Communication systems and methods

Abstract

The objective is to provide a communication system and method capable of connecting appropriate communication devices. [Solution] The communication system according to the embodiment comprises a controller provided on an edge device, and a server device connected via a network to a communication device connected to the controller. When a communication device is connected to the controller, first information specific to the controller is transmitted from the controller to the server device via the communication device and a user terminal, and second information specific to the communication device is transmitted from the bus to the server device via the user terminal in the same communication. The server device includes receiving means for receiving the first and second information, and management means for managing the connection between the controller and the communication device based on the first and second information.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Embodiments of the present invention relate to a communication system and method.

Background Art

[0002] In a technology called IoT (Internet Of Things), it is necessary to connect an edge device (edge terminal) to a network. However, when this edge device does not have a communication function, the edge device can be connected to the network by connecting a controller (host controller) mounted on the edge device and a communication device.

[0003] Therefore, for example, a mechanism for connecting an appropriate communication device to a controller mounted on an edge device without requiring complicated setting work is desired.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Patent Document 2

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] Therefore, the problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a communication system and method capable of connecting an appropriate communication device.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] The communication system according to this embodiment comprises a controller provided on an edge device and a server device connected via a network to a communication device connected to the controller. When the communication device is connected to the controller, first information specific to the controller is transmitted from the controller to the server device via the communication device and a user terminal used by a user capable of communicating with the communication device, and second information specific to the communication device is transmitted from the communication device to the server device via the user terminal. The server device includes a first receiving means for receiving the transmitted first and second information, and a management means for managing the connection between the controller and the communication device based on the received first and second information. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0007] [Figure 1] A diagram showing an example of the system configuration of a communication system according to the embodiment. [Figure 2] A diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of a host controller. [Figure 3] A diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of a communication device. [Figure 4] A diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of a user terminal. [Figure 5] A diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of a server device. [Figure 6] A diagram showing an example of the host controller hardware configuration. [Figure 7] A diagram illustrating an example of a specific type of communication system. [Figure 8] A diagram showing specific examples of lighting fixtures. [Figure 9] A sequence chart illustrating an example of the processing procedure for a communication system. [Figure 10] A diagram showing an example of the data structure of judgment information. [Figure 11] A diagram showing an example of the data structure of connection information. [Figure 12] A diagram illustrating another example of the functional configuration of a communication device. [Figure 13]A diagram illustrating another example of the host controller's functional configuration. [Figure 14] A sequence chart illustrating an example of the processing procedure for a communication system when pairing is performed in advance between the communication device and the user terminal. [Figure 15] A diagram showing an example of a power supply jig. [Figure 16] This diagram illustrates the configuration of an edge device that has a separate power supply board from the host controller. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0008] The embodiments will be described below with reference to the drawings. Figure 1 shows an example of the system configuration of the communication system according to this embodiment. As shown in Figure 1, the communication system 1 comprises a host controller 10, a communication device 20, a user terminal 30, and a server device 40.

[0009] In this embodiment, we assume that edge devices are 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 edge device comprising it) does not have a communication function for communicating with a server device (hereinafter referred to as the IoT server) that provides 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. With such a communication device 20, the host controller 10 can be connected to the IoT server via a predetermined network and realize the functions of an edge device in IoT as described above.

[0011] Note that 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. However, between the host controller 10 and the communication device 20, serial communication such as I2C, URT, and SPI may be performed, or parallel communication may be performed.

[0012] The user terminal 30 is an electronic device such as a smartphone, a tablet terminal, and a personal computer (PC) used by a user, and has a function of communicating with the communication device 20. Further, the user terminal 30 is communicably connected to the server device 40 via the network 50.

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

[0014] Note that wireless communication or wired communication may be performed between the communication device 20 and the user terminal 30 shown in FIG. 1. 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. However, communication based on other standards may be performed.

[0015] Furthermore, the network 50 connecting the user terminal 30 and the server device 40 may be a small, closed network such as a local area network (LAN), a wide, closed network such as a wide area network (WAN), or an open network such as the internet. In addition, the user terminal 30 may use communication based on Wi-Fi and cellular communication methods (LTE or 5G, etc.) to connect to the network 50, but it may also be configured to use communication based on other standards.

[0016] Figure 2 shows an example of the functional configuration of the host controller 10 shown in Figure 1. As shown in Figure 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 connection interface described above, the power supply control unit 11 supplies power to the communication device 20 according to predetermined electrical specifications. The communication device 20 can operate by the power supplied by the power supply control unit 11.

[0018] The communication processing unit 12 communicates with the communication device 20, which operates based on the power supply provided by the power supply control unit 11 as described above, according to 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. This connection interface may be implemented as a single interface for communication and power supply, or as multiple connection interfaces for communication and power supply, respectively.

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

[0021] The unique information storage unit 14 stores information specific to the host controller 10 (hereinafter referred to as the unique information of the host controller 10) in advance. The unique information of the host controller 10 includes, for example, the vendor name, model, and firmware version (the version of the firmware used to control 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 connection availability information transmitted from the server device 40 via the communication device 20, as will be described later. The connection availability information received from the server device 40 may have an electronic signature (digital signature) generated by the server device 40 attached to it. The authentication processing unit 15 performs a process to verify such an electronic signature. This electronic signature verification process is performed using key information stored in the key information storage unit 16 (for example, the public key of the server device 40).

[0023] Figure 3 shows an example of the functional configuration of the communication device 20 shown in Figure 1. As shown in Figure 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 receives power from the host controller 10 (power supply control unit 11) to drive the communication device 20.

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

[0026] The unique information storage unit 23 pre-stores information specific to the communication device 20 (hereinafter referred to as the 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 (the version of the firmware used to control the communication device 20). The unique information of the communication device 20 may also include, for example, individual identification information such as the serial number and MAC (Media Access Control) 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 appropriate to the edge device in the IoT (i.e., device-specific processing).

[0028] The second communication processing unit 25 communicates with the user terminal 30 according to 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 is then transmitted to the host controller 10 by the first communication processing unit 22.

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

[0030] The first communication processing unit 31 communicates with the communication device 20 according to 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 unique information of the host controller 10 and the communication device 20 transmitted from the communication device 20. The initial setup processing unit 33 acquires the unique information of the host controller 10 and the communication device 20 received by the first communication processing unit 31 and transmits the acquired unique information to the server device 40 via the second communication processing unit 32.

[0032] Furthermore, the second communication processing unit 32 receives connection availability information transmitted from the server device 40. The initial setup processing unit 33 acquires the connection availability information 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 setup processing unit 33 performs a first setup process for the first communication processing unit 31 for communicating with the communication device 20 and a second setup process for the second communication processing unit 32 for communicating with the server device 40.

[0034] The initial setup processing unit 33 performs a first setup process, which involves pairing the communication device 20 with the user terminal 30 (hereinafter referred to as the pairing process). While the term "pairing" is generally used to refer to registering devices in Bluetooth, in this embodiment, pairing refers to achieving a state where two devices can communicate by recognizing each other's communication addresses and authenticating each other.

[0035] Furthermore, the initial setup processing unit 33 performs authentication processing, such as accepting input of a user ID and password from the user using the user terminal 30, as a second setup process. The initial setup processing unit 33 may also perform other prior setup processes related to security, etc.

[0036] Figure 5 shows an example of the functional configuration of the server device 40 shown in Figure 1. As shown in Figure 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 also receives unique information of the host controller 10 and communication device 20 transmitted from the user terminal 30.

[0038] The determination unit 42 acquires unique information of the host controller 10 and the communication device 20 received by the communication processing unit 41, and determines whether or not the communication 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 the determination information stored in the determination information storage unit 43. 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 availability information, which includes the determination result made 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] As described above, the connection availability information, which is digitally signed and generated, is transmitted to the user terminal 30 by the communication processing unit 41.

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

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

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

[0044] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the unique information storage unit 14 and the key information storage unit 16 shown in Figure 2 are realized by the non-volatile memory 10b shown in Figure 6.

[0045] While the hardware configuration of the host controller 10 has been described here, it is assumed that the communication device 20, user terminal 30, and server device 40 have generally similar hardware configurations.

[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 Figure 3 may be implemented by having the processor (CPU) of the communication device 20 execute a predetermined program, by hardware, or by a combination of software and hardware. The unique information storage unit 23 shown in Figure 3 is implemented by the non-volatile memory of the communication device 20.

[0047] Furthermore, some or all of the first communication processing unit 31, the second communication processing unit 32, and the initial setup processing unit 33 shown in Figure 4 may be implemented by having the processor (CPU) of the user terminal 30 execute a predetermined program (application program), by hardware, or by a combination of software and hardware.

[0048] Furthermore, some or all of the communication processing unit 41 and determination unit 42 shown in Figure 5 may be implemented by having the processor (CPU) of the server device 40 execute a predetermined program (application program), by hardware, or by a combination of software and hardware. The key information storage unit 43 and determination information storage unit 44 shown in Figure 5 are implemented by the non-volatile memory of the server device 40.

[0049] Here, Figure 7 shows an example of a specific configuration of the communication system 1 shown in Figure 1 above.

[0050] In the example shown in Figure 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] With such a communication system 1, for example, by determining whether a connection between a lighting fixture and a wireless LAN interface is possible on a cloud server, it becomes possible to permit or deny the connection between the lighting fixture and the wireless LAN interface. If the connection between the lighting fixture and the wireless LAN interface is permitted, it becomes possible to realize IoT services such as collecting sensor data related to the lighting fixture measured by various sensors or remotely operating the lighting fixture.

[0052] Figure 8 shows a specific example of the lighting fixture (edge ​​device) described above. In the example shown in Figure 8, the lighting fixture 100 comprises a lighting fixture body 101 and an LED (bar) 102.

[0053] Although not shown in Figure 8, the lighting fixture body 101 incorporates a host interface 10, which 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 supply and can supply power to the communication device 20 connected to the host interface 10.

[0054] The LED 102 is powered by the lighting fixture body 101. Furthermore, for example, the communication device 20 has a built-in actuator that drives the LED 102, and this actuator is connected to the LED 102 via a dimming interface. This allows for dimming of the LED 102 by controlling the actuator based on a control signal received by the communication device 20.

[0055] Hereinafter, an example of the processing procedure of the communication system 1 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to the sequence chart in Figure 9.

[0056] First, let's assume that the host controller 10 (or the edge device on which it is installed) and the communication device 20 are connected via a connection interface (step S1).

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

[0058] When the process in step S2 is executed, power is supplied from the host controller 10 to the communication device 20, and the power supply control unit 21 included in the communication device 20 receives this power and drives the communication device 20. As a result, the communication 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 communicate data with the communication device 20. This enables communication between the host controller 10 and the communication device 20.

[0060] Here, as described above, when the communication device 20 starts operating, the initial setup processing unit 33 included in the user terminal 30 executes a pairing process as the first setup process for the first communication processing unit 31 for communicating with the communication device 20 (step S3). Although information regarding pairing (for example, information about the device with which pairing has been completed) is stored internally in the communication device 20 and the user terminal 30, the pairing process is executed when it is recognized that the pairing between the communication device 20 and the user terminal 30 has not been completed based on the said pairing information.

[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 pairing waiting state. The initial setup processing unit 33 included in the user terminal 30 executes the pairing process according to the communication method with the communication device 20. For example, if the communication method is Bluetooth, the communication device 20 is displayed as a pairable device in the GUI (Graphical User Interface) provided in the user terminal 30, and the pairing process is executed when the user selects the displayed communication device 20 through a predetermined operation. If the communication method is Wi-Fi, the communication device 20 operates as a Wi-Fi access point, and the pairing process is executed when a predetermined SSID and password are entered into the user terminal 30 (i.e., the user terminal 30 becomes capable of connecting to the Wi-Fi network of the communication device 20).

[0062] Once the pairing described above is completed (successfully), the communication device 20 stores information about the user terminal 30 that has been paired with the communication device 20, and the user terminal 30 stores information about the communication device 20 that has been paired with the user terminal 30. As a result, the user terminal 30 becomes able to communicate with the communication device 20.

[0063] The communication device 20 and the user terminal 30 may be connected by a wired connection; in such cases, the explicit pairing process may be omitted.

[0064] Incidentally, for example, when a user terminal 30 performs Bluetooth-based communication with a communication device 20, the user terminal 30 must be within communication range of the communication device 20. In other words, if the user terminal 30 is not within communication range of the communication device 20, pairing cannot be completed (pairing will fail).

[0065] If pairing cannot be completed, connection availability information will not be received via the communication device 20, and therefore, there is no need to continue supplying power from the host controller 10 to the communication device 20. For this reason, if, for example, connection availability information is not received from the server device 40, the 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 can stop supplying power if, for example, connection availability information is not received within a certain period of time after power supply to the communication device 20 has been started. Specifically, for example, an 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 were connected may be set, and power supply may be stopped when the expiration date has passed.

[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, preventing the completion of pairing. However, if the communication error is temporary, it may be possible to complete the pairing by running the pairing process again once the communication error is resolved. In such cases, if the power supply to the communication device 20 is stopped, the communication device 20 cannot operate and the pairing process cannot be executed. For this reason, even if the power supply to the communication device 20 is stopped because connection availability information is not received within a certain period of time as described above, the power supply control unit 11 included in the host controller 10 may be configured to resume power supply after a predetermined period of time has elapsed since the power supply was stopped. The resumption of power supply to the communication device 20 may be achieved by manual operation on the host controller 10. Alternatively, power supply to the communication device 20 may be temporarily restored by, for example, pressing a button provided on the host controller 10 for a certain period of time.

[0067] When the process in step S3 is executed, the initial setup 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 in step S4 may be executed automatically, for example, after the process in step S3 is executed, or it may be executed in response to user operation on the user terminal 30.

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

[0069] The device control unit 13 included in the host controller 10 receives requests from the communication device 20 via the communication processing unit 12. Based on the received requests, the device control unit 13 reads the unique information of the host controller 10 from the unique information storage unit 14.

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

[0071] Furthermore, the device processing unit 24 included in the communication device 20 reads the unique information of the communication device 20 from the unique information storage unit 23 based on a request from the user terminal 30 received 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 (including the response message) 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 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 multiple such lighting fixtures installed on the ceiling, etc., and for example, the communication device 20 may be mistakenly connected to a lighting fixture different from the one the user intended. In this case, the unique information received by the user terminal 30 (first communication processing unit 31) may not be what the user intended. Furthermore, since wireless communication is performed between the communication device 20 and the user terminal 30, it cannot be ruled out that the user terminal 30 (first communication processing unit 31) may receive unique information prepared by a malicious third party.

[0074] Therefore, as described above, when the user terminal 30 receives unique information of the host controller 10 and the communication device 20, the unique information may be displayed on a display provided in the user terminal 30, prompting the user to verify the validity of the unique information. Furthermore, for example, the unique information encoded in a one-dimensional code (barcode) or two-dimensional code (QR code®) attached to the main body (housing) of the host controller 10 (or the edge device equipped with the host controller 10) and the communication device 20 may be obtained by reading the code using a camera installed in the user terminal 30, and the validity of the unique information may be verified by comparing (matching) the obtained unique information with the received 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 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 at the time step S8 is executed, the second configuration process for the second communication processing unit 32 for the user terminal 30 to communicate with the server device 40 has already been completed. In addition, in step S8, information other than the unique information of the host controller 10 and communication device 20 described above (for example, the location where the host controller 10 and communication device 20 are installed, and information of the user using the host controller 10 and communication device) may be transmitted further.

[0076] When the process in 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 that was transmitted in step S8.

[0077] The determination unit 42 included in the server device 40 executes a process (hereinafter referred to as the connection feasibility determination process) to determine whether the communication device 20 can be connected to the host controller 10 (i.e., whether the host controller 10 can continuously supply power to the communication device 20 and whether data communication between the host controller 10 and the communication device 20 can be 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 determination information stored in the determination information storage unit 44 (step S9).

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

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

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

[0081] In the example shown in Figure 10, determination information is displayed that includes, for example, the vendor name "A", model "A1", firmware version "1.2 or higher", and host controller information "Vendor X". According to this determination information, if the communication device 20 has vendor name "A", model "A1", and firmware version "1.2 or higher", it can connect to the host controller 10 whose vendor name is "X".

[0082] Furthermore, the example shown in Figure 10 includes determination information that associates, for example, vendor name "A", model "A2", firmware version "2.0 or higher", and host controller information "Vendor X, Vendor Y". According to this determination information, a communication device 20 with vendor name "A", model "A2", and firmware version "2.0 or higher" can connect to a host controller 10 with vendor name "X" or "Y".

[0083] Furthermore, the example shown in Figure 10 includes determination information that associates, for example, vendor name "A", model "A3", firmware version "1.0 or higher", and host controller information "Vendor X, Vendor Y". According to this determination information, a communication device 20 with vendor name "A", model "A3", and firmware version "1.0 or higher" can connect to a host controller 10 with vendor name "X" or "Y".

[0084] Furthermore, the example shown in Figure 10 includes determination information that associates, for example, vendor name "B", model "B1", firmware version "5.0 or higher", and host controller information "Vendor Y, model y". According to this determination information, a communication device 20 with vendor name "B", model "B1", and firmware version "5.0 or higher" can connect to a host controller 10 with vendor name "Y" and model "y".

[0085] Furthermore, the example shown in Figure 10 includes determination information that associates, for example, vendor name "B", model "B2", firmware version "5.0 or higher", and host controller information "Vendor Y, model y". According to this determination information, a communication device 20 with vendor name "B", model "B2", and firmware version "5.0 or higher" can connect to a host controller 10 with vendor name "Y" and model "y".

[0086] Furthermore, the example shown in Figure 10 includes determination information that associates, for example, the vendor name "C", model "C1", firmware version "any", and host controller information "Vendor X, model x, firmware version 1.0 or higher". According to this determination information, a communication device 20 with vendor name "C" and model "C1" can connect to a host controller 10 with vendor name "X", model "x", and firmware version "1.0 or higher". Note that firmware version "any" indicates that the firmware version is not specified (any version is acceptable).

[0087] Based on the judgment information described above, it is possible to determine whether various communication devices 20 can be connected to the host controller 10.

[0088] The connection feasibility determination process, which is performed using the above-mentioned determination information, will be briefly explained below. First, the determination unit 42 obtains 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 for a connectable host controller) included in the determination information in association with the obtained 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 if the unique information of the host controller 10 matches the host controller information (i.e., satisfies the conditions for a connectable host controller).

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

[0090] On the other hand, the determination unit 42 determines that if the unique information of the host controller 10 does not match the host controller information included in the determination information, which is associated with the vendor name, model, and firmware version obtained from the unique information of the communication device 20 (i.e., it does not meet the conditions for a connectable host controller), then the communication device 20 cannot be connected to the host controller 10.

[0091] In other words, the determination information in this embodiment can be said to be information indicating a combination of interoperable host controller 10 and communication device 20 (i.e., a communication device 20 that is a legitimate device for the host controller 10).

[0092] Although the data structure of the determination information is explained using Figure 10, the data structure of the determination information may differ from that shown in Figure 10. Furthermore, the server device 40 in this embodiment only needs to be configured to determine 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, and the connection feasibility determination process described above may be a process other than that described here.

[0093] When the process in step S9 is executed, the determination unit 42 reads, for example, the private key of the server device 40 (a private key for the server device 40 generated based on a public-key cryptography scheme) from the key information storage unit 43, and uses the private key of the server device 40 to generate an electronic signature to be attached to the connection permission information, which includes the result of the process in step S9 (i.e., the determination result in the connection permission determination process) (step S10). The electronic signature is generated, for example, by cryptographic processing using the private key of the server device 40, based on the hash value of the connection permission information calculated by the determination unit 42.

[0094] When the process in step S10 is executed, the communication processing unit 41 transmits the connection availability information, which has an electronic signature generated in step S10, 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 communication 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 communication device 20 and transmitted (transferred) to the host controller 10 by the first communication processing unit 22 (step S13).

[0097] The connection availability 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 digital signature attached to the connection availability information received by the communication processing unit 12 (step S14).

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

[0099] In step S14 described above, if the hash value of the connection availability information matches the hash value obtained from the digital signature (i.e., the digital signature verification 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 communication device 20 (step S15).

[0100] Specifically, if the connection availability information includes a determination result indicating that the communication 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 communication device 20 in order to permit the connection with the communication device 20. As a result, the power supply control unit 11 continues to supply power to the communication device 20, and communication between the host controller 10 and the communication device 20 is maintained.

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

[0102] Furthermore, the connection availability information may include, for example, expiration date information indicating the expiration date of the connection availability information. In this case, for example, if the expiration date indicated by the expiration date information included in the connection availability information has expired, the device control unit 13 shall discard the connection availability information and instruct the power supply control unit 11 to stop supplying power from the host controller 10 to the communication device 20. This expiration date information (and the expiration date indicated by it) shall be specified (set) in, 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 to cause the server device 40 to execute the connection feasibility determination process again.

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

[0105] Although not shown in Figure 9, the verification of the digital signature attached to the connection availability information (processing in step S14) may be performed, for example, on the communication device 20. In order for this digital signature verification to be performed on the communication device 20, it is sufficient that the public key of the server device 40 is already held on the communication device 20. If the digital signature attached to the connection availability information is verified on the communication device 20 as described above, the processes from step S13 onwards will be executed if the verification is successful, and if the verification fails, the connection availability information will be discarded and the process shown in Figure 9 will be terminated.

[0106] Furthermore, although Figure 9 describes the case where an electronic signature is attached to the connection availability information, the electronic signature may also be attached to the unique information of the host controller 10. This electronic signature attached to the unique information of the host controller 10 can be generated in the host controller 10 using the private key of the host controller 10 which is pre-stored in the key information storage unit 16 included in the host controller 10. In this case, the public key of the host controller 10 is pre-stored in the key information storage unit 43 included in the server device 40, and the verification of the electronic signature attached to the unique information of the host controller 10 is performed using the public key of the host controller 10 before the process in step S9 is executed. With this configuration in which the electronic signature attached to the unique information of the host controller 10 is verified in the server device 40, if the verification is successful, the process from step S9 onwards is executed, and if the verification fails, the unique information is discarded and the process shown in Figure 9 is terminated.

[0107] Similarly, the unique information of the communication device 20 may be digitally signed. The digital signature attached to the unique information of the communication device 20 can be generated in the communication device 20 using the private key of the communication device 20 that is pre-held in the communication device 20. In this case, the public key of the communication device 20 is pre-stored in the key information storage unit 43 included in the server device 40, and the verification of the digital signature attached to the unique information of the communication device 20 is performed using the public key of the communication device 20 before the process in step S9 is executed. With this configuration in which the verification of the digital signature attached to the unique information of the communication device 20 is performed in the server device 40, if the verification is successful, the processes from step S9 onwards are executed, and if the verification fails, the unique information is discarded and the process shown in Figure 9 is terminated.

[0108] Although it has been explained here that connection availability information and unique information are digitally signed, in this embodiment, the digital signature (and verification of the digital signature) may be omitted. Furthermore, although a detailed explanation is omitted, in the communication performed in this embodiment (for example, communication between the communication device 20 and the user terminal 30 or communication between the user terminal 30 and the server device 40), authentication processes other than those described above may be performed, and processes such as encryption and decryption of communication data may be performed.

[0109] Incidentally, if the process shown in Figure 9 above is executed and communication between the host controller 10 and the communication device 20 is maintained (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] Figure 11 shows an example of the data structure of connection information. As shown in Figure 11, the connection information includes the customer ID, host controller ID, communication device ID, connection confirmation date and time, and registered user ID, all associated with each other.

[0111] The Customer ID is identification information used to identify the customer who manages the edge device (the site where it is installed). The Host Controller ID is identification information used to identify the host controller 10 installed on the edge device managed by the customer identified by the Customer ID. The Communication Device ID is identification information used to identify the communication device 20 that is authorized 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 authorized (confirmed). The Registered User ID is identification information used to identify the 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 authorized (i.e., when the process in Figure 9 described above was executed).

[0112] While a detailed explanation is omitted, the connection information described above makes it possible to manage the connection between the host controller 10 and the communication device 20 installed on the edge devices located at each customer's site. Furthermore, the connection information can be used, for example, as information for managing the locations where the host controller 10 and the communication device 20 are installed (location management information).

[0113] Furthermore, if a customer has (manages) multiple sites, the connection information may also include information to identify those sites (such as site IDs). Additionally, the connection information may include unique information about the host controller 10 and the communication device 20 (such as model and firmware version). Furthermore, the connection information may also include information that should be configured on the communication device 20, for example.

[0114] Furthermore, although the connection information described here is assumed to be information indicating that a connection between the host controller 10 and the communication device 20 has been permitted, this connection information may also include information indicating that a connection between the host controller 10 and the communication device 20 has been denied.

[0115] By the way, when the process shown in Figure 9 above is executed, a connection between the host controller 10 and the communication device 20 is permitted, and power is continuously supplied 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 to the edge device in the IoT.

[0116] Here, the communication device 20 further includes a third communication processing unit 26 that communicates with, for example, an IoT server (a server device for providing IoT services), and a sensor / actuator 27, as shown in Figure 12. Although Figure 12 mainly shows the functional configuration of the communication device 20, the sensor / actuator 27 corresponds to a part of the hardware configuration of the communication device 20.

[0117] In such a configuration, if the communication device 20 includes a sensor 27, the device processing unit 24 can periodically transmit sensor data measured by the sensor 27 to the IoT server, for example, via a third communication processing unit 26. The sensor data may also be transmitted via a second communication processing unit 25, for example.

[0118] Furthermore, if the communication device 20 is equipped with an actuator 27, the device processing unit 24 can receive a control signal transmitted from the IoT server via, for example, the third communication processing unit 26, and execute a process to control the actuator 27 based on the control signal. The control signal may also be a control signal for controlling a sensor 27 provided 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, then according to the processing performed by the device processing unit 24 described above, it is possible to monitor malfunctions of the lighting fixture by transmitting the illuminance (sensor data) measured by the illuminance sensor to the IoT server, and to remotely dim the lighting fixture (LED) by controlling the actuator based on the control signal transmitted from the IoT server.

[0120] In this explanation, the edge device is described as a lighting fixture, and the sensor / actuator 27 is described as an illuminance sensor and an actuator that drives an LED (lighting). However, 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, or an image sensor (camera), and the actuator 27 may be an actuator that drives a speaker, a camera, or a robot arm.

[0121] Furthermore, although this explanation describes the case where the sensor / actuator is provided on the communication device 20, as shown in Figure 13, the host controller 10 (edge ​​device) may also be equipped with the sensor / actuator 17. Even in such a configuration, it is possible to transmit sensor data measured by the sensor 17 from the communication device 20 to the IoT server, and it is possible to control the actuator (or sensor) 17 from the communication device 20 (IoT server). Note that Figure 13 mainly shows the functional configuration of the host controller 10, but the sensor / actuator 17 corresponds to a part of the hardware configuration of the host controller 10.

[0122] Furthermore, if 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 configuration information for the communication processing unit (e.g., the third communication processing unit 26). This configuration information includes, for example, identification information (identifier) ​​to be set in the third communication processing unit 26 for communication with the IoT server described above, and identification information for the network to which the communication device 20 is connected or the network that the communication device 20 constitutes. In addition, if the communication device 20 and the IoT server perform wireless communication, the above configuration information may include information such as the radio frequency and channel for that wireless communication. Such configuration information may be provided according to user operations (input information) to the user terminal 30, or it may be provided by the server device 40.

[0123] As described above, the communication system 1 according to this embodiment comprises a host controller 10 provided on an edge device, a communication device 20 connected to the host controller 10, and a server device 40 connected via a network. 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 received unique information of the host controller 10 and the communication device 20. The host controller 10 receives connection feasibility information, including the determination result from the server device 40, from the server device 40 via the communication device 20, and can refuse the connection of the communication device 20 based on the received connection feasibility information.

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

[0125] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the determination process for whether or not the communication 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 a host controller to which the communication device 20 can be connected (host controller information), associated with information specific to the communication device 20.

[0126] In this embodiment, the above configuration allows the server device 40 to centrally control the association between the host controller 10 and the communication device 20, making it possible to easily and safely connect various 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 only operates in cooperation with legitimate communication devices 20).

[0127] Furthermore, according to the configuration of this embodiment, it becomes possible to control the communication devices 20 that can be connected to the host controller 10 to be limited to products from a specific vendor (model or firmware), and the mechanism provided in this embodiment may be utilized in business models. Moreover, according to the configuration of this embodiment, it is possible to prevent situations in which a malicious third party prepares a communication device 20 and connects it to the host controller 10 for fraudulent purposes, making it 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. After the pairing is complete, the unique information of the host controller 10 and the communication device 20 is transmitted from the communication device 20 to the server device 40 via the user terminal 30. In this embodiment, this configuration enables central control of the connection between the host controller 10 and the communication device 20 through the user terminal 30 used by the user. In addition, the user terminal 30 in this embodiment can function as a user interface to execute a process to determine 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 communication device 20 if connection availability information is not received within a predetermined period (first period) (for example, if pairing is not completed). In this embodiment, this configuration makes it possible to avoid unnecessarily supplying power to the communication device 20 (making the communication device 20 operational) when it is not possible to determine whether or not the communication device 20 can be connected to the host controller 10.

[0130] Furthermore, the host controller 10 (power supply control unit 11) may be configured to resume power supply to the communication device 20 after a predetermined period (second period) has elapsed following the suspension of power supply to the communication device 20 due to the failure to receive connection availability information. With such a configuration, if connection availability information is not received (pairing is not completed) due to a temporary deterioration in communication conditions, etc., the connection availability information may be received by resuming power supply to the communication device 20.

[0131] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the configuration may include verifying the electronic signature attached to the connection permission information transmitted from the server device 40. With such a configuration, it is possible to avoid situations such as allowing the communication device 20 to connect to the host controller 10 based on tampered connection permission information, thereby reducing security risks in IoT services.

[0132] Furthermore, if the host controller 10 (authentication processing unit 15) does not reject the connection of the communication device 20 as described above (i.e., allows the connection), it may issue a token to be used for communication performed with the communication device 20. The token issued in this manner is held internally by the host controller 10 and the communication device 20. With 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 internally by the host controller 10 and process the data only if the token included in the data is a valid token.

[0133] Specifically, consider a case where, for example, as shown in Figure 13 above, the host controller 10 is equipped with a sensor 17, and the communication device 20 reads (i.e., receives from the host controller 10) the sensor data measured by the sensor 17. In this case, for example, the communication device 20 requests sensor data from the host controller 10, but if the request does not contain a correct token (a token issued by the host controller 10), the host controller 10 can reject the request (i.e., not send sensor data in response to the request).

[0134] This configuration makes it possible to further reduce security risks in IoT services.

[0135] Furthermore, tokens issued by the host controller 10 may have an expiration date (information) set for them. If an expiration date is set for a token in this way, the token cannot be used once its expiration date has passed. Therefore, in order to continue the connection (communication) with the host controller 10, the communication device 20 shall request the host controller 10 to issue a new token with a new expiration date set within the expiration period.

[0136] By the way, in this embodiment, the communication system 1 has been described as performing the process shown in Figure 9. In the process shown in Figure 9, after the host controller 10 and the communication device 20 are connected via the connection interface, a pairing process is performed between the communication device 20 and the user terminal 30.

[0137] However, if, for example, multiple lighting fixtures are installed on the ceiling as edge devices, and after connecting the communication device 20 to the host controller 10 via a connection interface such as a USB connector or a pin slot connector, it is extremely cumbersome to perform the operation of the user terminal 30 and the communication device 20 (for example, by pressing predetermined buttons on the user terminal 30 and the communication device 20) for each edge device in order to perform the pairing process.

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

[0139] Here, Figure 14 is a sequence chart showing an example of the processing procedure of the communication system 1 when the pairing process between the communication device 20 and the user terminal 30 is performed in advance.

[0140] In this case, for example, a power supply jig equipped with a USB connector having a power supply function is prepared, and the initialized communication device 20 is connected to the power supply jig via the USB connector to supply power to the communication device 20. Once power is supplied to the communication device 20, the communication device 20 becomes operational, and a pairing process can be performed between the communication device 20 and the user terminal 30 (step S21). Note that the process in step S21 is the same as the process in step S3 shown in Figure 9 above, so a detailed explanation is omitted here.

[0141] After the process in step S21 is executed, the processes in steps S22 to S35, which correspond to the processes in steps S1, S2 and S4 to S15 shown in Figure 9, should be executed.

[0142] In other words, according to the process shown in Figure 14, the pairing between the communication device 20 and the user terminal 30 is already completed when the communication device 20 is connected to the host controller 10. Therefore, once the host controller 10 and the communication device 20 are connected, and the user terminal 30 receives a predetermined signal transmitted from the communication device 20 (i.e., confirms that the communication device 20 is operational), the user terminal 30 can immediately request unique information from the communication device 20.

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

[0144] Furthermore, by providing a power supply jig 200 equipped with multiple USB connectors 200a, as shown in Figure 15, for example, it becomes possible to sequentially pair multiple communication devices 20 connected to multiple edge devices (each with its own host controller 10), thereby further improving the efficiency of the pairing process.

[0145] In this embodiment, as shown in Figure 2, the host controller 10 including the power supply control unit 11 is described as being mounted on the edge device. However, as shown in Figure 16, the edge device may have a configuration in which the power supply board 11a including the power supply control unit 11 is provided separately from the host controller 10 (i.e., the power supply control unit 11 is mounted on a different board than the host controller 10). Even with such a configuration, the power supply control unit 11 can supply power to the communication device 20 in response to instructions (control) from the device control unit 13. The edge device may have a configuration in which the host controller 10 is incorporated into the power supply board 11a, or it may have other configurations.

[0146] While several embodiments of the present invention have been described, these embodiments are presented as examples only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These embodiments can be carried out in a variety of other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. These embodiments and their variations are included in the scope and spirit of the invention, as well as in the claims and their equivalents. [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 setup processing unit, 40...Server device, 41...Communication processing unit, 42...Determination unit, 43...Key information storage unit, 44...Determination information storage unit.

Claims

1. Controllers that can be installed in edge devices, A communication device connected to the controller and a server device connected via a network. It is equipped with, When the communication device is connected to the controller, first information specific to the controller is transmitted from the controller to the server device via the communication device and a user terminal used by a user capable of communicating with the communication device, and second information specific to the communication device is transmitted from the communication device to the server device via the user terminal. The server device is A first receiving means for receiving the transmitted first and second information, Based on the first and second information received, a management means manages the connection between the controller and the communication device. including Communication system.

2. When the communication device is connected to the controller, a pairing process is performed to pair the communication device with the user terminal. The first and second pieces of information are transmitted to the server device after the pairing is completed. The communication system according to claim 1.

3. The communication system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein when the communication device is connected to the controller, key information is assigned to the communication device, which has an expiration date set to an expiration date that is a certain period of time added to the date and time the communication device was connected to the controller, and when the expiration date expires, the key information is discarded and the connection between the controller and the communication device is released.

4. A method performed by a communication system comprising a controller provided in an edge device, a communication device connected to the controller, and a server device connected via a network, When the communication device is connected to the controller, the first information specific to the controller is transmitted from the controller to the server device via the communication device and a user terminal used by a user capable of communicating with the communication device, and the second information specific to the communication device is transmitted from the communication device to the server device via the user terminal. The server device receives the transmitted first and second information, The server device manages the connection between the controller and the communication device based on the received first and second information. A method that provides for this.

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