Electronic gateway in a network comprising an administration server and control devices

Abstract

The invention relates to an electronic gateway (3) for a network comprising a remote administration server (5) and a plurality of control devices with which an object (2) is equipped. The electronic gateway (3) comprises a plurality of units (3M, 3S), a communication bus (7) coupled to each unit (3M, 3S), and a power bus (12) connecting the plurality of units in series. The power bus (12) includes a plurality of switches (12a) respectively arranged directly downstream of the secondary units (3S). Each switch can be controlled by the unit (3M, 3S) arranged directly upstream to cut off or restore power to the units (3M, 3S) arranged downstream. Each unit (3M, 3S) is configured, upon initialization, to keep the switch (12a) arranged directly downstream open until a unit identifier has been assigned to it. Figure to be published with the abstract: Fig. 2

Description

Description Title of the invention: Electronic gateway in a network including an administration server and devices control FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001] = The invention relates to the field of administration of connected objects, that is to say objects that have been equipped with a plurality of sensors and actuators. TECHNOLOGICAL BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] It is increasingly common to equip objects with sensors and actuators in order to to operate their operation remotely, carry out maintenance work, control their energy consumption or for other reasons. To to enable this, the data collected by the sensors and provided to the actuators circulate on a network comprising these sensors / actuators arranged on the object or integrated into this object and a remote administration server.

[0003] — For simplicity of expression, we will designate indifferently by the expression "control device" means a sensor or actuator fitted to an object. We will designate by "data" any quantity provided by a sensor or received by an actuator. This quantity can be digital or analog in nature (for example a voltage electric).

[0004] = The object is generally equipped with a gateway of an electronic or in- computer, to which the control devices are electrically connected by through a first interface. The gateway also includes a second interface to communicate, directly or indirectly, with the server remote administration.

[0005] As an illustration of such a connected object, we know for example from the document W0O2017041145, locker cabinets consisting of individually com- control elements. Each locker can be equipped with a plurality of control elements, for example example an object presence sensor in the locker, an actuator locker door open / close, door open / close status sensor, etc.

[0006] The locker is also connected to an administration server. The locker instruction is equipped with a user interface allowing it to cause opening a locker, by presenting a previously assigned access code, in order to to access the inside of the locker to, for example, deposit / retrieve a parcel. The access code can be generated and assigned to the user via the server cabinet administration. To enable the routing of data in the network and the exploitation of this data, a network element holds a table which makes it possible to associate the physical locations of the control elements of the network with identifiers of the elements making up the object to which the control elements are respectively associated. As an example, and continuing the example of the locker, this routing table can associate a locker, designated by an arbitrary order number forming the identifier, with the control elements which equip this locker. These control elements can be designated by the port numbers on the first interface of the gateway to which they are respectively physically connected. Thus, by consulting this table, we can address data to an actuator of a chosen locker. Similarly, we can determine the original locker of data provided by a sensor. It should be noted that the number of control devices with which the object is equipped can be significant: in the case of the locker cabinet taken as an example, this number can reach a hundred or several hundred, in a cabinet configuration presenting around fifty lockers each equipped with a few control elements. To manage this large number, it may be desirable to configure the gateway in a modular form, from independent and interconnected units. This configuration also has the advantage of making this gateway scalable, for example if the locker cabinet needs to be fitted with a new column of lockers to increase its capacity. It also makes it easier to maintain the gateway, for example by exchanging a defective unit for another in the event of a breakdown. This modular nature must nevertheless be compatible with the need to keep the routing table up to date, despite the configuration, which may be changing, of the gateway. OBJECT OF THE INVENTION An aim of the invention is to propose a solution, at least partial, to this problem. More specifically, an aim of the invention is to propose a modular electronic gateway for a network formed by a remote administration server and a plurality of control devices with which an object has been equipped. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION In order to achieve this aim, the subject of the invention proposes an electronic gateway for a network comprising a remote administration server and a plurality of control devices with which an object has been equipped. According to the invention, the electronic gateway comprises: has a plurality of units formed of a main unit in communication with the remote server and at least one secondary unit electrically connected to at least some of the control devices, the units being respectively associated with unit identifiers assigned at gateway initialization electronics; b. a communication bus coupled to each of the plurality of units; © a power bus connecting the plurality of units in series, the bus power supply comprising a plurality of switches respectively arranged directly downstream of the secondary units, each switch being controllable by the unit located directly upstream to cut or restore power supply to downstream units; In addition, each unit is configured to, upon initialization, keep open the switch located directly downstream until a unit identifier has been assigned to it. According to other advantageous and non-limiting characteristics of the invention, taken alone or in any technically feasible combination: the control devices are respectively connected to the input / output ports of at least one secondary unit via electrical cables; the main unit is connected directly to a power supply, in upstream of any other unit of the gateway; the switches of the plurality of switches are of the "normally" type open " ; each unit of the plurality of units comprises an electrical network controller strictly connected to the communication bus; The main unit includes a communication interface for com- communicate with the remote server and a control device connected to the interface communication and network controller; the at least one secondary unit comprises an electrically connected connector to at least some of the control devices and a command device connected to the connector and the network controller. According to another aspect, the invention relates to a connected system comprising a remote administration server, a plurality of control devices with which an object has been equipped, and an electronic gateway as defined previously. Advantageously, the administration server includes a storage area in which a routing table resides. In one embodiment, the connected system further comprises an intermediate mixing device electrically arranged between the electronic gateway (3) and the control devices. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES Other characteristics and advantages of the invention will emerge from the detailed description of the invention which follows with reference to the appended figures in which: [Fig.1] [Fig.1] represents a connected system which forms the background of the present invention; [Fig.2] [Fig.2] schematically represents an electronic gateway conforming to one implementation mode; DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Connected system [Fig. 1] represents a connected system 1 which forms the context of the present invention. This system comprises an object 2, here a locker which will be used as an illustration in the remainder of this description. This illustration does not, however, limit in any way the use which can be made of an electronic gateway according to the invention, and the latter can thus find an application for any object equipped with control devices which one wishes to administer. The cabinet is composed of a plurality of lockers 2a, each locker being provided with a plurality of control devices. As presented in the introduction, these devices may correspond to a sensor for the presence of parcels in the locker, to a sensor for detecting the state of opening of the locker door, an actuator for opening this door. Naturally, depending on the nature of the object that one wishes to equip, any type of sensors and actuators could be provided. These control devices may be of an analog or digital nature. They are electrically connected to an electronic gateway 3, via a bundle of electrical cables 4, an electrical cable connecting, point to point, a control element to an input / output port of the gateway 3. The electronic gateway 3 is connected to a remote administration server 5, via a NET network which can be of any type, for example a wide area network of the WAN type (acronym for the English expression “Wide Area Network”) such as the Internet network or via a local area network of the LAN type (acronym for the English expression “Local Area Network”). The electronic gateway 3 can be connected directly to this NET network or via a local computing device with which it is associated. This local computing device can be the one operating the object 2, for example the device implementing the user interface 2c of the locker taken as an example. The electronic gateway allows data to circulate in the network formed control elements and administration server 5. This administration server 5 makes it possible to provide operating services for the object 2, these operating services being in the form of computer routines which can be called by an application program, specific to the connected object 2. The application program can run on the administration server 5 or on a separate server. In any case, the administration server has in a storage area all the data necessary for the implementation of these operating services. Thus, the administration server 5 can have, in its storage area, a representation of the elements making up the object 2. This representation can correspond to a table or a list of identifiers of the elements of the object. In the case of the locker cabinet taken as an example, an identifier can correspond to an arbitrary order number assigned to each locker, or to a “letter-number” combination making it possible to identify the positioning of a locker in the matrix organization of the lockers of the cabinet. The administration server 5 can also have, in its storage area, a status table of the elements of the object 2. In the example used, this table associates a locker identifier with the status data provided by the presence sensor (package present / package not present) and by the opening status detection sensor (door open / door closed). According to an important aspect, the administration server also holds, in its storage area, the routing table matching the physical location of a control device (by designating the physical communication port of the electronic gateway 3 to which it is connected) to an element identifier of the object, here a locker. The data available in the storage area of ​​the administration server 5 can be used by an application program running on the server itself, via the object's operating services. For example, a user wishing to deposit a parcel in the locker 2 can request the application program, via a web interface or a mobile phone. The application program identifies an empty locker, by consulting the status table held in the storage area of ​​the administration server 5, and provides the user with the locker identifier as well as a unique access code. The user then accesses the locker 2 and provides his unique access code on the interface 2c of this locker. This is sent to the administration server 5 which sends a message to open the locker on the network to the electronic gateway 3, the message designating the port to which the actuator for opening the door of the locker in question is connected. The gateway 3 decodes the message and activates the port designated in the message to implement the opening actuator. In one variant, the administration server 5 does not execute the application program. The latter is implemented by a separate server 6. This separate server 6 coordinates the relationship with the user, and calls the administration server 5 through an API-type computer interface which it accesses through the extended or local NET network. The API-type interface makes the operating services available to the separate server 6. As an illustration of such a service, the IT function reserve_locker(cabinet_id, user_id) returns a locker identifier available in a locker identified by the variable "cabinet_id" for a user identified by the variable "user_id". The API-type computer interface residing on the administration server 5 can also be configured to notify the application program running on the separate server 6 of the occurrence of events occurring at the level of the object 2, such as for example the entry of a unique access code on the interface 2c of the locker cabinet by a user or the unexpected detection of an open state of a locker door. Electronic gateway [Fig. 2] schematically represents an electronic gateway 3 in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. The electronic gateway 3 comprises a plurality of independent units 3M, 3S, thus giving it a modular character. Each unit may, for example, correspond to an electronic circuit arranged on a printed circuit board. The boards may be plugged into a basket provided with interconnections making the assembly functional. Thus, the units 3M, 3S are all connected to each other via a communication bus 7 to which they are all coupled. The communication bus 7 allows the circulation of data in the electronic gateway 3. For this purpose, each unit 3M, 3S comprises a network controller 8, electrically connected to the communication bus 7. Advantageously, the communication bus 7 is of the CAN type (for "controller area network" or "controller network" in French). This type of bus (standardized with the ISO 11898 standard) connects in series the units connected to it via a pair of cables allowing robust and rapid communication. Each unit can take possession of the bus to deposit data there, in the form of a message designating the destination unit. The data is propagated on the bus to be received by all the other units, at the level of their network controller, but only the destination unit decodes the message to exploit the data. But the CAN type communication bus 7 does not form an essential characteristic of the gateway 3, and other types of communication bus are also possible, for example one for connecting the units 3M, 3S by a wireless link, for example according to the ZigbeeTM protocol, To enable the operation of the electronic gateway 3 and the connected system 1, each unit 3M, 3S is designated on the bus by a unit identifier. This identifier is stored in a memory of a unit, for example the memory of a control device 10 or of the network controller 8 of this unit which will be presented in a following section of this description. This identifier is also used by the routing table stored on the administration server, because it contributes to defining the physical communication port of the electronic gateway 3 to which a control device is connected. A following section will detail how the unit identifiers of an electronic gateway 3 according to the invention are assigned. Continuing the description of [Fig.2], the plurality of units comprises a main unit 3M. Advantageously, this main unit 3M is unique. This main unit 3M comprises a communication interface 9 allowing it to send / receive data with the administration server 5. The nature of this communication interface 9 depends on the nature of the link connecting the electronic gateway 3 to the administration server 5. For example, if the gateway 3 is directly connected to a local computing device to access the NET network, the communication interface can be of the USB or BluetoothTM type. If, on the contrary, the gateway 3 is directly connected to this NET network, the communication interface can be of the Ethernet or Wifi type.It is possible to envisage that the communication interface implements a long-distance wireless communication protocol, 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G or even of the LORATM or SigfoxTM type. Very generally therefore, the communication interface 9 is formed of a circuit implementing any type of protocol to communicate with the remote administration server S and according to any suitable communication channel. The main unit 3M also comprises a control device 10 whose function is to implement the expected functionalities of this unit. Such a control unit 10 may correspond to a microcontroller, a microprocessor, an FPGA circuit. Whatever the nature of the circuit implementing this control unit 10, it also comprises memory means for storing data and computer programs allowing its operation. In the main unit 3M, the control device 10 is connected to the communication interface 9 and to the network controller 8. The control device 10 is in particular configured to place on the communication bus 7 at least some of the messages received on the communication interface 9 and to address on the communication interface communication 9, to the administration server 5, some of the messages circulating on the communication bus 7. Messages can therefore circulate in the gateway 3 and be exchanged with the administration server 5 via this main unit. In addition to the main unit, the plurality of units making up the electronic gateway 3 is formed of at least one secondary unit 3S. The secondary units 3S provide the connection with the control devices with which the object 2 is equipped. For this purpose, each secondary unit 3S comprises a connector 11 for receiving at least some of the cables of the cable harness 4 in order to connect to it electrically. The connector 11 is itself connected to inputs-outputs of a control device 10, which may be similar to that of the main unit 3M, so that each control device, electrically connected to a secondary unit 3S, can exchange data with the control device 10 of this unit 3S or be controlled by the control device 10 of this unit, via one of its inputs-outputs. To facilitate the wiring of the control devices to the connectors 11 of the secondary units 3S, an intermediate patching device may be provided. This device, which may be in the form of a printed circuit board and have a large number of connectors for receiving the cables coming from the control devices, for example all the cables of the cable harness 4. The connectors of the intermediate patching device are electrically connected to routing tracks, themselves connected to a plurality of ribbon cable connectors. Ribbon cables 12 may be arranged between the intermediate patching device and each of the connectors 11 of the secondary units 3S, which facilitates the connection of the control devices to the electronic gateway 3.The intermediate cross-connection device, electrically arranged between the electronic gateway 3 and the control devices, therefore makes it possible to organize the electrical connection between the control devices and the gateway 3, by adapting to the modular nature of the electronic gateway 3. This makes it possible in particular to easily replace a secondary unit 3S at the gateway, by simply disconnecting / reconnecting a ribbon cable 12. When the cross-connection device is used to only route electrical signals between the control devices and the secondary units 3S, it is then purely passive. But this is not systematically the case, and generally the cross-connection device can be equipped with active devices, i.e. electrically powered. Thus, certain control devices may require an operating voltage that differs from the voltage available on the electronic gateway 3 (typically powered between 3V and SV). This is particularly the case for certain actuators which may require, for example, a voltage of 12V. In this In this case, it is possible to place intermediate relays on the mixing device, these relays being operated by the signals produced by the secondary units to deliver a voltage of 12V to the chosen actuator for a determined period. The patching device can be designed to perfectly match, in terms of shape, number of connections to be perfectly adapted to the configuration of the object 2 that one wishes to administer. The patching device can be provided with an identification code (for example by fixing, in the patching device itself, to the ground and / or to a supply voltage a dedicated group of electrical wires of the ribbon cable 12) allowing the secondary unit to which it is connected to locate and identify it. Returning to the description of the electronic gateway 3 of [Fig. 2], this also comprises a power supply bus 12 connecting the plurality of units 3M, 3S in series. The power supply bus is provided upstream with a power supply 13, delivering a voltage typically between 3V and 5V, as mentioned previously. The power supply 13 may be integrated into the main unit 3M or be separate from this unit, but for reasons which will be made apparent in the remainder of this description, it is advantageous for the main unit 3M to be connected directly to this power supply 13, that is to say upstream of any other 3S unit of the gateway. The voltage supplied by the power supply bus 12 is distributed in the usual manner within each unit to the various circuits which compose it, network controller 8, communication interface 9, control device 10. According to an important aspect of the present description, the power supply bus 12 comprises a plurality of switches 12a arranged directly downstream of each secondary unit 3S. Each switch 12a can be controlled by the control device 10 of the unit 3M,3S directly upstream to cut off or restore the electrical supply to the secondary units 3S arranged further downstream. It is also possible to provide a switch 12a directly downstream of the main unit, as is also shown in [Fig. 2], although this switch 12a is not necessary for the proper functioning of the assembly. Advantageously, these switches 12a are of the “normally open” type, that is to say that in the absence of a command forcing their closure, the electrical voltage is not present downstream of this switch. They can also be of the “normally closed” type without affecting the proper functioning of the gateway 3. Initialization of the electronic gateway As already mentioned, the proper functioning of the electronic gateway 3 and the connected system 1 requires that each unit 3M, 3S be perfectly identified on the network. It is essential that a unit identifier remains fixed over time, in order to maintain the consistency of the routing table held by the administration server 5. A strategy for permanently assigning a fixed unit identifier to a 3M,3S unit (for example, an identifier stored in a non-volatile memory of this unit) is not compatible with the modular nature of the gateway 3. Indeed, replacing a 3M,3S unit would require the replacement unit to be programmed beforehand so that it has the same identifier as that of the replaced unit. This fixed unit identifier strategy therefore poses a significant logistical problem. A strategy to assign a unit identifier on the fly, for example when initializing a 3M,3S unit, is also not suitable, because this approach does not allow the consistency of the routing table held by the administration server 5 to be preserved, unless a complex process is implemented to update this table each time an identifier is assigned. This problem of unit identification and consistency of the routing table is solved within the framework of the present invention, by ensuring that, upon initialization of the electronic gateway 3, each unit 3M, 3S dynamically and systematically receives the same unit identifier. Initialization refers to the sequence of steps implemented by each of the units 3M, 3S (and more specifically by each of the control devices 10 of these units) when they are electrically powered up. It is well known that a control device 10 initiates the execution of an initialization program when it is powered up, this initialization program being stored in a non-volatile memory of the unit (which may be a non-volatile memory of the control device 10 itself). When this initialization program has finished executing, it initiates the execution of an operating program. The initialization program of each of the units 3S, 3M is configured to keep the switch 12a arranged directly downstream open until a unit identifier has been assigned to it. In other words, an initialization program of a unit 3M, 3S generates a command on the input-output of the control device connected to the switch 12a arranged directly downstream, to keep this switch 12a open while a unit identifier is obtained. In this way, the units 3M, 3S of the electronic gateway 3 are powered and initialized in cascade, according to their order along the power supply bus 12. A downstream unit 3S is not powered and initialized until the unit directly upstream 3M, 3S has been identified. More specifically, when the power supply 13 is activated to power up the power bus 12, the main unit 3M, arranged in the first position on this bus, initializes. The switches 12a arranged on the bus are all open, if although only the main unit 3M is powered and initializes. The execution of the initialization program of the main unit 3M is executed on the control device 10 of this unit 3M. This program is configured to assign to the main unit 3M a predefined main unit identifier, for example the number 1, this number being able to correspond to an initialization value of an identifier counter maintained on this main unit 3M, This predefined main unit identifier is of course also the one used by the routing table, so no consistency problem of this table is created at this stage. The main unit identifier can be communicated by the control unit 10 to the network controller 8 of the main unit 3M, so that the latter can actually take the messages intended for it from the communication bus 7. At the end of this step, the control unit 10 of the main unit 10 activates, via one of its inputs-outputs, the switch 12a is placed directly downstream, so as to enable the supply of the secondary unit 3S positioned directly further downstream on the power supply bus 12. The initialization program of the main unit 3M is then interrupted and the execution of the operating program begins. It will be noted that the main unit automatically assigns itself, upon initialization, a specific identifier (which must therefore not be assigned by another entity in the network), this step is carried out instantly. It is therefore not necessary to provide a switch 12a directly downstream of the main unit 3M, and in this case the main unit 3M and the secondary unit 3S positioned directly further downstream trigger their initialization simultaneously. Regardless of the precise instant at which the secondary unit 3S positioned directly further downstream is electrically powered and becomes active, the initialization program of this unit 3S is executed on its control device 10. The latter is configured to address a request to the main unit 3M (whose predefined identifier is perfectly known to each secondary unit 3S) in order to receive a unit identifier. The main unit 3M provides in response a unit identifier, for example from the identifier counter which is incremented with each request. Upon receipt of the unit identifier, the initialization program records the unit identifier in the network controller, and activates the switch 12a of the power supply bus 12 arranged directly downstream, in order to power and initiate the initialization of the next secondary unit 3S. The initialization and allocation of unit identifiers is therefore perfectly controlled, in cascade along the power bus 12, one unit after the other. Each unit 3M, 3S of the gateway 3 therefore systematically receives the same identifier during its initialization, which ensures that the consistency of the routing table is maintained. It is noted that the replacement of one unit by another naturally leads to the switching off of the 3S units located further downstream. After the replacement of the 3M,3S unit in question, the initialization sequence starts again from this 3M,3S unit and, in cascade, for all the following 3S units. The addition of an additional secondary unit 35 follows the same logic, the unit being assigned an identifier corresponding to its last rank in the chain of units 3M,3S. It should be noted, however, that in the case of an addition, it is of course necessary to update the routing table in order to create the link with the new control devices which have become accessible. It is not necessary for the assignment of the identifiers of the secondary units 3S to be carried out by the main unit 3M. It is thus possible for this assignment to be carried out by the administration server 5. In this case, the identifier counter can be stored and kept up to date by this server. The requests sent by the secondary units, at their initializations, aimed at obtaining an identifier and addressed to the main unit 3M, are received by this main unit 3M and transmitted to the administration server 5, in accordance with the transmission function of this unit 3M. Finally, the previous description relied on “normally open” type switches but could quite easily implement “normally closed” type 12a switches, by adjusting the initialization program running on each of the 3M,3S units. Operation of the electronic gateway 3. The operation of the electronic gateway 3, once fully initialized, follows naturally from the description which has just been given. To be completely complete, however, it is specified that each control device of the object 2 is associated with a physical communication port of the electronic gateway 3, this port being identified by the unit identifier and by the input-output of the control device 10 to which the control device is electrically connected. These control device - physical communication port of the electronic gateway 3 associations constitute the routing table held in the administration server 15. This table is created once and for all during the installation of the electronic gateway 3, and the initialization mechanism of this gateway 3 which has just been described ensures its consistency over time. In normal operation, the control devices 10 of each unit 3M, 3S each execute their operating program. The administration server sends messages to the gateway 3, for example to read the status of a sensor or to activate an actuator. The message uses the conversion table to identify the control device, sensor or actuator, in question and to include in the message the physical communication port of the control device. requested. The message is received at the communication interface 9 of the main unit 3M. This message is processed by the control unit 10 of this unit, in order to place it on the communication bus 7 and so that it can be retrieved by the network controller 8 of the secondary unit 3S concerned. The message is then directed to the control device 10 of this unit, which decodes it, for example, to read data on the input-output designated in the message or to apply an activation voltage to this input-output. When the message concerns the reading of the status of a sensor, the control unit 10 sends back a message including the value read to the main unit 3M, which forwards it to the administration server 15. An electronic gateway 3 according to the invention can comprise as many secondary units 3S as is useful, and in particular according to the number of control devices with which the object 2 is equipped. It is also easy to add or replace a secondary unit 3S to an existing gateway 3. Of course, the invention is not limited to the method of implementation described and variant embodiments can be made without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the claims.

Claims

Claims

1. Electronic gateway (3) for a network comprising a server remote administration (5) and a plurality of control devices with which an object (2) has been equipped, the electronic gateway (3) comprising: a. a plurality of units (3M,3S) formed of a main unit (3M) in communication with the remote server (5) and at at least one secondary unit (3S) electrically connected to at least some of the control devices, the units (3M,3S) being respectively associated with identifiers of unit assigned to the initialization of the electronic gateway 131; b. a communication bus (7) coupled to each unit (3M,3S) of the plurality of units; c. a power bus (12) connecting the plurality of units in series, the power bus (12) comprising a plurality of switches (12a) respectively arranged directly in downstream of the secondary units (3S), each switch being controllable by the unit (3S) located directly upstream to cut or restore power to the units (3M,3S) arranged downstream; each unit (3M,3S) being further configured to, upon initialization, keep open the switch (12a) located directly downstream as long as that a unit identifier has not been assigned to it.

2. Electronic gateway (3) according to the preceding claim in which the control devices are respectively connected to the ports input / output of at least one secondary unit (3S), by through electric cables.

3. Electronic gateway (3) according to one of the preceding claims in which the main unit (3M) is connected directly to a power supply- electrical supply (13), upstream of any other units (3S) of the gateway.

4. Electronic gateway (3) according to one of the preceding claims wherein the switches (12a) of the plurality of switches are “normally closed” type.

5. Electronic gateway (3) according to one of the preceding claims wherein each unit (3M, 3s) of the plurality of units comprises a network controller (8) electrically connected to the communication bus {.

6. Electronic gateway (3) according to the preceding claim in which the main unit (3M) includes a communication interface (9) to communicate with the remote server (5) and a device control (10) connected to the communication interface (9) and to the controller network (8).

7. Electronic gateway (3) according to claim 3 in which the at at least one secondary unit (3S) comprises an elec- strictly connected to at least some of the control devices and a control device (10) connected to the connector (11) and to the controller network (8).

8. Connected system comprising a remote administration server (5), a plurality of control devices with which an object (2) has been equipped, and an electronic gateway (3) according to one of the preceding claims previous.

9. Connected system according to the preceding claim in which the administration server (5) comprises a storage area in which resides a routing table.

10. Connected system according to one of the preceding claims further comprising an intermediate stirring device arranged electrically between the electronic gateway (3) and the devices of control.