Device information collection and control system and device information collection and control method

Abstract

To provide a device information collection and control system and a device information collection and control method, which can easily perform at least one of collection of information from devices connected to a network and control of the devices, without affecting other collection and control.SOLUTION: A device information collection and control system includes: a plurality of information collection and control target devices connected to each other so as to be able to communicate with each other over a network; a system management device having a storage device; and an information collection and control device. The system management device receives advertised device information and stores the received device information in the storage device. The system management device calculates system network load information indicating the load of the network within the system on the basis of the device information and at least one collection and control pattern of information collection and device control by the information collection and control device, and transmits the calculated system network load information to the information collection and control device.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a device information collection and control system and method for collecting information from or controlling devices connected via a network. [Background technology]

[0002] As wireless and wired networks have become more readily available, it has become easier to collect information from devices and sensors in remote locations and operate those devices via the network. For example, by applying this technology to a factory, it becomes possible to aggregate and analyze the operating status of the factory and remotely change the operation of the devices according to the situation, thereby improving factory productivity.

[0003] To achieve this, it is necessary to somehow connect on-site devices to a system for data utilization.However, because system developers are not informed of how to connect to on-site devices or where the necessary information is located, and because the meaning of the information differs, on-site interviews and case-by-case responses are required to utilize the devices, resulting in delays and high costs in system implementation.

[0004] To improve this, Patent Document 1 simplifies the development of data collection programs by using template programs corresponding to various processes related to data collection and a device library that stores parameters of target devices. Furthermore, Patent Document 2 discloses a method for building a system without being aware of excessive loads on the control network and controllers by collecting information related to the controller and sending it to a management device while taking into account the capabilities of the control network and controller. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2022-162084 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2019-57210 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] The invention described in Patent Document 1 is based on the premise that template programs and parameters for each data acquisition target are stored in advance, so when a new data acquisition target is installed on-site, it is necessary to acquire and store these settings.

[0007] In addition, in the invention described in Patent Document 2, the intermediary device acts as a bottleneck in collecting information from multiple terminals to mediate so as not to place a burden on the controlled devices or the control network. In addition, a topology constraint arises in that all information must pass through the intermediary device.

[0008] The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems. That is, one of the objects of the present invention is to provide a device information collection and control system that can easily collect information from devices connected to a network and / or control the devices without affecting other collection and control operations. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the device information collection and control system of the present invention is a device information collection and control system in which a plurality of information collection and control target devices, a system management device having a storage device, and an information collection and control device are communicably connected to each other via a network, and the device information collection and control system performs at least one of information collection to collect information held by the information collection and control target devices and device control to control the information collection and control target devices, and the information collection and control target devices indicate the procedures required for interacting with the information collection and control target devices in order for at least one of the information collection and device control to be performed, and the load that the information collection and control target devices impose on the network. The system management device is configured to advertise device information including device network load information to the network, the system management device is configured to receive the advertised device information, store the received device information in the storage device, calculate system network load information indicating the load of the network in the system based on the device information and a collection and control pattern which is at least one pattern of the information collection and the device control by the information collection and control device, and transmit the calculated system network load information to the information collection and control device, and the information collection and control device is configured to receive the system network load information from the system management device.

[0010] The device information collection and control method of the present invention uses a plurality of information collection and control target devices, a system management device having a storage device, and an information collection and control device, wherein the plurality of information collection and control target devices, the system management device having the storage device, and the information collection and control device are communicably connected to each other via a network, and performs at least one of information collection to collect information held by the information collection and control target devices and device control to control the information collection and control target devices. In this device information collection and control method, since at least one of information collection and device control is performed by the information collection and control target devices, the method includes a procedure and a method for interacting with the information collection and control target devices. Device information including device network load information indicating the load that the information collection and control target device places on the network is advertised to the network, the advertised device information is received by the system management device, the received device information is stored in the storage device, system network load information indicating the load of the network within the system is calculated based on the device information and a collection and control pattern which is at least one pattern of the information collection and device control by the information collection and control device, the calculated system network load information is sent to the information collection and control device, and the information collection and control device receives the system network load information from the system management device. [Effects of the Invention]

[0011] According to the present invention, at least one of information collection from devices connected to a network and control of the devices can be easily performed without affecting other collections or controls. Note that the effects described herein are not necessarily limited to those described herein, and may be any of the effects described in this disclosure. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1] Figure 1 shows the configuration of the device information collection and control system. [Figure 2]Figure 2 shows the hardware configuration of the information collection and control device. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a hardware configuration diagram of the system management device. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a hardware configuration diagram of the device discovery device. [Figure 5] Figure 5 shows the hardware configuration of the device that is the target of information collection and control. [Figure 6A] FIG. 6A is a diagram showing an example of the content advertised by a device that is the target of information collection and control. [Figure 6B] FIG. 6B is a diagram showing an example of the content advertised by the device that is the target of information collection and control. [Figure 7A] FIG. 7A is a diagram illustrating an example of information held by the system management device. [Figure 7B] FIG. 7B is a diagram illustrating an example of information held by the system management device. [Figure 7C] FIG. 7C is a diagram illustrating an example of information held by the system management device. [Figure 7D] FIG. 7D is a diagram showing an example of information held by the system management device. [Figure 7E] FIG. 7E is a diagram illustrating an example of information held by the system management device. [Figure 7F] FIG. 7F is a diagram showing an example of information held by the information collection and control device. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the process of the device discovery apparatus. [Figure 9A] FIG. 9A is a flowchart showing the processing of the device information storage function unit of the system management device. [Figure 9B] FIG. 9B is a flowchart showing the processing of the device information storage function unit of the system management apparatus. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the processing of the load information calculation function unit of the system management device. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the processing of the system monitoring function unit of the system management device. [Figure 12]FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of processing by the program editing function unit of the information collection and control device. [Figure 13] FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing the processing of the program editing function unit of the information collection and control device. [Figure 14] FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen when the information collection and control device receives load information. [Figure 15] FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an example of the collection and control information table in the second embodiment. [Figure 16] FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing the processing of the system monitoring function unit in the second embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0013] Hereinafter, each embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that in all drawings of the embodiments, the same or corresponding parts may be denoted by the same reference numeral. Furthermore, when describing similar elements without distinguishing between them, the common part (the part excluding the branch number) of the reference numeral including the branch number may be used, and when describing similar elements while distinguishing between them, the reference numeral including the branch number may be used. For example, when describing networks without distinguishing between them, they may be referred to as "network 106," and when describing individual networks while distinguishing between them, they may be referred to as "network 106-1," "network 106-2," etc. In the following description, various information may be described using expressions such as "table," but the various information may be expressed using other data structures. Furthermore, when describing identification information, expressions such as "name" are used, but other identification information such as an identification number may be used. Furthermore, in the following description, processing may be described using a functional block as the subject, but the subject of the processing may be a CPU or a device instead of a functional block.

[0014] <<First embodiment>> A first embodiment of a device information collection and control system will be described below with reference to Figs. 1 to 14. Fig. 1 is a configuration diagram of the device information collection and control system. The devices in the system are connected to each other via a network 106. As shown in Fig. 1, the networks 106 may be connected via a router 104 to mediate communication between the devices connected to the respective networks 106-1 and 106-2.

[0015] One or more information collection and control devices 101, a system management device 102, and one or more collection and control target devices 105 are connected to the network 106. The collection and control target devices 105 may also be referred to as "information collection and control target devices" for convenience. If the information advertised by the information collection and control target devices 105 (described later) is not relayed via the router 104 and a system management device 102 belonging to a different network 106 cannot receive the information advertised by the information collection and control target devices 105, a device discovery device 103 having the function of relaying the information may be connected to each network 106. "Advertising information" or "advertising information to the network 106" refers to transmitting (sending) specific information so that it can be received by other devices via the network 106. While the device discovery device 103 is connected in FIG. 1 , the device discovery device 103 may be omitted, and the system management device 102 may receive the information advertised by the information collection and control target devices 105 without relaying through the device discovery device 103.

[0016] 2 is a hardware configuration diagram of the information collection and control device 101. The information collection and control device 101 includes a nonvolatile storage device 101a that can read and write data, a memory 101b (e.g., RAM), a CPU 101c, an input / output interface 101d, and a network interface 101e.

[0017] The storage device 101a holds (memorizes, stores) as programs a program editing function unit 201 and a device information collection and control unit 202. The storage device 101a also holds (memorizes, stores) collection and control pattern information 706. Details of the collection and control pattern information 706 will be described later.

[0018] The CPU 101c loads the program stored in the storage device 101a into the memory 101b. The CPU 101c executes the program loaded into the memory 101b to realize various functions of the program editing function unit 201 and the device information collection and control unit 202.

[0019] As described above, the memory 101b is loaded with the programs to be executed by the CPU 101c, and temporarily stores data used when the CPU 101c executes the programs.

[0020] The input / output interface 101d is an interface for connecting the operation terminal 203, operation devices such as a keyboard and a mouse, and a display. The operation terminal 203 is a device equipped with a display device such as a display, and operation means such as a mouse, a keyboard, and a touch panel. The operation terminal 203 is equipped with software programmed to perform various operations described below, and executes programs and stores data as necessary. The operation terminal 203 is, for example, a personal computer (PC), a tablet, a smartphone, etc. The operation terminal 203 may be connected to the information collection and control device 101 via the network 106 or another network (not shown) and a network interface 101e connected to another network. The network interface 101e is an interface for connecting the information collection and control device 101 to the network 106.

[0021] The information collection and control device 101 is connected to one or more networks 106 and can communicate with other devices via the networks 106. The information collection and control device 101 also includes a program editing function unit 201 and a device information collection and control unit 202, as described above. While each of the functional units described in this diagram is typically implemented as a program loaded from a secondary storage device (storage device 101a) onto a computer's memory 101b, and the program is interpreted by a central processing unit to execute processing, only the functional units are shown here to simplify the description of the processing content. The information collection and control device 101 is also connected to an operation terminal 203, which can be operated by a program creator to issue instructions to the program editing function unit 201 of the information collection and control device 101, allowing the program editing function unit 201 to present information to the program creator.

[0022] 3 is a hardware configuration diagram of the system management device 102. The system management device 102 includes a nonvolatile storage device 102a that can read and write data, a memory 102b (e.g., RAM), a CPU 102c, an input / output interface 102d, and a network interface 102e.

[0023] The storage device 102a holds (memorizes, stores) as programs a device information storage function unit 301, a load information calculation function unit 302, and a system monitoring function unit 303. The storage device 102a also holds (memorizes, stores) a topology information table (network) 701, a topology information table (apparatus / device) 702, a device information table 704, and a collection and control information table 705. Details of the topology information table (network) 701, the topology information table (apparatus / device) 702, the device information table 704, and the collection and control information table 705 will be described later.

[0024] The CPU 102c loads the program stored in the storage device 102a into the memory 102b. The CPU 102c executes the program loaded into the memory 102b to realize various functions of the device information storage function unit 301, the load information calculation function unit 302, and the system monitoring function unit 303.

[0025] As described above, the memory 102b is loaded with the programs to be executed by the CPU 102c, and temporarily stores data used when the CPU 102c executes the programs.

[0026] The input / output interface 102d is an interface for connecting operation devices such as a keyboard and a mouse, a display, etc. The network interface 102e is an interface for connecting the system management device 102 to the network 106.

[0027] As described above, the system management device 102 is connected to the network 106 and includes a device information storage function unit 301 and a load information calculation function unit 302. The system management device 102 may also include a system monitoring function unit 303 that monitors the load within the system and issues a notification when the load exceeds a predetermined value.

[0028] 4 is a hardware configuration diagram of the device discovering device 103. The device discovering device 103 includes a nonvolatile storage device 103a that is readable and writable for data, a memory 103b (e.g., RAM), a CPU 103c, an input / output interface 103d, and a network interface 103e.

[0029] The storage device 103a holds (stores, memorizes) a device discovery function unit 401 as a program.

[0030] The CPU 103c loads the program stored in the storage device 103a into the memory 103b. The CPU 103c implements the function of the device discovery function unit 401 by executing the program loaded into the memory 103b.

[0031] As described above, the program executed by the CPU 103c is loaded into the memory 103b, and data used when the CPU 103c executes the program is temporarily stored in the memory 103b.

[0032] The input / output interface 103d is an interface for connecting operation devices such as a keyboard and a mouse, a display, etc. The network interface 103e is an interface for connecting the device discovering apparatus 103 to the network .

[0033] As described above, the device discovery apparatus 103 is connected to the network 106 and has a device discovery function unit 401 inside.

[0034] 5 is a diagram showing the hardware configuration of the collection / control target device 105. The collection / control target device 105 includes a control device 1005.

[0035] The control device 1005 includes a nonvolatile storage device 105a that is readable and writable for data, a memory 105b (eg, RAM), a CPU 105c, an input / output interface 105d, and a network interface 105e.

[0036] The storage device 105a holds (stores, memorizes) an information transmission / reception function unit 501 as a program. The storage device 105a also holds (stores, memorizes) device information 601 and advertisement information 602. Details of the device information 601 and advertisement information 602 will be described later.

[0037] The CPU 105c loads the program stored in the storage device 105a into the memory 105b. The CPU 105c implements the function of the information transmitting and receiving function unit 501 by executing the program loaded into the memory 105b.

[0038] As described above, the programs executed by the CPU 105c are loaded into the memory 105b, and data used when the CPU 105c executes the programs is temporarily stored in the memory 105b.

[0039] The input / output interface 105d is an interface for connecting operation devices such as a keyboard and a mouse, a display, etc. The network interface 105e is an interface for connecting the control device 1005 (data collection / control target device 105) to a network 106. The control device 1005 (data collection / control target device 105) is connected to one network 106 and has an information transmission / reception function unit 501 inside.

[0040] The control device 1005 controls, for example, a collection / control target device 105 (e.g., an industrial device such as a robot) that is the target of information collection or control via another network, and transmits and receives information to and from other devices such as the information collection / control device 101 and the system management device 102 via the network 106. Note that the control device 1005 (collection / control target device 105) may be connected to, for example, a programmable logic controller (PLC (Programmable Logic Controller)) and / or an information collection server, and may transmit and receive information to and from the programmable logic controller and / or information collection server connected to the network 106, and other devices such as the information collection / control device 101 and the system management device 102 via the network 106.

[0041] 6A and 6B show an example of device information 601 and an example of advertisement information 602, which indicate the information collection method of the collection / control target device 105, the control method accepted by the collection / control target device 105, and the load information during their interaction. The device information 601 includes device network load information indicating the procedures required for interaction with the collection / control target device 105 and the load the collection / control target device 105 places on the network 106, and device load information indicating the load on the collection / control target device 105. More specifically, the device information 601 includes a device name unique within the system, the name of the attribute from which information is to be acquired, the name of the control target, the type of each attribute and control target, the load, and the interaction method. There are two types: pull type and push type. In the pull type, the device information collection / control unit 202 of the information collection / control device 101 collects information according to the collection / control pattern specified by the program creator. In the case of the push type, the programmer selects the selected band and load, and the collection / control target device 105 sends attribute information to the information collection / control device 101 according to the specified pattern.

[0042] The example of device information 601 assumes a robot equipped with a camera for taking photos and a hand for grasping objects. The device's name is "Robot A," and it has attributes such as "robotStatus," which indicates the robot's current status, "robotCamera," which holds the most recent image captured by the camera, and "closeHand," which accepts a command to close the robot's hand. The type of "robotStatus" is pull, and the value of this attribute can be obtained by sending a GET request to the URL "http: / / 192.0.2.10 / robotStatus." At this time, the amount of data flowing per data acquisition is 1024 bytes, and one acquisition per second places a 1% load on the device. This attribute can also handle traffic of up to 5 kbps. The type of "robotCamera" is push, and by sending a single GET request to the URL "http: / / 192.0.2.10 / robotCamera?fmt={selected bandwidth·load}," images captured by the camera are continuously sent to the information collection and control device 101. By replacing the "{selected bandwidth and load}" part of the URL with "a," "b," or "c," it is possible to instruct the collection / control target device 105 to generate traffic with an impact of 128 kbps network bandwidth and 0.1% device load, 1 Mbps network bandwidth and 10% device load, or 10 Mbps network bandwidth and 0.1% device load, respectively. The control "closeHand" is a pull type, and the robot's hand can be closed by sending a POST request to the URL "http: / / 192.0.2.10 / closeHand." The amount of data per control command is 16 bytes, and issuing the command once per second imposes a load of 0.1%. This control can handle traffic of up to 25.6 kbps.

[0043] The device 105 to be collected and controlled advertises its existence to other devices connected to the network 106 by broadcasting device information 601 to the network 106. At this time, instead of directly advertising the device information 601, it may broadcast only advertising information 602 to the network 106 as information for acquiring the device information 601. In this case, the devices that receive the advertising information 602 acquire the device information 601 by accessing the URL included in the advertising information 602.

[0044] 7A to 7E are diagrams showing an example of information held by the system management device 102. The topology information table (network) 701 in Fig. 7A is an example of a table that holds information about the networks 106 within the device information collection and control system. For each network 106, a pair of a name that can be uniquely identified within the system and its maximum bandwidth is held.

[0045] The topology information table (apparatus / device) 702 in Figure 7B is an example of a table that holds information about the apparatuses and devices in the device information collection and control system. For each apparatus or device, a pair of a name that allows it to be uniquely identified within the system and the name of the network 106 to which the apparatus or device is connected is held. The system configuration diagram composed of the information in the topology information table (network) 701 and the topology information table (apparatus / device) 702 is the meaning of topology information 703 in Figure 7C.

[0046] The device information 601 received by the system management device 102 from the collection / control target devices 105 or the device discovery device 103 is stored in a device information table 704 shown in Fig. 7D. The device information table 704 stores, for each collection / control target device 105, a pair of the device name and device information.

[0047] 7E holds patterns in which each information collection and control device 101 interacts with the collection and control target device 105. For each collection and control pattern, the table holds a set of the name of the information collection and control device 101 that performs the collection and control, the name of the collection and control target device 105 that is the target of collection and control, the name of the attribute or control that is the target of collection and control, and the frequency or selected band of collection and control.

[0048] 7F is a diagram showing an example of information held by the information collection and control device 101. The collection and control pattern information 706 includes the name of the information collection and control device 101, the name of the collection and control target device 105 that performs collection and control, the name of the attribute or control to be collected and controlled, information on frequency or selected band, and "provisional registration" or "full registration" indicating whether this information is provisionally registered information or is a permanent registration.

[0049] The processing of the device discovery device 103 will be described with reference to FIG. 8. When a message advertised by a device 105 to be collected and controlled is received from the network 105 (step 802), the device discovery device 103 determines whether an advertisement from the same device has already been forwarded within a predetermined period of time (step 803). If the message has already been forwarded, the same device information 601 is likely to have been sent to the system management device 102 again, which would result in a waste of network bandwidth. Therefore, the device information 601 is not forwarded, and the process returns to waiting for reception of advertisement information in step 802. If the message has not been forwarded, the device discovery device 103 references the URL included in the advertisement message and acquires the device information 601 (step 804). The acquired device information 601 is then paired with the network name of the network 106 that received the advertisement message and transmitted to the system management device 102 (step 805). By repeating this process, the device discovery device 103 can relay the device information 601 of the device 105 to be collected and controlled that is connected to each network 106 and deliver it to the system management device 102. Here, if the device information 601 acquired in step 804 has already been transferred to the system management device 102, the device information 601 may not be sent in step 805. This reduces the load on the network 106 and the system management device 102.

[0050] 9A and 9B, the processing of the device information storage function unit 301 in the system management device 102 will be described. As shown in FIG. 9A, when the system management device 102 receives device information and network information from the collection / control target device 105 or the device discovery device 103 (step 902), the device information storage function unit 301 stores the device information 601 in the device information table 704 (step 903). Next, the device and its connected network name are stored in the topology information table (apparatus / device) 702 (step 904). Note that, in step 904, information about the network may also be stored in the topology information table (network) 701. This processing allows the system topology to be grasped within the system management device 102.

[0051] 9B, when a device information search request is received from the information collection and control device 101 (step 952), information matching the search criteria is searched for in the device information table 704 (step 953). Examples of search criteria include device name, attribute name, control name, or a combination thereof. Then, as the search results, the device information 601 of each device 105 to be collected and controlled is returned to the information collection and control device (step 954). Through this process, the information collection and control device 101 can obtain information on the devices 105 to be collected and controlled that exist within the system.

[0052] The processing of the load information calculation function unit 302 in the system management device 102 will be described using FIG. 10. The system management device 102 receives the collection and control pattern information 706 shown in FIG. 7F from the information collection and control device 101 (step 1002). As described above, the collection and control pattern information 706 includes the name of the information collection and control device 101, the name of the collection and control target device 105 that performs collection and control, the name of the attribute or control to be collected and controlled, frequency or selected bandwidth information, and whether the information is provisionally registered information. Next, the received information is added to the collection and control information table 705 (step 1003), and the load of the collection and control target device 105 and the network bandwidth consumed on the network 106 that serves as the path, which are generated by all the collection and control patterns in the collection and control information table 705, are added up (step 1004). Then, the calculated load of all the collection and control target devices 105 and the consumed network bandwidth are returned to the information collection and control device 101 (step 1005). For convenience, the calculated load (information indicating the load) of all collection / control target devices 105 may also be referred to as "system device load information," and the calculated network bandwidth consumption may also be referred to as "system network load information."

[0053] This allows the information collection and control device 101 to grasp the load on the system due to the collection and control performed by the device, and to present this to the program creator. If the information registered here is provisionally registered information (step 1006), the content registered in step 1003 is deleted from the collection and control information table 705 (step 1007). If it is not provisionally registered information, the collection and control pattern is retained as permanently registered information.

[0054] The processing of the system monitoring function unit 303 in the system management device 102 will be described using FIG. 11. The system management device 102 periodically queries the load status and network utilization rate of each device / apparatus included in the topology information table (network) 701 and the topology information table (apparatus / device) 702 (step 1102). If the load of the collection / control target device 105 exceeds 90%, the system management device 102 sends the load information of the device to the information collection / control device 101 that is collecting and controlling the collection / control target device 105 (step 1103). Similarly, if the network utilization rate exceeds 90%, the system management device 102 sends the load information of the network 106 to the information collection / control device 101 that is using that route for information collection / control (step 1106). This processing allows the information collection / control device 101 and its program creator to know the latest device and network load status, and the program creator can adjust the collection / control pattern based on this information. While 90% is used as the threshold in this example, the system management device 102 may also be configured to set a notification threshold.

[0055] FIG. 12 shows an example screen of the program editing function unit 201 of the information collection and control device 101. Screen 1201 shows a program in which a module corresponding to the collection and control target device 105 has not yet been placed. This example shows that a program is being written to perform product inspection using image information received from the collection and control target device 105 and display the results. The program creator issues a command to search for collection and control target devices 105 within the system via the operation terminal 203. Screen 1202 shows an example screen that is displayed at this time. Here, the search term "robot" is entered, and information about collection and control target devices 105 containing the term is displayed. The program creator selects the appropriate collection and control target device 105 from this screen 1202 and requests the generation of a module for operating the collection and control target device 105. Screen 1203 shows an example screen after the module has been generated and incorporated into the program. A module that interacts with the collection and control target device 105 is added before the product inspection, and logic for performing product inspection using the results is written.

[0056] The processing of the program editing function unit 201 of the information collection and control device 101 will be described with reference to FIG. 13. When a search request for collection and control target devices 105 is received from the program creator via the operation terminal 203, the search request for collection and control target devices 105 is sent to the system management device 102 (step 1302). The search result is then displayed on the operation terminal 203, allowing the program creator to select the collection and control target device 105 they require (step 1303). Once the program creator has made their selection, a module that can be handled by a programming language processing system and corresponds to the collection and control target device 105 is generated (step 1304). Then, once the program creator has registered a collection and control pattern in the module, the collection and control pattern is sent to the system management device 102 as provisional registration information (step 1305). As a result, load information for all collection and control target devices 105 and the entire network 106 is received, and the load information is presented on the operation terminal 203 (step 1306). The program creator may refer to the presented load information and, if the load is too high, change the collection and control pattern, such as by reducing the collection frequency. If the collection and control pattern needs to be changed, the program creator returns to step 1305 and recalculates the load (step 1307). The program creator then sends the finally determined collection and control pattern to the system management device 102 as the official registration information (step 1308). As a result, the program creator receives load information for all collection and control target devices 105 and the entire network 106 (i.e., system device load information and system network load information), and presents the load information on the operation terminal 203 (step 1309). This process allows the program creator to treat the collection and control target devices 105 as virtually represented modules within the program, simplifying program creation. Furthermore, the program creator can set the collection and control pattern after checking the load at that time in advance, preventing the program creator from imposing a load on the system contrary to his or her intention.

[0057] FIG. 14 shows an example of a screen displayed on the operation terminal 203 when load information is received from the system management device 102. Screen 1401 shows the stage of step 1301 in FIG. 13. Screen 1402 shows an example of a screen displayed on the operation terminal 203 after the device 105 to be collected and controlled is searched for, its collection and control pattern is set, the collection and control pattern is provisionally registered in the system management device 102, and the load information is received (step 1306). In this example, a warning (displaying an exclamation mark) is displayed for the module virtually representing the device 105 to be collected and controlled. A line of a thickness proportional to the bandwidth is displayed on the network topology diagram, and a speech bubble displays "5 kbps shortfall" for the network 106 where bandwidth is constrained. By viewing this screen, the program creator can adjust the collection and control pattern. For example, if the program creator intends to temporarily exceed the load on the network 106, they can permanently register the collection and control pattern and start collection and control.

[0058] According to the first embodiment of the device information collection and control system described above, information collection from devices connected to a network and control of the devices can be performed easily and without affecting other collection and control.

[0059] <<Second embodiment>> Hereinafter, the second embodiment of the device information collection and control system will be described with reference to FIGS.

[0060] In the first embodiment, based on the premise that all collection and control patterns are equally important, when the load exceeds a threshold, a notification is sent to all affected information collection and control devices 101. In this embodiment, by prioritizing the collection and control patterns, it is possible to send a notification only to the information collection and control devices 101 that are executing collection and control patterns with a low priority.

[0061] 15 shows a collection and control information table 1505 of this embodiment. The system management device 102 holds (memorizes, stores) the collection and control information table 1505 instead of the collection and control information table 705. The collection and control information table 1505 has a priority column added to the collection and control information table 705 of the first embodiment.

[0062] The processing of the system load monitoring function unit 303 of the system management apparatus 102 of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 16. The system management apparatus 102 periodically queries each apparatus / device included in the topology information table (network) 701 and the topology information table (apparatus / device) 702 about its load status and network utilization rate (step 1602). If the load of the collection / control target device 105 exceeds 90%, the system management apparatus 102 sends the load information of the apparatus to the information collection / control device 101 with the lowest priority that is collecting and controlling the collection / control target device 105 (step 1603). Similarly, if the network utilization rate exceeds 90%, the system management apparatus 102 sends the load information of the network 106 to the information collection / control device 101 with the lowest priority that is using that route for information collection / control (step 1604).

[0063] This prevents unnecessary notifications from being sent to information collection and control devices 101 that are running at a high priority, and ensures that notifications are sent only to the necessary and sufficient information collection and control devices 101 and the program creators who use those devices.

[0064] <<Third embodiment>> In the third embodiment, an example will be shown in which a bandwidth of the network 106 is secured in accordance with the registration of a collection / control pattern.

[0065] In the explanation of the processing of the system management device 102 of the first embodiment, if the information found in step 1006 is not provisionally registered, an instruction to reserve a bandwidth is sent to each network 106 according to the integrated load of each network 106. This enables each network 106 to secure a bandwidth for the collection and control traffic flowing through that network, thereby improving the reliability of collection and control.

[0066] <<Modifications>> The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be adopted within the scope of the present invention. Furthermore, the above-described embodiments can be combined with each other without departing from the scope of the present invention.

[0067] The present invention can also have the following configuration.

[0068] [1] A device information collection and control system in which a plurality of information collection and control target devices, a system management device having a storage device, and an information collection and control device are communicably connected to each other via a network, and which performs at least one of information collection to collect information held by the information collection and control target devices and device control to control the information collection and control target devices, The information collection and control target device is The information collection and / or the device control are performed by advertising device information to the network, the device information including a procedure required for interacting with the information collection / control target device and device network load information indicating a load that the information collection / control target device places on the network; the system management device, receiving the advertised device information and storing the received device information in the storage device; calculating system network load information indicating a load on the network within the system based on the device information and a collection and control pattern which is at least one pattern of the information collection and device control by the information collection and control device, and transmitting the calculated system network load information to the information collection and control device; It is configured as follows: The information collection and control device receiving the system network load information from the system management device; It was configured as follows: Device information collection and control system.

[0069] [2] A device information collection and control method using a plurality of information collection and control target devices, a system management device having a storage device, and an information collection and control device, wherein the plurality of information collection and control target devices, the system management device having the storage device, and the information collection and control device are communicably connected to each other via a network, and the method performs at least one of information collection to collect information held by the information collection and control target devices and device control to control the information collection and control target devices, The information collection and control target device advertise device information to the network, the device information including a procedure required for interacting with the information collection / control target device in order to perform at least one of the information collection and the device control, and device network load information indicating a load that the information collection / control target device places on the network; The system management device receiving the advertised device information and storing the received device information in the storage device; calculating system network load information indicating a load on the network within the system based on the device information and a collection and control pattern which is at least one pattern of the information collection and device control by the information collection and control device, and transmitting the calculated system network load information to the information collection and control device; The information collection and control device receiving the system network load information from the system management device; Device information collection and control methods. [Explanation of symbols]

[0070] 101...information collection and control device, 102...system management device, 103...device discovery device, 104...router, 105...device to be collected and controlled, 201...program editing function unit, 202...device information collection and control unit, 203...operation terminal, 301...device information storage function unit, 302...load information calculation function unit, 303...system monitoring function unit, 401...device discovery function unit, 501...information transmission and reception function unit

Claims

1. A device information collection and control system includes a plurality of information collection and control target devices, a system management device having a storage device, and an information collection and control device that are communicatively connected to each other via a network, and performs at least one of information collection for collecting information held by the information collection and control target devices and device control for controlling the information collection and control target devices, The information collection and control target device is advertise device information to the network, the device information including a procedure required for interacting with the information-collecting / controlling target device in order to perform at least one of the information-collecting and the device-controlling, and device network load information indicating a load that the information-collecting / controlling target device exerts on the network; It is configured as follows: The system management device receiving the advertised device information and storing the received device information in the storage device; Calculating system network load information indicating a load on the network within the system based on the device information and a collection / control pattern which is at least any one pattern of the information collection and device control by the information collection / control device, and transmitting the calculated system network load information to the information collection / control device. It is configured as follows: The information collection and control device includes: receiving the system network load information from the system management device; It was configured as follows: Device information collection and control system.

2. 2. The device information collection and control system according to claim 1, The information collection and control target device is Advertise the device information to the network, the device information including, in addition to the necessary procedure and the device network load information, device load information indicating a load of the information collection / control target device; It is configured as follows: The system management device In addition to the system network load information, further calculate system device load information indicating a load of the information collection / control target device in the system, and transmit the calculated system network load information and the system device load information to the information collection / control device. It is configured as follows: The information collection and control device includes: receiving the system network load information and the system device load information; It was configured as follows: Device information collection and control system.

3. 3. The device information collection and control system according to claim 2, The information collection and control target device is advertising advertisement information for allowing the device information to be acquired before advertising the device information; When the device information is requested in accordance with the advertisement information, the device information is transmitted to a requester of the device information via the network. It was configured as follows: Device information collection and control system.

4. 3. The device information collection and control system according to claim 2, The information collection and control device is connected to an operation terminal of a program creator, The information collection and control device includes: generating a processing block required for writing an information collection / control program from the device information received from the system management device, and presenting the processing block to the operation terminal of the program creator, and having the system management device calculate the system network load information and the system device load information based on a collection / control pattern instructed by the program creator to the information collection / control device via the operation terminal, and presenting the calculated system network load information and the system device load information to the operation terminal of the program creator; It was configured as follows: Device information collection and control system.

5. 5. The device information collection and control system according to claim 4, The information collection and control device includes: interacting with the information collection / control target device based on the collection / control pattern instructed by the program creator via the operation terminal, and performing at least one of the information collection and the device control; It was configured as follows: Device information collection and control system.

6. 3. The device information collection and control system according to claim 2, a device discovery device that receives the device information advertised by the information collection / control target device via a network, and transfers the device information and information about the network through which the device information is received to the system management device, when the system management device is unable to directly receive the advertised device information; Device information collection and control system.

7. 5. The device information collection and control system according to claim 4, The system management device collecting the device network load information and the device load information of the information collection / control target devices constituting the system, and notifying the collected device network load information and the device load information to the information collection / control device; It was configured as follows: Device information collection and control system.

8. 8. The device information collection and control system according to claim 7, The system management device When the device load information or the device network load information collected by the information collection and control target device constituting the system exceeds a predetermined value, notifying at least one of the device network load information and the device load information to the information collection / control device that is performing at least one of the information collection and device control in a collection / control pattern with a low priority based on the priority set in the collection / control pattern; It was configured as follows: Device information collection and control system.

9. 2. The device information collection and control system according to claim 1, The system management device performing a bandwidth reservation setting for the network in order to reserve a network bandwidth necessary for performing at least one of the information collection and the device control in accordance with the collection / control pattern; It was configured as follows: Device information collection and control system.

10. A device information collection and control method using a plurality of information collection and control target devices, a system management device having a storage device, and an information collection and control device, the plurality of information collection and control target devices, the system management device having the storage device, and the information collection and control device being communicably connected to each other via a network, and performing at least one of information collection for collecting information held by the information collection and control target devices and device control for controlling the information collection and control target devices, The information collection and control target device: advertising device information to the network, the device information including a procedure required for interacting with the information collection / control target device in order to perform at least one of the information collection and the device control, and device network load information indicating a load that the information collection / control target device exerts on the network; The system management device receiving the advertised device information and storing the received device information in the storage device; Calculating system network load information indicating a load on the network within a system based on the device information and a collection / control pattern which is at least one pattern of the information collection and device control by the information collection / control device, and transmitting the calculated system network load information to the information collection / control device; The information collection and control device receiving the system network load information from the system management device; Device information collection and control methods.

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