US14/886,286
• Publication Number:
  US 20160119356A1
• Time in Patent Office: 841 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/4184 characterised by fault tolerance, reliability of production system
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/4185 characterised by the network communication
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/24168 Identify connected programmer to allow control, program entry
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/31457 Factory remote control, monitoring through internet
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/305 by remotely controlling device operation
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 17/02 using a radio link
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 2201/60 Security, fault tolerance
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/042 comprising distributed management centres cooperatively managing the network
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/10 Active monitoring, e.g. heartbeat, ping or trace-route
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/08 for authentication of entities cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication H04L9/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/101 Access control lists [ACL]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/125 involving control of end-device applications over a network
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2209/40 using a wireless architecture
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 9/00 Arrangements in telecontrol or telemetry systems for selectively calling a substation from a main station, in which substation desired apparatus is selected for applying a control signal thereto or for obtaining measured values therefrom
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 90/02 Total factory control, e.g. smart factories, flexible manufacturing systems [FMS] or integrated manufacturing systems [IMS]
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 40/00 Systems for electrical power generation, transmission, distribution or end-user application management characterised by the use of communication or information technologies, or communication or information technology specific aspects supporting them
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 40/18 Network protocols supporting networked applications, e.g. including control of end-device applications over a network

Abstract

In one embodiment, a remote monitoring system includes a monitoring apparatus displaying a screen for monitoring a power plant, a remote monitoring apparatus displaying the screen transferred from the monitoring apparatus, and a management server managing information regarding the remote monitoring apparatus. The management server includes an activation management module to acquire apparatus identification information for identifying the remote monitoring apparatus, and to return activation permission to the remote monitoring apparatus if the apparatus identification information matches apparatus identification information registered previously. The remote monitoring apparatus includes a secret information storing region to store the apparatus identification information, and to limit software accessible to the secret information storing region to BIOS software of the remote monitoring apparatus, and an activation module to acquire the activation permission from the activation management module by providing the apparatus identification information in the secret information storing region to the activation management module.

Claims

1. A remote monitoring system comprising:

a monitoring apparatus configured to display a monitoring screen for monitoring an electric power plant;

a remote monitoring apparatus configured to display the monitoring screen transferred from the monitoring apparatus; and

a management server configured to manage information regarding the remote monitoring apparatus,

the management server being configured to

acquire apparatus identification information for identifying the remote monitoring apparatus,

return activation permission to the remote monitoring apparatus if the apparatus identification information matches apparatus identification information that is registered in advance,

return activation non-permission to the remote monitoring apparatus if the apparatus identification information does not match the apparatus identification information that is registered in advance,

store the activation permission or the activation non-permission to be associated with the apparatus identification information,

acquire user identification information for identifying a user of the remote monitoring apparatus, and

provide connection software to the remote monitoring apparatus if the user identification information matches user identification information that is registered in advance;

the remote monitoring apparatus comprising;

a secret information storing region configured to store the apparatus identification information, and to limit software accessible to the secret information storing region to basic input/output system (BIOS) software of the remote monitoring apparatus;

and being

configured to acquire the activation permission or the activation non-permission from the management server by providing the apparatus identification information in the secret information storing region to the management server, to continue activation of the remote monitoring apparatus depending on the activation permission, and to stop a power source of the remote monitoring apparatus depending on the activation non-permission,

configured to acquire the connection software from the management server by providing the user identification information to the management server; and

the monitoring apparatus

being configured to transfer the monitoring screen to the remote monitoring apparatus if the remote monitoring apparatus accesses the monitoring apparatus by the connection software.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the remote monitoring apparatus performs heartbeat communication by wireless communication with an apparatus that can communicate with the remote monitoring apparatus, and stops a power source of the remote monitoring apparatus based on a state of the heartbeat communication.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein if connection between the monitoring apparatus and the remote monitoring apparatus is disconnected and the monitoring apparatus and the remote monitoring apparatus are reconnected, the monitoring apparatus transfers the monitoring screen in a state before the disconnection to the remote monitoring apparatus.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the system comprises, as the monitoring apparatus, first to n-th monitoring apparatuses respectively provided in first to n-th monitoring and controlling systems that monitor and control one or more electric power plants where n is an integer of two or more, each of the first to n-th monitoring apparatuses being configured to transfer the monitoring screen to the remote monitoring apparatus if the remote monitoring apparatus accesses the monitoring apparatus by the connection software.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the system comprises, as the remote monitoring apparatus, first to m-th remote monitoring apparatuses where m is an integer of two or more, the monitoring apparatus including a management table that manages priority when users of the first to m-th remote monitoring apparatuses access the monitoring apparatus.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the system comprises, as the monitoring apparatus, a monitoring server including one or more virtual monitoring apparatuses, each virtual monitoring apparatus being configured to transfer the monitoring screen to the remote monitoring apparatus if the remote monitoring apparatus accesses the monitoring apparatus by the connection software.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein each virtual monitoring apparatus includes first to k-th virtual displays respectively displaying first to k-th monitoring screens where k is an integer of two or more, the remote monitoring apparatus including first to k-th displays respectively displaying the first to k-th monitoring screens transferred from each virtual monitoring apparatus.

8. The system of claim 5, wherein while one of a remote monitoring apparatus of a user having first priority and a remote monitoring apparatus of a user having second priority lower than the first priority is accessing the monitoring apparatus, if the other one accesses the monitoring apparatus,

the monitoring apparatus permits the remote monitoring apparatus of the user having the first priority to display the monitoring screen and to operate the electric power plant, and

the monitoring apparatus permits the remote monitoring apparatus of the user having the second priority to display the monitoring screen and does not permit the user having the second priority to operate the electric power plant.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the system comprises, as the monitoring apparatus, first to n-th monitoring apparatuses where n is an integer of two or more, and includes, as the remote monitoring apparatus, first to m-th remote monitoring apparatuses where m is an integer of two or more, the management server including a display management database that includes an instruction regarding a combination of a monitoring apparatus serving as a transfer origin of the monitoring screen and a remote monitoring apparatus serving as a transfer destination of the monitoring screen.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the management server includes a display management database that includes an instruction regarding stop of a power source of the remote monitoring apparatus.