Communication system, controller, server apparatus, and method

Abstract

To provide a communication system, a controller, a server apparatus, and a method capable of connecting an appropriate communication device.SOLUTION: A communication system includes a controller provided in an edge device, and a server apparatus connected via a network to a communication device connected to the controller. The server apparatus includes first receiving means for receiving first information unique to the controller and second information unique to the communication device, and determining means for determining whether the communication device can be connected to the controller based on the received first and second information. The controller includes second receiving means for receiving connection availability information including a determination result from the server apparatus via the communication device, and control means for rejecting connection of the communication device based on the received connection availability information.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE The present invention relates to a communication system, a controller, a server apparatus and a method. [Background technology]

[0002] In a technology known as IoT (Internet of Things), it is necessary to connect an edge device (edge ​​terminal) to a network. However, if this edge device does not have a communication function, the edge device can be connected to the network by connecting a controller (host controller) installed in the edge device to a communication device.

[0003] For this reason, there is a demand for a mechanism for connecting an appropriate communication device to a controller mounted on an edge device without requiring complicated setting work, for example. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Patent Publication No. 2022-191825 [Patent Document 2] Patent No. 7100916 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a communication system, a controller, a server apparatus, and a method capable of connecting an appropriate communication device. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] A communication system according to an embodiment includes a controller provided in an edge device, and a server device connected to a communication device connected to the controller via a network. The server device includes a first receiving means for receiving first information unique to the controller and second information unique to the communication device, and a determining means for determining whether the communication device can be connected to the controller based on the received first and second information. The controller includes a second receiving means for receiving connection availability information including the determination result from the server device via the communication device, and a control means for rejecting a connection of the communication device based on the received connection availability information. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0007] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a system configuration of a communication system according to an embodiment. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a functional configuration of a host controller. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a functional configuration of a communication device. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a functional configuration of a user terminal. [Diagram 5] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a functional configuration of a server device. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of a host controller. [Figure 7] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a specific aspect of a communication system. [Figure 8] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a specific example of a lighting fixture. [Figure 9] 4 is a sequence chart showing an example of a processing procedure of the communication system. [Figure 10] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a data structure of determination information. [Figure 11] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a data structure of connection information. [Figure 12] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing another example of the functional configuration of the communication device. [Figure 13] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing another example of the functional configuration of the host controller. [Figure 14] 11 is a sequence chart showing an example of a processing procedure of a communication system in a case where a pairing process is executed in advance between a communication device and a user terminal. [Figure 15] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a power supply jig. [Figure 16] 1A and 1B are diagrams for explaining the configuration of an edge device in which a power supply board separate from the host controller is provided. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0008] Hereinafter, an embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. 1 shows an example of a system configuration of a communication system according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the communication system 1 includes a host controller 10, a communication device 20, a user terminal 30, and a server device 40.

[0009] In this embodiment, it is assumed that an edge device is used in a technology called IoT, and the host controller 10 is mounted on the edge device and configured to control the operation of the edge device.

[0010] In this embodiment, the host controller 10 (or an edge device including the host controller 10) does not have a communication function for communicating with at least a server device (hereinafter referred to as an IoT server) for providing IoT services. In this case, a communication device 20 having a communication function for communicating with the IoT server can be connected to the host controller 10. By using such a communication device 20, the host controller 10 is connected to the IoT server via a predetermined network, and can realize the function of an edge device in the IoT described above.

[0011] The host controller 10 and the communication device 20 are connected via a connection interface provided in an edge device, such as a USB connector or a pin slot connector, and serial communication, such as I2C, URT, and SPI, or parallel communication, may be performed between the host controller 10 and the communication device 20.

[0012] The user terminal 30 is, for example, an electronic device used by a user, such as a smartphone, a tablet terminal, or a personal computer (PC), and has a function of communicating with the communication device 20. In addition, the user terminal 30 is connected to a server device 40 via a network 50 so as to be able to communicate with the server device 40.

[0013] In this embodiment, as described above, by connecting the host controller 10 and the communication device 20, an edge device equipped with the host controller 10 can be used in IoT. However, for example, in accordance with a request from the vendor of the host controller 10 or from the viewpoint of security, it may be desired to connect only an appropriate communication device 20 to the host controller 10. For this reason, the server device 40 in this embodiment has a function of determining whether or not the communication device 20 can be connected to the host controller 10 (i.e., the communication device 20 is appropriate for the host controller 10). Information including the result of such determination by the server device 40 (hereinafter referred to as connection availability information) is transmitted (provided) from the server device 40 to the host controller 10.

[0014] 1, wireless communication or wired communication may be performed between the communication device 20 and the user terminal 30. As the wireless communication, for example, communication based on Bluetooth (registered trademark) or Wifi (registered trademark) is assumed, and as the wired communication, for example, communication based on Ethernet (registered trademark) is assumed, but communication based on other standards may also be performed.

[0015] The network 50 connecting the user terminal 30 and the server device 40 may be a small-scale closed network such as a local area network (LAN), a wide-area closed network such as a wide area network (WAN), or an open network such as the Internet. The user terminal 30 performs communication based on, for example, Wifi and a mobile phone communication method (LTE or 5G, etc.) to connect to the network 50, but may be configured to perform communication based on other standards.

[0016] Fig. 2 shows an example of a functional configuration of the host controller 10 shown in Fig. 1. As shown in Fig. 2, the host controller 10 includes a power supply control unit 11, a communication processing unit 12, a device control unit 13, a unique information storage unit 14, an authentication processing unit 15, and a key information storage unit 16.

[0017] In this embodiment, when the communication device 20 is connected to the host controller 10 via the above-mentioned connection interface, the power supply control unit 11 supplies power to the communication device 20 in accordance with a predetermined electrical specification. The communication device 20 can operate by the power supply provided by the power supply control unit 11.

[0018] The communication processing unit 12 communicates with the communication device 20, which operates based on power supply by the power supply control unit 11 as described above, in accordance with a predetermined communication method.

[0019] As described above, the host controller 10 and the communication device 20 are connected via a connection interface such as a USB connector or a pin slot connector. The connection interface may be implemented as, for example, one connection interface that performs communication and power supply, or may be implemented as multiple connection interfaces that perform communication and power supply, respectively.

[0020] The device control unit 13 controls the power supply control unit 11 (the power supply function of the host controller 10) and the communication processing unit 12 (the communication function of the host controller 10). Specifically, the device control unit 13 can perform control such as switching between enabling and disabling the power supply function and the communication function.

[0021] The unique information storage unit 14 stores in advance information unique to the host controller 10 (hereinafter referred to as unique information of the host controller 10). The unique information of the host controller 10 includes, for example, the vendor name, model, and firmware version (the version of the firmware for controlling the host controller 10) of the host controller 10. The unique information of the host controller 10 may also include individual identification information such as a serial number. The unique information of the host controller 10 is read from the unique information storage unit 14 by the device control unit 13 and transmitted to the communication device 20 via the communication processing unit 12.

[0022] Here, the communication processing unit 12 receives the connection permission information transmitted from the server device 40 via the communication device 20 as described below. The connection permission information thus received from the server device 40 may be accompanied by an electronic signature (digital signature) generated in the server device 40. The authentication processing unit 15 executes a process of verifying such an electronic signature. The process of verifying the electronic signature is executed using key information (e.g., the public key of the server device 40) stored in the key information storage unit 16.

[0023] Fig. 3 shows an example of a functional configuration of the communication device 20 shown in Fig. 1. As shown in Fig. 3, the communication device 20 includes a power supply control unit 21, a first communication processing unit 22, a unique information storage unit 23, a device processing unit 24, and a second communication processing unit 25.

[0024] The power supply control unit 21 drives the communication device 20 by receiving power supplied from the host controller 10 (power supply control unit 11).

[0025] The first communication processing unit 22 communicates with the host controller 10 in accordance with a predetermined communication method. The first communication processing unit 22 receives unique information of the host controller 10 transmitted from the host controller 10.

[0026] The unique information storage unit 23 pre-stores information unique to the communication device 20 (hereinafter referred to as unique information of the communication device 20). The unique information of the communication device 20 includes, for example, the vendor name, model, and firmware version (version of firmware for controlling the communication device 20) of the communication device 20. Note that the unique information of the communication device 20 may include individual identification information such as a serial number and a Media Access Control (MAC) address.

[0027] The device processing unit 24 acquires the unique information of the host controller 10 received by the first communication processing unit 22, and outputs the acquired unique information to the second communication processing unit 25. The device processing unit 24 also reads the unique information of the communication device 20 from the unique information storage unit 23, and outputs the read unique information to the second communication processing unit 25. Furthermore, the device processing unit 24 executes processing according to an edge device in IoT (i.e., processing unique to the device).

[0028] The second communication processing unit 25 communicates with the user terminal 30 in accordance with a predetermined communication method. The second communication processing unit 25 transmits the unique information of the host controller 10 and the communication device 20 output from the device processing unit 24 as described above to the user terminal 30. The second communication processing unit 25 also receives connection availability information transmitted from the server device 40 via the user terminal 30. The connection availability information received by the second communication processing unit 25 in this manner is transmitted to the host controller 10 by the first communication processing unit 22.

[0029] Fig. 4 shows an example of a functional configuration of the user terminal 30 shown in Fig. 1. As shown in Fig. 4, the user terminal 30 includes a first communication processing unit 31, a second communication processing unit 32, and an initial setting processing unit 33.

[0030] The first communication processing unit 31 communicates with the communication device 20 in accordance with a predetermined communication method. The second communication processing unit 32 communicates with the server device 40 via the network 50.

[0031] The first communication processing unit 31 receives the unique information of the host controller 10 and the communication device 20 transmitted from the communication device 20. The initial setting processing unit 33 acquires the unique information of the host controller 10 and the communication device 20 thus received by the first communication processing unit 31, and transmits the acquired unique information to the server apparatus 40 via the second communication processing unit 32.

[0032] Furthermore, the second communication processing unit 32 receives the connection availability information transmitted from the server device 40. The initial setting processing unit 33 acquires the connection availability information thus received by the second communication processing unit 32, and transmits the acquired connection availability information to the communication device 20 via the first communication processing unit 31.

[0033] The initial setting processing unit 33 executes a first setting process for the first communication processing unit 31 for communicating with the communication device 20 and a second setting process for the second communication processing unit 32 for communicating with the server device 40 .

[0034] As the first setting process, the initial setting processing unit 33 executes a process (hereinafter, referred to as a pairing process) for pairing the communication device 20 and the user terminal 30. Generally, registering devices in Bluetooth is often referred to as pairing, but in this embodiment, pairing refers to realizing a state in which two devices can communicate with each other by recognizing each other's communication addresses and authenticating each other.

[0035] Moreover, as a second setting process, the initial setting processing unit 33 executes an authentication process such as accepting input of a user ID and a password by a user who uses the user terminal 30. The initial setting processing unit 33 may also execute other advance setting processes related to security and the like.

[0036] Fig. 5 shows an example of a functional configuration of the server device 40 shown in Fig. 1. As shown in Fig. 5, the server device 40 includes a communication processing unit 41, a determination unit 42, a key information storage unit 43, and a determination information storage unit 44.

[0037] The communication processing unit 41 communicates with the user terminal 30 via the network 50. The communication processing unit 41 receives unique information of the host controller 10 and the communication device 20 transmitted from the user terminal 30.

[0038] The determination unit 42 acquires the unique information of the host controller 10 and the communications device 20 received by the communications processing unit 41, and determines whether or not the communications device 20 can be connected to the host controller 10 based on the acquired unique information. The determination process by the determination unit 42 is performed using determination information stored in the determination information storage unit 43. The details of the determination information stored in the determination information storage unit 43 will be described later.

[0039] The determination unit 42 generates an electronic signature (digital signature) to be attached to the connection permission information including the determination result by the determination unit 42. The electronic signature is generated using key information stored in the key information storage unit 44 (for example, the private key of the server device 40).

[0040] The connection permission information to which the digital signature generated as described above is attached is transmitted to the user terminal 30 by the communication processing unit 41.

[0041] Fig. 6 shows an example of a hardware configuration of the above-mentioned host controller 10. As shown in Fig. 6, the host controller 10 includes a processor 10a, a non-volatile memory 10b, a main memory 10c, a communication interface (I / F) 10d, a power supply interface (I / F), and the like.

[0042] The processor 10a is configured to control the operation of each component in the host controller 10, and may be, for example, a CPU. The processor 10a may be a single processor or may be composed of multiple processors. The processor 10a executes various programs loaded from the non-volatile memory 10b to the main memory 10c. The communication interface 10d is, for example, an interface that realizes communication with the communication device 20. The power supply interface 10e is, for example, an interface that realizes power supply to the communication device 20.

[0043] In this embodiment, some or all of the power supply control unit 11, the communication processing unit 12, the device control unit 13, and the authentication processing unit 15 shown in FIG. 2 may be realized by causing the processor 10a shown in FIG. 6 to execute a predetermined program (i.e., software), or may be realized by hardware such as an IC (Integrated Circuit), or may be realized by a configuration that combines software and hardware.

[0044] In this embodiment, the unique information storage unit 14 and the key information storage unit 16 shown in FIG. 2 are realized by a non-volatile memory 10b shown in FIG.

[0045] Although the hardware configuration of the host controller 10 has been described above, it is assumed that the communication device 20, the user terminal 30 and the server device 40 also have roughly the same hardware configuration.

[0046] In this case, some or all of the power supply control unit 21, the first communication processing unit 22, the device processing unit 24, and the second communication processing unit 25 shown in Fig. 3 may be realized by causing a processor (CPU) included in the communication device 20 to execute a predetermined program, or may be realized by hardware, or may be realized by a configuration combining software and hardware. The unique information storage unit 23 shown in Fig. 3 is realized by a non-volatile memory included in the communication device 20.

[0047] In addition, some or all of the first communication processing unit 31, the second communication processing unit 32, and the initial setting processing unit 33 shown in Figure 4 may be realized by having a processor (CPU) provided in the user terminal 30 execute a predetermined program (application program), or may be realized by hardware, or may be realized by a configuration that combines software and hardware.

[0048] 5 may be realized by causing a processor (CPU) included in the server device 40 to execute a predetermined program (application program), or may be realized by hardware, or may be realized by a combination of software and hardware. The key information storage unit 43 and the determination information storage unit 44 shown in FIG. 5 are realized by a non-volatile memory included in the server device 40.

[0049] FIG. 7 shows an example of a specific aspect of the communication system 1 shown in FIG.

[0050] In the example shown in FIG. 7, it is assumed that the edge device equipped with the host controller 10 is a lighting fixture, the communication device 20 is a wireless LAN interface, the user terminal 30 is a smartphone, and the server device 40 is a cloud server that provides cloud computing services.

[0051] According to such communication system 1, for example, it becomes possible to permit or deny the connection between a lighting fixture and the wireless LAN interface by determining in the cloud server whether the connection between the lighting fixture and the wireless LAN interface is possible. If the connection between the lighting fixture and the wireless LAN interface is permitted, it is possible to realize an IoT service that collects sensor data related to the lighting fixture measured by various sensors or operates the lighting fixture remotely.

[0052] 8 shows a specific example of the above-mentioned lighting fixture (edge ​​device). In the example shown in Fig. 8, lighting fixture 100 includes lighting fixture body 101 and LED (bar) 102.

[0053] Although not shown in Fig. 8, a host interface 10 is built into the lighting fixture body 101, and the host interface 10 is connected to a communication device 20 (wireless LAN interface). The lighting fixture body 101 (host interface 10) is connected to, for example, a commercial power source, and can supply power to the communication device 20 connected to the host interface 10.

[0054] Power is supplied to the LED 102 from the lighting fixture body 101. For example, the communication device 20 has an actuator built therein for driving the LED 102, and the actuator is connected to the LED 102 via a dimming I / F. With this, for example, the actuator can be controlled based on a control signal received by the communication device 20 to dim the LED 102.

[0055] Hereinafter, an example of a processing procedure of the communication system 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to the sequence chart of FIG.

[0056] First, it is assumed that the host controller 10 (or an edge device equipped with the host controller 10) and the communication device 20 are connected via a connection interface (step S1).

[0057] When the process of step S1 is executed, the host controller 10 recognizes the connection of the communications device 20, and the device control unit 13 included in the host controller 10 instructs the power supply control unit 11 to supply power to the communications device 20. As a result, the power supply control unit 11 starts supplying power to the communications device 20 (step S2).

[0058] When the process of step S2 is executed, power is supplied from the host controller 10 to the communications device 20, and the power supply control unit 21 included in the communications device 20 receives the power supply and drives the communications device 20. As a result, the communications device 20 starts operating.

[0059] In this case, the device control unit 13 included in the host controller 10 instructs the communication processing unit 12 to perform data communication with the communication device 20. This enables communication between the host controller 10 and the communication device 20.

[0060] Here, when the communication device 20 starts operating as described above, the initial setting processing unit 33 included in the user terminal 30 executes a pairing process as a first setting process for the first communication processing unit 31 for communicating with the communication device 20 (step S3). Note that information related to pairing (e.g., information about a partner with whom pairing has been completed) is held inside the communication device 20 and the user terminal 30, but the pairing process is executed when it is recognized that pairing between the communication device 20 and the user terminal 30 has not been completed based on the information related to pairing.

[0061] Specifically, for example, when the communication device 20 in an initialized state starts operating (i.e., power is supplied to the communication device 20), the communication device 20 enters a state of waiting for pairing. An initial setting processing unit 33 included in the user terminal 30 executes pairing processing according to the communication method with the communication device 20. For example, when the communication method is Bluetooth, the communication device 20 is displayed as a pairable device on a GUI (Graphical User Interface) prepared in the user terminal 30, and the pairing processing is executed when the user selects the displayed communication device 20 by a predetermined operation. Also, when the communication method is Wifi, the communication device 20 operates as a Wifi access point, and the pairing processing is executed when a predetermined SSID and password are input to the user terminal 30 (i.e., the user terminal 30 enters a state in which it can be connected to the Wifi network of the communication device 20).

[0062] When the above-mentioned pairing is completed (successful), information on the user terminal 30 with which pairing with the communication device 20 is completed is stored inside the communication device 20, and information on the communication device 20 with which pairing with the user terminal 30 is completed is stored inside the user terminal 30. This enables the user terminal 30 to communicate with the communication device 20.

[0063] It should be noted that the communication device 20 and the user terminal 30 may be connected by wire, and in such a case, the explicit pairing process may be omitted.

[0064] Incidentally, for example, when the user terminal 30 executes communication with the communication device 20 based on Bluetooth, the user terminal 30 needs to be within a range in which it can communicate with the communication device 20. In other words, if the user terminal 30 is not within a range in which it can communicate with the communication device 20, pairing cannot be completed (pairing fails).

[0065] If pairing cannot be completed, the host controller 10 does not receive connection availability information via the communication device 20, and therefore there is no need to continue power supply from the host controller 10 to the communication device 20. For this reason, for example, when connection availability information is not received from the server device 40, power supply from the host controller 10 to the communication device 20 may be stopped. In this case, the power supply control unit 11 included in the host controller 10 may stop power supply when, for example, connection availability information is not received until a certain period of time has elapsed after starting power supply to the communication device 20. Specifically, for example, expiration date information indicating an expiration date calculated by adding the above-mentioned certain period to the date and time when the host controller 10 and the communication device 20 are connected may be set, and power supply may be stopped when the expiration date expires.

[0066] On the other hand, a communication error may occur due to the communication environment between the communication device 20 and the user terminal 30, and pairing may not be completed. However, when a communication error occurs temporarily, if the communication error is resolved, pairing may be completed by executing the pairing process again. In such a case, if power supply to the communication device 20 is stopped, the communication device 20 cannot operate and cannot execute the pairing process. Therefore, even if power supply to the communication device 20 is stopped because connection availability information is not received before a certain period of time has passed as described above, the power supply control unit 11 included in the host controller 10 may resume the power supply when a further certain period of time has passed since the power supply was stopped. Note that the resumption of power supply to the communication device 20 may be realized by a manual operation on the host controller 10. In addition, for example, power supply to the communication device 20 may be temporarily performed by pressing a button provided on the host controller 10 for a certain period of time.

[0067] When the process of step S3 is executed, the initial setting processing unit 33 included in the user terminal 30 requests unique information from the communication device 20 via the first communication processing unit 31 (step S4). Note that the process of step S4 may be executed automatically after the process of step S3 is executed, or may be executed in response to a user operation on the user terminal 30.

[0068] The device processing unit 24 included in the communications device 20 accepts a request from the user terminal 30 via the second communications processing unit 25, and requests unique information from the host controller 10 via the first communications processing unit 22 (step S5).

[0069] The device control unit 13 included in the host controller 10 receives a request from the communications device 20 via the communications processing unit 12. The device control unit 13 reads out the unique information of the host controller 10 from the unique information storage unit 14 based on the received request.

[0070] The unique information of the host controller 10 (or a response message including the unique information) read from the unique information storage unit 14 is transmitted to the communications device 20 via the communications processing unit 12 (step S6). The unique information of the host controller 10 transmitted in step S6 is received by the first communications processing unit 22 included in the communications device 20.

[0071] Furthermore, the device processing unit 24 included in the communications device 20 reads out the unique information of the communications device 20 from the unique information storage unit 23 based on a request from the user terminal 30 accepted via the second communication processing unit 25 as described above.

[0072] As described above, the unique information of the host controller 10 received by the first communication processing unit 22 and the unique information of the communication device 20 read from the unique information storage unit 23 (a response message including the unique information) are transmitted to the user terminal 30 via the second communication processing unit 25 (step S7). The unique information of the host controller 10 and the communication device 20 transmitted in this manner in step S7 is received by the first communication processing unit 31 included in the user terminal 30.

[0073] Here, assuming that the edge device is a lighting fixture as described above, there may be a plurality of lighting fixtures installed on a ceiling or the like, and for example, there is a possibility that the communication device 20 may be mistakenly connected to a lighting fixture different from the lighting fixture intended by the user. In this case, the unique information received by the user terminal 30 (first communication processing unit 31) may not be the one intended by the user. Furthermore, when wireless communication is performed between the communication device 20 and the user terminal 30, it cannot be denied that the user terminal 30 (first communication processing unit 31) may receive unique information prepared by a malicious third party.

[0074] Therefore, when the unique information of the host controller 10 and the communication device 20 is received by the user terminal 30 as described above, the unique information may be displayed on a display provided in the user terminal 30 to prompt the user to confirm the validity of the unique information. Furthermore, for example, a one-dimensional code (barcode) or two-dimensional code (QR code (registered trademark)) affixed to the main body (housing) of the host controller 10 (or the edge device mounting the host controller 10) and the communication device 20 may be read using a camera mounted on the user terminal 30 to obtain the unique information encoded in the code, and the obtained unique information may be compared (collated) with the received unique information to verify (confirm) the validity of the unique information.

[0075] Next, the second communication processing unit 32 included in the user terminal 30 transmits the unique information of the host controller 10 and the communication device 20 received by the first communication processing unit 31 to the server device 40 via the network 50 (step S8). It is assumed that the second setting process for the second communication processing unit 32 for the user terminal 30 to communicate with the server device 40 has already been completed at the time when the process of step S8 is executed. In addition, in step S8, information other than the unique information of the host controller 10 and the communication device 20 described above (for example, the location where the host controller 10 and the communication device 20 are installed, information on the user who uses the host controller 10 and the communication device, etc.) may be further transmitted.

[0076] When the process of step S8 is executed, the communication processing unit 41 included in the server device 40 receives the unique information of the host controller 10 and the communication device 20 transmitted in step S8.

[0077] The judgment unit 42 included in the server device 40 executes a process (hereinafter referred to as a connection feasibility judgment process) to judge whether the communication device 20 can be connected to the host controller 10 (i.e., whether continuous power supply from the host controller 10 to the communication device 20 and data communication between the host controller 10 and the communication device 20 are permitted) based on the unique information of the host controller 10 and the communication device 20 received by the communication processing unit 41 and the judgment information stored in the judgment information storage unit 44 (step S9).

[0078] Here, Fig. 10 shows an example of a data structure of the determination information stored in the determination information storage unit 44. As shown in Fig. 10, the determination information includes a vendor name, a model, a firmware version, and host controller information in association with each other.

[0079] The vendor name indicates the vendor name (vendor name) of the communications device 20. The model indicates the model of the communications device 20. The firmware version indicates the firmware version of the communications device 20 (the version of the firmware for controlling the communications device 20). Note that the vendor name, model, and firmware version are information acquired from unique information of the communications device 20 (i.e., information unique to the communications device 20), and can be said to be information for identifying the communications device 20 connected to the host controller 10.

[0080] The host controller information corresponds to the conditions of a host controller that can be interconnected with the communication device 20 specified by the above-mentioned vendor name, model, and firmware version, and is expressed, for example, by the vendor name, model, and firmware version of the host controller 10 (i.e., the version of the firmware for controlling the host controller 10). Note that the vendor name, model, and firmware version of the host controller 10 are obtained from the unique information of the host controller 10.

[0081] 10 shows, for example, determination information including a vendor name "A", a model number "A1", a firmware version "1.2 or higher", and host controller information "vendor X" in association with each other. Such determination information shows that a communications device 20 with a vendor name of "A", a model number "A1", and a firmware version "1.2 or higher" can be connected to a host controller 10 with a vendor name of "X".

[0082] 10 shows, for example, determination information including a vendor name "A", a model number "A2", a firmware version "2.0 or higher", and host controller information "Vendor X, Vendor Y" in association with each other. This determination information shows that a communications device 20 with a vendor name of "A", a model number of "A2", and a firmware version of "2.0 or higher" can be connected to a host controller 10 with a vendor name of "X" or "Y".

[0083] 10 shows, for example, determination information including a vendor name "A", a model number "A3", a firmware version "1.0 or higher", and host controller information "Vendor X, Vendor Y" in association with each other. This determination information shows that a communications device 20 with a vendor name of "A", a model number of "A3", and a firmware version of "1.0 or higher" can be connected to a host controller 10 with a vendor name of "X" or "Y".

[0084] 10 shows, for example, determination information including a vendor name "B", a model number "B1", a firmware version "5.0 or higher", and host controller information "vendor Y model number y" in association with each other. This determination information shows that a communications device 20 with a vendor name of "B", a model number "B1", and a firmware version "5.0 or higher" can be connected to a host controller 10 with a vendor name of "Y" and a model number "y".

[0085] 10 shows, for example, determination information including a vendor name "B", a model number "B2", a firmware version "5.0 or higher", and host controller information "vendor Y model number y" in association with each other. This determination information shows that a communications device 20 with a vendor name of "B", a model number "B2", and a firmware version of "5.0 or higher" can be connected to a host controller 10 with a vendor name of "Y" and a model number "y".

[0086] 10 shows, for example, determination information including a vendor name "C", a model number "C1", a firmware version "any", and host controller information "vendor X's model number x, firmware version 1.0 or higher" in association with each other. This determination information shows that a communications device 20 with a vendor name of "C" and a model number of "C1" can be connected to a host controller 10 with a vendor name of "X", a model number of "x", and a firmware version of "1.0 or higher". The firmware version "any" indicates that the firmware version is not specified (any version is acceptable).

[0087] According to the above-mentioned determination information, it is possible to determine whether various communication devices 20 can be connected to the host controller 10 or not.

[0088] The connection possibility determination process executed using the above-mentioned determination information will be briefly described below. First, the determination unit 42 acquires the vendor name, model, and firmware version of the communication device 20 from the unique information of the communication device 20 received by the communication processing unit 41, and compares the host controller information (i.e., the conditions of a connectable host controller) included in the determination information in association with the acquired vendor name, model, and firmware version with the unique information of the host controller 10 received by the communication processing unit 41. In this case, the determination unit 42 determines that the communication device 20 can be connected to the host controller 10 when the unique information of the host controller 10 matches the host controller information (i.e., satisfies the conditions of a connectable host controller).

[0089] Specifically, in the example shown in FIG. 10, for example, if the vendor name “A”, model number “A1” and firmware version “1.2 or higher” are obtained from the unique information of the communications device 20, and if the vendor name included in the unique information of the host controller 10 is “X”, it is determined that the communications device 20 can be connected to the host controller 10.

[0090] On the other hand, if the unique information of the host controller 10 does not match the host controller information included in the judgment information in correspondence with the vendor name, model, and firmware version obtained from the unique information of the communications device 20 (i.e., does not satisfy the conditions for a connectable host controller), the judgment unit 42 judges that the communications device 20 cannot be connected to the host controller 10.

[0091] That is, the determination information in this embodiment can be said to be information indicating a combination of the host controller 10 and the communications device 20 that are interoperable (that is, the communications device 20 that is a valid device with respect to the host controller 10).

[0092] Although the data structure of the determination information has been described here using Fig. 10, the data structure of the determination information may be different from that of Fig. 10. Also, the server device 40 in this embodiment may be configured to determine whether or not the communications device 20 can be connected to the host controller 10 based on unique information of the host controller 10 and the communications device 20, and the above-mentioned connection feasibility determination process may be a process other than that described here.

[0093] When the process of step S9 is executed, the determination unit 42 reads out the private key of the server device 40 (the private key for the server device 40 generated based on a public key cryptosystem) from the key information storage unit 43, for example, and uses the private key of the server device 40 to generate a digital signature to be attached to the connection propriety information including the process result of step S9 (i.e., the determination result in the connection propriety determination process) (step S10). Note that the digital signature is generated by, for example, encrypting the hash value of the connection propriety information calculated by the determination unit 42 using the private key of the server device 40.

[0094] When the process of step S10 is executed, the communication processing unit 41 transmits the connection permission information to which the digital signature generated in step S10 is attached to the connection permission information to the user terminal 30 (step S11).

[0095] The connection availability information transmitted in step S11 is received by the second communication processing unit 32 included in the user terminal 30, and transmitted (transferred) to the communications device 20 by the first communication processing unit 31 (step S12).

[0096] Similarly, the connection availability information transmitted in step S12 is received by the second communication processing unit 25 included in the communications device 20, and transmitted (transferred) to the host controller 10 by the first communication processing unit 22 (step S13).

[0097] The connection propriety information transmitted in step S13 is received by the communication processing unit 12 included in the host controller 10. The authentication processing unit 15 verifies the electronic signature attached to the connection propriety information received by the communication processing unit 12 (step S14).

[0098] Here, it is assumed that the electronic signature attached to the connection propriety information is generated by encrypting the hash value of the connection propriety information with the private key of the server device 40 as described above. In this case, a public key (the public key of the server device 40) that pairs with the private key of the server device 40 is stored in advance in the key information storage unit 16 included in the host controller 10. In step S14, for example, a hash value of the connection propriety information received by the communication processing unit 12 is calculated, and the calculated hash value is compared with a result of encrypting the electronic signature attached to the connection propriety information with the public key of the server device 40.

[0099] If the hash value of the connection availability information matches the hash value obtained from the electronic signature in step S14 (i.e., verification of the electronic signature is successful), the device control unit 13 processes the contents of the determination result included in the connection availability information and controls the power supply from the host controller 10 to the communications device 20 (step S15).

[0100] Specifically, when the connection permission information includes a determination result that the communications device 20 can be connected to the host controller 10, the device control unit 13 instructs the power supply control unit 11 to continue supplying power to the communications device 20 in order to permit connection with the communications device 20. As a result, the power supply control unit 11 continues supplying power to the communications device 20, and communication between the host controller 10 and the communications device 20 is maintained.

[0101] On the other hand, when the connection availability information includes a determination result that the communications device 20 cannot be connected to the host controller 10, the device control unit 13 instructs the power supply control unit 11 to stop power supply to the communications device 20 in order to refuse connection with the communications device 20. As a result, the power supply control unit 11 stops power supply to the communications device 20, and communication between the host controller 10 and the communications device 20 is disconnected (interrupted).

[0102] The connection propriety information may include, for example, expiration date information indicating an expiration date of the connection propriety information. According to this, when, for example, the expiration date indicated by the expiration date information included in the connection propriety information has expired, the device control unit 13 discards the connection propriety information and instructs the power supply control unit 11 to stop power supply from the host controller 10 to the communications device 20. This expiration date information (the expiration date indicated by the expiration date information) is specified (set) by, for example, the server device 40.

[0103] Furthermore, even if the power supply to the communication device 20 by the power supply control unit 11 is stopped as described above, the power supply may be temporarily resumed after a certain period of time, thereby causing the server device 40 to execute the connection feasibility determination process again.

[0104] In addition, if the hash value of the connection availability information does not match the hash value obtained from the electronic signature in step S14 described above (i.e., verification of the electronic signature fails), the device control unit 13 discards the connection availability information and instructs the power supply control unit 11 to, for example, stop supplying power to the communication device 20.

[0105] Although omitted in Fig. 9, the verification of the electronic signature attached to the connection propriety information (the processing of step S14) may be performed, for example, in the communications device 20. In order to perform the verification of the electronic signature in the communications device 20, it is only necessary that the public key of the server apparatus 40 is held in advance in the communications device 20. When the electronic signature attached to the connection propriety information is verified in the communications device 20 as described above, if the verification is successful, the processing of step S13 and subsequent steps is executed, and if the verification is unsuccessful, the connection propriety information is discarded and the processing shown in Fig. 9 is terminated.

[0106] Furthermore, although the electronic signature is attached to the connection availability information in FIG. 9, the electronic signature may be attached to the unique information of the host controller 10. The electronic signature attached to the unique information of the host controller 10 may be generated in the host controller 10 using the private key of the host controller 10 stored in advance in the key information storage unit 16 included in the host controller 10, for example. In this case, the public key of the host controller 10 is stored in advance in the key information storage unit 43 included in the server device 40, and the electronic signature attached to the unique information of the host controller 10 is verified using the public key of the host controller 10 before the processing of step S9 is executed. According to the configuration in which the electronic signature attached to the unique information of the host controller 10 is verified in the server device 40 in this way, if the verification is successful, the processing of step S9 and subsequent steps is executed, and if the verification is unsuccessful, the unique information is discarded and the processing shown in FIG. 9 is terminated.

[0107] Similarly, an electronic signature may be attached to the unique information of the communication device 20. The electronic signature attached to the unique information of the communication device 20 may be generated in the communication device 20 using a private key of the communication device 20 that is held in advance in the communication device 20. In this case, the public key of the communication device 20 is stored in advance in the key information storage unit 43 included in the server device 40, and the electronic signature attached to the unique information of the communication device 20 is verified using the public key of the communication device 20 before the processing of step S9 is executed. According to the configuration in which the electronic signature attached to the unique information of the communication device 20 is verified in the server device 40 in this way, if the verification is successful, the processing of step S9 and subsequent steps is executed, and if the verification is unsuccessful, the unique information is discarded and the processing shown in FIG. 9 is terminated.

[0108] In the above description, the connection permission information and the unique information are provided with a digital signature, but in this embodiment, the digital signature (and verification of the digital signature) may be omitted. Furthermore, although a detailed description is omitted, in the communication performed in this embodiment (for example, the communication between the communication device 20 and the user terminal 30 or the communication between the user terminal 30 and the server device 40), authentication processing other than the above may be performed, and processing such as encryption and decryption of communication data may be performed.

[0109] Meanwhile, when communication between the host controller 10 and the communication device 20 is maintained by executing the process shown in FIG. 9 (i.e., the connection between the host controller 10 and the communication device 20 is permitted), the server device 40 may manage information indicating that the connection has been permitted (hereinafter referred to as connection information).

[0110] An example of the data structure of the connection information is shown in Fig. 11. As shown in Fig. 11, the connection information includes a customer ID, a host controller ID, a communication device ID, a connection confirmation date and time, and a registered user ID, which are associated with each other.

[0111] The customer ID is identification information for identifying a customer who manages an edge device (the site where the edge device is installed). The host controller ID is identification information for identifying a host controller 10 mounted on an edge device managed by a customer identified by the customer ID. The communication device ID is identification information for identifying a communication device 20 that is permitted to communicate with the host controller 10 identified by the host controller ID. The connection confirmation date and time is the date and time when the connection between the host controller 10 identified by the host controller ID and the communication device 20 identified by the communication device ID was permitted (confirmed). The registered user ID is identification information for identifying a user who was using the user terminal 30 when the connection between the host controller 10 and the communication device 20 identified by the communication device ID was permitted (i.e., the process of FIG. 9 described above was executed).

[0112] Although a detailed description will be omitted, the above-mentioned connection information makes it possible to manage the connection between the host controller 10 mounted on the edge device installed at each customer's site and the communication device 20. In addition, the connection information can be used as information for managing the locations where the host controller 10 and the communication device 20 are installed (installation location management information), for example.

[0113] If a customer has (manages) multiple sites, the connection information may further include information for identifying the site (such as a site ID). The connection information may further include unique information of the host controller 10 and the communication device 20 (such as model and firmware version). The connection information may further include, for example, information to be set in the communication device 20.

[0114] Further, although the connection information has been described here as information indicating that the connection between the host controller 10 and the communication device 20 is permitted, the connection information may also include information indicating that the connection between the host controller 10 and the communication device 20 is denied.

[0115] Incidentally, when the process shown in FIG. 9 is executed to permit connection between the host controller 10 and the communication device 20 and to continuously supply power from the host controller 10 to the communication device 20, the edge device equipped with the host controller 10 becomes able to use the communication function of the communication device 20, and the device processing unit 24 included in the communication device 20 becomes able to execute processing appropriate for the edge device in the IoT.

[0116] 12, the communications device 20 further includes a third communications processing unit 26 that communicates with, for example, an IoT server (a server device for providing IoT services), and a sensor / actuator 27. Note that while FIG. 12 mainly illustrates the functional configuration of the communications device 20, the sensor / actuator 27 corresponds to a part of the hardware configuration of the communications device 20.

[0117] In such a configuration, for example, when the communication device 20 includes a sensor 27, the device processing unit 24 can execute a process of periodically transmitting sensor data measured by the sensor 27 to the IoT server via, for example, the third communication processing unit 26. Note that the sensor data may be transmitted via, for example, the second communication processing unit 25.

[0118] Furthermore, for example, when the communication device 20 includes an actuator 27, the device processing unit 24 can receive a control signal transmitted from an IoT server via, for example, the third communication processing unit 26, and execute a process of controlling the actuator 27 based on the control signal. Note that the control signal may be a control signal for controlling a sensor 27 included in the communication device 20. The control signal may also be received via, for example, the second communication processing unit 25.

[0119] For example, if the edge device is a lighting fixture and the communication device 20 is equipped with an illuminance sensor and an actuator that drives an LED, according to the processing executed by the device processing unit 24 described above, the illuminance (sensor data) measured by the illuminance sensor can be transmitted to an IoT server to monitor malfunctions of the lighting fixture, and the actuator can be controlled based on a control signal transmitted from the IoT server to remotely dim the lighting fixture (LED).

[0120] Here, the edge device is described as a lighting fixture, and the sensor / actuator 27 is an actuator that drives an illuminance sensor and an LED (lighting), but the edge device may be something other than a lighting fixture. Also, the sensor 27 may be, for example, a temperature sensor, a humidity sensor, a carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration sensor, an image sensor (camera), etc., and the actuator 27 may be an actuator that drives a speaker, a camera, a robot arm, etc.

[0121] Further, although a case where the sensor / actuator is provided in the communication device 20 has been described here, the host controller 10 (edge ​​device) may also include the sensor / actuator 17 as shown in Fig. 13. Even in the case of such a configuration, it is possible to transmit sensor data measured by the sensor 17 from the communication device 20 to an IoT server, and it is possible to control the actuator (or sensor) 17 from the communication device 20 (IoT server). Note that while Fig. 13 is a diagram mainly showing the functional configuration of the host controller 10, the sensor / actuator 17 corresponds to a part of the hardware configuration of the host controller 10.

[0122] In addition, when the connection between the host controller 10 and the communication device 20 is permitted as described above, the user terminal 30 may provide the communication device 20 with setting information of a communication processing unit (e.g., the third communication processing unit 26, etc.). This setting information includes, for example, identification information (identifier) ​​to be set in the third communication processing unit 26 to communicate with the above-mentioned IoT server, identification information of a network to which the communication device 20 is connected or a network configured by the communication device 20, etc. In addition, when the communication device 20 and the IoT server perform wireless communication, the above-mentioned setting information may include information such as a radio frequency and a channel in the wireless communication. Such setting information may be provided according to a user's operation (input information) on the user terminal 30, or may be provided from the server device 40.

[0123] As described above, the communication system 1 according to the present embodiment includes a host controller 10 provided in an edge device, and a server device 40 connected to a communication device 20 connected to the host controller 10 via a network, and the server device 40 receives unique information of the host controller 10 (first information unique to the host controller 10) and unique information of the communication device 20 (second information unique to the communication device 20), and determines whether or not the communication device 20 can be connected to the host controller 10 based on the unique information of the host controller 10 and the communication device 20 that has been received. The host controller 10 receives connection availability information including the determination result in the server device 40 from the server device 40 via the communication device 20, and can refuse connection of the communication device 20 based on the received connection availability information.

[0124] In this embodiment, the host controller 10 supplies power to the communication device 20 when the communication device 20 is connected, and stops supplying power to the communication device 20 when the connection of the communication device 20 is rejected.

[0125] In addition, in this embodiment, the process of determining whether or not the communications device 20 can be connected to the host controller 10 (i.e., the connection feasibility determination process) is performed based on determination information that includes conditions for the host controller to which the communications device 20 can be connected (host controller information) in correspondence with information specific to the communications device 20.

[0126] In this embodiment, with the above-described configuration, the association between the host controller 10 and the communication devices 20 is centrally controlled by the server device 40, and it becomes possible to easily and safely connect a variety of communication devices 20 to the host controller 10. In other words, in this embodiment, it is possible to connect only appropriate communication devices 20 to the host controller 10 (i.e., the host controller 10 can perform cooperative operations only with legitimate communication devices 20).

[0127] According to the configuration of this embodiment, for example, it is possible to control the communication devices 20 that can be connected to the host controller 10 to be limited (restricted) to products of a specific vendor (model or firmware), and the mechanism provided in this embodiment may be utilized in a business model. Furthermore, according to the configuration of this embodiment, it is possible to prevent a situation in which a communication device 20 prepared by a malicious third party is connected to the host controller 10 for fraudulent purposes, and therefore it is useful as a security measure in IoT services.

[0128] Furthermore, in this embodiment, when the communication device 20 is connected to the host controller 10, a pairing process is executed to pair the communication device 20 with the user terminal 30, and the above-mentioned unique information of the host controller 10 and the communication device 20 is transmitted from the communication device 20 to the server apparatus 40 via the user terminal 30 after the pairing is completed. In this embodiment, such a configuration makes it possible to realize central control regarding the connection between the host controller 10 and the communication device 20 via the user terminal 30 used by the user. Furthermore, the user terminal 30 in this embodiment can provide a function as a user interface for executing a process of determining whether or not the communication device 20 can be connected to the host controller 10 as described above.

[0129] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the host controller 10 (power supply control unit 11) stops supplying power to the communications device 20 when connection availability information is not received (for example, pairing is not completed) before a predetermined period (first period) has elapsed. In this embodiment, such a configuration makes it possible to avoid unnecessarily supplying power to the communications device 20 (making the communications device 20 operable) in a situation in which it is not possible to determine whether the communications device 20 can be connected to the host controller 10.

[0130] The host controller 10 (power supply control unit 11) may be configured to resume power supply to the communication device 20 when a predetermined period (second period) has elapsed after power supply to the communication device 20 was stopped due to failure to receive connection availability information. With this configuration, when connection availability information is not received (pairing is not completed) due to a temporary deterioration in communication conditions or the like, the connection availability information may be received by resuming power supply to the communication device 20.

[0131] Furthermore, in the present embodiment, a configuration may be adopted in which a digital signature attached to the connection propriety information transmitted from the server device 40 is verified. With such a configuration, it is possible to avoid a situation in which the connection of the communication device 20 to the host controller 10 is permitted based on connection propriety information that has been tampered with, for example, and it is possible to reduce security risks in IoT services.

[0132] In addition, when the connection of the communication device 20 is not rejected (i.e., the connection is permitted) as described above, the host controller 10 (authentication processing unit 15) may issue a token to be used for communication executed with the communication device 20. The token issued in this manner is held inside the host controller 10 and the communication device 20. According to this configuration, for example, when the communication device 20 performs data communication with the host controller 10, by including a token in the data, the host controller 10 can compare the token included in the data with the token held inside the host controller 10, and operate to process the data only if the token included in the data is a correct token.

[0133] 13, the host controller 10 includes a sensor 17, and the communications device 20 reads (i.e., receives from) the host controller 10 sensor data measured by the sensor 17. In this case, for example, the communications device 20 requests the host controller 10 for sensor data, but if the request does not include a correct token (a token issued by the host controller 10), the host controller 10 can reject the request (i.e., not transmit sensor data in response to the request).

[0134] With this configuration, it is possible to further reduce security risks in IoT services.

[0135] Note that a validity period (information) may be set for the token issued by the host controller 10. When a validity period is set for the token in this manner, the token cannot be used if the validity period has expired. Therefore, when continuing the connection (communication) with the host controller 10, the communications device 20 requests the host controller 10 to issue a token with a new validity period set within the validity period.

[0136] In the present embodiment, the communication system 1 has been described as executing the process shown in FIG. 9. In the process shown in FIG. 9, after the host controller 10 and the communication device 20 are connected via a connection interface, a pairing process is executed between the communication device 20 and the user terminal 30.

[0137] However, for example, when multiple lighting fixtures are installed on the ceiling as edge devices, and the communication device 20 is connected to the host controller 10 via a connection interface such as a USB connector or a pin slot connector, it is very cumbersome to perform tasks such as operating the user terminal 30 and the communication device 20 (e.g., pressing specific buttons on the user terminal 30 and the communication device 20) to perform pairing processing for each edge device.

[0138] Therefore, in this embodiment, for example, a configuration may be adopted in which a pairing process is executed in advance between the communication device 20 and the user terminal 30, and the communication device 20 for which the pairing has been completed is connected to the host controller 10.

[0139] FIG. 14 is a sequence chart showing an example of a processing procedure of the communication system 1 in a case where a pairing process between the communication device 20 and the user terminal 30 has been executed in advance.

[0140] In this case, for example, a power supply jig having a USB connector with a power supply function is prepared, and the communication device 20 in an initialized state is connected to the power supply jig via the USB connector to supply power to the communication device 20. When power is supplied to the communication device 20, the communication device 20 becomes operable, and therefore a pairing process can be executed between the communication device 20 and the user terminal 30 (step S21). Note that the process of step S21 is similar to the process of step S3 shown in Fig. 9 described above, and therefore a detailed description thereof will be omitted here.

[0141] After the process of step S21 is executed, the processes of steps S22 to S35 corresponding to the processes of steps S1, S2, and S4 to S15 shown in FIG. 9 may be executed.

[0142] 14, pairing between the communication device 20 and the user terminal 30 has already been completed at the time when the communication device 20 is connected to the host controller 10. Therefore, when the host controller 10 and the communication device 20 are connected and the user terminal 30 receives, for example, a predetermined signal transmitted from the communication device 20 (i.e., confirms that the communication device 20 is in an operable state), the user terminal 30 can immediately request unique information from the communication device 20.

[0143] In a configuration in which the pairing process is performed in advance between the communication device 20 and the user terminal 30 as described above, the pairing process in the communication system 1 according to this embodiment can be performed efficiently, improving user convenience.

[0144] Furthermore, by preparing a power supply jig 200 having multiple USB connectors 200a as shown in FIG. 15, for example, it becomes possible to sequentially perform pairing with multiple communication devices 20 connected to multiple edge devices (host controllers 10 mounted on each of the multiple edge devices), thereby further improving the efficiency of the pairing process.

[0145] In the present embodiment, the host controller 10 including the power supply control unit 11 is mounted on the edge device as shown in FIG. 2, but the edge device may have a configuration in which a power supply board 11a including the power supply control unit 11 is prepared separately from the host controller 10 (that is, the power supply control unit 11 is mounted on a board different from the host controller 10) as shown in FIG. 16. Even in such a configuration, the power supply control unit 11 can supply power to the communication device 20 in response to an instruction (control) from the device control unit 13. The edge device may have a configuration in which the host controller 10 is incorporated in the power supply board 11a, for example, or may have another configuration.

[0146] Although some embodiments of the present invention have been described, these embodiments are presented as examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These embodiments can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. These embodiments and their modifications are included in the scope of the invention and its equivalents described in the claims, as well as in the scope and spirit of the invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0147] 1...communication system, 10...host controller, 10a...processor, 10b...non-volatile memory, 10c...main memory, 10d...communication interface, 10e...power supply interface, 11...power supply control unit, 11a...power supply board, 12...communication processing unit, 13...device control unit, 14...unique information storage unit, 15...authentication processing unit, 16...key information storage unit, 17...sensor / actuator, 20...communication device, 21...power supply control unit, 22...first communication processing unit, 23...unique information storage unit, 24...device processing unit, 25...second communication processing unit, 26...third communication processing unit, 27...sensor / actuator, 30...user terminal, 31...first communication processing unit, 32...second communication processing unit, 33...initial setting processing unit, 40...server device, 41...communication processing unit, 42...determination unit, 43...key information storage unit, 44...determination information storage unit.

Claims

1. A controller provided in the edge device; a server device connected to the communication device connected to the controller via a network; Equipped with The server device includes: a first receiving means for receiving first information specific to the controller and second information specific to the communication device; a determination means for determining whether the communication device can be connected to the controller based on the received first and second information; Including, The controller: a second receiving means for receiving connection permission information including the determination result from the server device via the communication device; a control means for rejecting a connection of the communication device based on the received connection availability information; Includes Communication systems.

2. the controller includes a power supply means for supplying power to the communication device when the communication device is connected; When the control means rejects the connection of the communication device, the control means controls the power supply means to stop power supply to the communication device.

2. The communication system of claim 1.

3. When the communication device is connected to the controller, a pairing process is executed to pair the communication device with a user terminal used by a user; The first and second information are transmitted from the communication device to the server device via the user terminal after the pairing is completed.

3. The communication system according to claim 2.

4. The second receiving means receives the connection availability information from the server device via the communication device and the user terminal; The control means stops supplying power to the communication device when the second receiving means does not receive the connection availability information before a predetermined first period has elapsed.

4. The communication system according to claim 3.

5. The communication system of claim 4, wherein the control means resumes power supply to the communication device when a predetermined second period has elapsed after power supply to the communication device has been stopped due to the second receiving means not receiving the connection availability information.

6. a digital signature generated by the server device is attached to the connection permission information; The controller further includes an authentication processing means for verifying a digital signature attached to the received connection permission information.

2. The communication system of claim 1.

7. 2. The communication system according to claim 1, further comprising an authentication processing means for issuing a token used for communication with the communication device when the controller does not reject the connection of the communication device.

8. the server device further includes a storage means for storing determination information including a condition of a controller to which the communication device can be connected in association with information unique to the communication device; The determination means determines that the communication device can be connected to the controller when the first information satisfies a condition included in the determination information associated with the second information.

2. The communication system of claim 1.

9. The communication system according to claim 1 , wherein the communication device is connected to the controller via a connection interface provided in the edge device.

10. A controller provided in an edge device and connected to a communication device, a receiving means for receiving connection availability information including a result of a determination made by a server device connected to the communication device via a network as to whether the communication device can be connected to the controller based on first information unique to the controller and second information unique to the communication device; a control means for rejecting a connection of the communication device based on the received connection availability information; A controller comprising:

11. A server device connected via a network to a communication device connected to a controller provided in an edge device, a receiving means for receiving first information specific to the controller and second information specific to the communication device; a determination means for determining whether the communication device can be connected to the controller based on the received first and second information; Equipped with The controller rejects the connection of the communication device based on connection availability information including the determination result. Server device.

12. A method executed by a communication system including a controller provided in an edge device, and a server device connected to a communication device connected to the controller via a network, the method comprising: determining, by the server device, whether the communication device can be connected to the controller based on first information specific to the controller and second information specific to the communication device; the controller rejects the connection of the communication device based on connection permission information including the determination result; A method comprising the steps of:

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