Remote control server,center server, and system constituted them

• US 20040049524A1
• Filed: 09/11/2003
• Published: 03/11/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 08/25/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Shikoku Electric Power Company Incorporated, Shikoku Instrumentation Company Limited (Shikoku Electric Power Company Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Shikoku Electric Power Company Incorporated, Shikoku Instrumentation Company Limited (Shikoku Electric Power Company Incorporated)
• Inventors: Ohno, Koji, Higashihara, Ryoichiro, Matsumoto, Sadayuki, Nakanishi, Yoshikazu, Imai, Toru, Kurokawa, Shunji, Ozaki, Kenji, Toyota, Masatoshi
• Granted Patent: US 7,712,095 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/203
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 9/1669 characterised by special application, e.g. multi-arm co-operation, assembly, grasping
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/31457 Factory remote control, monitoring through internet
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 23/0267 Fault communication, e.g. human machine interface [HMI]

Abstract

A system for autonomous decentralized control in which a client terminal and a center server are connected, as a network through a WAN and/or LAN, to a remote control server connected to a monitored/controlled target device through a control communication network. The system is characterized in that a virtual machine, which is described as the other self of the monitored/controlled target device having the same information as that possessed by the monitored/controlled target device, and which is a software object having communication protocols used for communication with the monitored/controlled target device and concealed in the software object, is moved in the system with transparency and/or is held in the client terminal, the center server, or the remote control server.

Claims

1. A system for autonomous decentralized control in which a client terminal and a center server are connected, as a network through a WAN and/or LAN, to a remote control server connected to a monitored/controlled target device through a control communication network, characterized in that a virtual machine, which is described as the other self of the monitored/controlled target device having the same information as that possessed by the monitored/controlled target device, and which is a software object having communication protocols used for communication with the monitored/controlled target device and concealed in the software object, is moved in the system with transparency and/or is held in the client terminal, the center server, or the remote control server.

2. A system according to claim 1, wherein said remote control server is able to create, hold and/or operate a virtual machine which is a software object described as the other self of the monitored/controlled target device having the same information as that possessed by the monitored/controlled target device and which contains a plurality of communication protocols used for communication with the monitored/controlled target device and concealed in the software object, and/or to distribute the virtual machine.

3. A system according to claim 1, wherein said remote control server has functions capable of creating, holding and/or operating a virtual machine which is a software object described as the other self of the monitored/controlled target device having the same information as that possessed by the monitored/controlled target device and which contains a plurality of communication protocols used for communication with the monitored/controlled target device and concealed in the software object, and/or of distributing the virtual machine, and also has a function capable of calling, holding and/or operating a virtual machine created by another remote control server, etc., whereby said remote control server is able to change information of the monitored/controlled target device and/or to monitor and control the target device by operating the virtual machine.

4. A system according to claim 1, wherein said remote control server has functions capable of creating, holding and/or operating an inclusive virtual machine including setting of a plurality of virtual machines and/or a fixed agent describing functions such as behaviors of each of the virtual machines, and/or including even records acquired through each of the virtual machines, and a supervising virtual machine for supervising a plurality of inclusive virtual machines, and/or distributing the created inclusive and supervising virtual machines.

5. A system according to claim 1, wherein said remote control server has functions capable of creating, holding, operating and/or distributing an inclusive virtual machine including setting of a plurality of virtual machines and/or a fixed agent describing functions such as behaviors of each of the virtual machines, and/or including even records acquired through each of the virtual machines, and a supervising virtual machine for supervising a plurality of inclusive virtual machines, and/or distributing the created inclusive and supervising virtual machines, and wherein said remote control server has functions capable of calling, holding and/or operating an inclusive virtual machine and a supervising virtual machine created by another remote control server, etc., whereby said remote control server is able to change information of each of the plurality of the monitored/controlled target devices and/or monitor and control each target device by operating the inclusive virtual machines and/or the supervising virtual machines.

6. A system according to claim 1, wherein said remote control server includes a remote station system for causing the fixed agent to be distributed or to reside, and has monitoring functions capable of performing information collection from and monitoring/control of the monitored/controlled target devices, which are connected to the outside, using the virtual machines, and capable of executing processing, computations, etc. of the collected information.

7. A system according to claim 1, wherein said center server is able to create, hold and/or operate a virtual machine which is a software object described as the other self of each monitored/controlled target device having the same information as that possessed by the monitored/controlled target device and which contains a plurality of communication protocols used for communication with the monitored/controlled target device and concealed in the software object, and to distribute, to one or more remote control servers, an agent describing behaviors, etc. of the virtual machine and/or the remote control servers, said center server being further capable of creating, holding and/or operating an inclusive virtual machine including setting a plurality of virtual machines and/or a fixed agent describing functions such as behaviors of each of the virtual machines, and/or including even records acquired through each of the virtual machines, and a supervising virtual machine for supervising a plurality of inclusive virtual machines, and/or distributing the created inclusive and supervising virtual machines, and/or capable of calling, holding and/or operating virtual machines, inclusive virtual machines and supervising virtual machines created by the remote control servers, whereby said center server is able to change information of each of the plurality of the monitored/controlled target devices and/or to monitor and control each target device by sharing information in common with the monitored/controlled target devices and operating the virtual machines, the inclusive virtual machines and/or the supervising virtual machines, and/or by operating the agent, and to perform management/processing of collected data and management of the system through the information-changing, monitoring and control operations.

8. A system according to claim 1, wherein:

said center server is able to create, hold and/or operate a virtual machine which is a software object described as the other self of each monitored/controlled target device having the same information as that possessed by the monitored/controlled target device and which contains a plurality of communication protocols used for communication with the monitored/controlled target device and concealed in the software object, and to distribute, to one or more remote control servers, an agent describing behaviors, etc. of the virtual machine and/or the remote control servers, said center server being further capable of creating, holding and/or operating an inclusive virtual machine including setting a plurality of virtual machines and/or a fixed agent describing functions such as behaviors of each of the virtual machines, and/or including even records acquired through each of the virtual machines, and a supervising virtual machine for supervising a plurality of inclusive virtual machines, and/or distributing the created inclusive and supervising virtual machines, and/or capable of calling, holding and/or operating virtual machines, inclusive virtual machines and supervising virtual machines created by the remote control servers, whereby said center server is able to change information of each of the plurality of the monitored/controlled target devices and/or to monitor and control each target device by sharing information in common with the monitored/controlled target devices and operating the virtual machines, the inclusive virtual machines and/or the supervising virtual machines, and/or by operating the agent, and to perform management/processing of collected data and management of the system through the information-changing, monitoring and control operations, and

said remote control server has functions capable of creating, holding and/or operating a virtual machine which is a software object described as the other self of the monitored/controlled target device having the same information as that possessed by the monitored/controlled target device and which contains a plurality of communication protocols used for communication with the monitored/controlled target device and concealed in the software object, and/or distributing the virtual machine, and also has functions capable of creating, holding, and/or operating an inclusive virtual machine including setting of a plurality of virtual machines and/or a fixed agent describing functions such as behaviors of each of the virtual machines, and/or including even records acquired through each of the virtual machines, and a supervising virtual machine for supervising a plurality of inclusive virtual machines, and/or distributing the created inclusive and supervising virtual machines, said remote control server further having functions capable of calling, holding and/or operating a virtual machine, an inclusive virtual machine and a supervising virtual machine created by another remote control server, etc., whereby said remote control server is able to change information of each of the plurality of the monitored/controlled target devices and/or monitor and control each target device by operating the virtual machines, the inclusive virtual machines and/or the supervising virtual machines, said remote control server including a remote station system for causing the fixed agent to be distributed or to reside, and having monitoring functions capable of performing information collection from and monitoring/control of the monitored/controlled target devices, which are connected to the outside, using the virtual machines, and capable of executing processing, computations, etc. of the collected information.