Status management system using electronic unit, management method, and service provision system

Abstract

To provide an electronic unit management method and a management system, in which an electronic unit acquires information from a peripheral instrument where the electronic unit itself exists and a system controller collects information acquired by the electronic unit to estimate an ambient environment of the electronic unit.SOLUTION: A first system controller and / or a second system controller according to an embodiment collect sensor information and / or present setting state information from an electronic unit registered in each address information. The system controller estimates / determines a state within a system, in which the electronic unit exists, on the basis of the collected information and / or the present setting state information. The system controller performs inquiry confirmation to a user through an I / F unit on the basis of estimation / determination of the state within the system.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 26A

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] An embodiment of the present invention relates to a situation management system, management method, and service provision system using an electronic unit, and relates to an M2M (Machine to Machine) applied technology or IoT (Internet of Things) applied technology that can collect information using various sensors installed in public facilities, homes, etc., and perform control based on that information. [Background technology]

[0002] As shown in Non-Patent Document 1, global standardization efforts are underway in the field of M2M or IoT applied technology. The aim is to establish a general-purpose standard that will comprehensively integrate and manage information obtained from a wide variety of sensors and adapt the results to a variety of services. [Prior art documents] [Non-patent literature]

[0003] [Non-Patent Document 1] D. Boswarthick et. al.: M2M Communications: A Systems Approach (2012, John Wiley & Sons Ltd.) Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] As Non-Patent Document 1 indicates, standardization activities to date have been premised on collecting information from "sensor-embedded devices" and utilizing that information in an integrated manner to provide services. Furthermore, the standard's requirement for versatility necessitates comprehensive handling of information obtained from a wide variety of sensors. Furthermore, to maintain the usefulness of established standards over the long term, they must also be able to accommodate future technological advances in sensor-embedded devices and the scalability of the types of sensors incorporated into those devices. Not only is it extremely difficult to achieve consistency between the mutually contradictory requirements of (sensor) diversity and (standard) versatility, but there is also an inherent contradiction in standardization activities in guaranteeing versatility, flexibility (to accommodate sensor diversity), and scalability for sensor-embedded devices.

[0005] The current technical challenges are the following four points. First, the accuracy of information collection to be used for service provision depends heavily on whether each sensor-embedded device is powered on or off. In other words, to select the optimal service content, it is necessary to integrate information obtained from various sensors and estimate / judge the state of a given system or the user's behavior and state. However, if the power of most of the devices in the above network system is turned off, the amount of information to be collected is too small, resulting in a significant decrease in the accuracy of the estimation / judgement.

[0006] Second, there is the difficulty of adapting to future changes in the functionality of sensor-embedded devices. For example, television functions were previously limited to receiving broadcast signals and displaying images. Consider the development of a communications standard that could monitor only the television display status. In contrast, high-end Japanese televisions now have built-in recording functions. Some high-end televisions also have data communication capabilities over network lines. While not widely used today, naked-eye 3DTV (3-Dimensional Television) is capable of detecting the viewer's location. Furthermore, in the future, televisions may incorporate built-in light sensors (to optimally control the brightness of the display screen). Updating the standard every time television functionality improves would require too much time and delay response. Conversely, adding new specifications in advance in anticipation of future TV functionality expansion would make the standard redundant and complicate in-device control.

[0007] The third technical challenge is that current communication standards, which aim for versatility and scalability, are finely layered (see Figure 32 for details), which creates duplication and redundancy in communication information. While layering communication standards makes it possible to accommodate a variety of technical fields by simply replacing specific layers, it also leads to an increase in the amount of communication information and more complex processing. As long as communication is carried out using PCs or smartphones equipped with high-performance processors, the increase in communication information volume and the increased complexity of processing have not been a problem. However, these standards are not suited to the demands of power saving and simplified processing.

[0008] The final technical challenge is that making communication information versatile requires a lot of processing power, leading to higher prices and higher power consumption. For example, one communication method allows communication information to be written in XML (Extensible Markup Language) format, making the communication information flexible and scalable. However, this requires an XML interpreting function (parser) on the receiving side, making the receiving function more complex. On the other hand, there is also a communication method that responds to the diversity of devices by providing different standard tables for communication information for each type of device. However, even in this case, the standard tables that can be used for high-end devices of the same type become complex, increasing the burden of communication processing on single-function devices.

[0009] The purpose of this embodiment is to provide a situation management system, management method, and service provision system that uses information from an electronic unit, which acquires information from surrounding devices at the location to which it is moved and operates itself according to the content of the acquired information. [Means for solving the problem]

[0010] According to one embodiment, the system comprises a first system controller and a second system controller disposed in a first local network and a second local network, respectively; a server located on a wide area network; The first local network, the second local network and the wide area network The server, the first system controller, and the second system controller are connected via a network. A situation management system using an electronic unit capable of communicating with a controller, The first system controller and the second system controller Each local area network has multiple sections, It manages the electronic units in each section. The server, the first system controller, and the second system controller Each of them has a memory section, and each of the memory sections has a memory for specifying the electronic unit to communicate with. It contains shared address information for The address information includes at least the IP address of the sender, the IP address of the receiver, identification information of the section in which the receiving electronic unit is located, including the receiving electronic unit; The device type code of the device and the device identification code within the same type are included. The first system controller and / or the second system controller means for collecting sensor information and / or current setting status information from each electronic unit registered in the address information; means for estimating / determining a state within a system in which said electronic unit resides based on said collected information and / or current setting state information; A situation management system using an electronic unit is provided, which includes a means for making inquiries and confirmations to users in the system via an I / F unit based on the estimation / determination of the state in the system.

[0011] The electronic unit is defined as a common / generalized unit that can be used for composite modules, devices, or a combination of these, and can be managed and controlled on a unit-by-unit basis.

[0012] The above units and a system controller constitute a network system, which is controlled as a whole by the system controller, and which is capable of communicating with the outside of the network system. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0013] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of a wide area network structure in the system of this embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of a local network structure in the system of this embodiment. [Figure 3A] FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of an embodiment of a unit. [Figure 3B] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of an embodiment of the unit. [Figure 4A] FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of an embodiment of a composite module. [Figure 4B] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of an embodiment of a composite module. [Figure 4C] FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of an embodiment of a composite module. [Figure 4D] FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of an embodiment of a composite module. [Figure 4E] FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of an embodiment of a composite module. [Figure 4F] FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of an embodiment of a composite module. [Figure 5] An explanatory diagram of the specific structure inside the sensor / communication module. [Figure 6A] 1 is a first embodiment showing a specific structure inside a drive / communication module. [Figure 6B] 10 is a second embodiment showing a specific structure inside the drive / communication module. [Figure 6C] 10 is a third embodiment showing a specific structure inside the drive / communication module. [Figure 6D] 10 is a fourth embodiment showing a specific structure inside the drive / communication module. [Figure 7A] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a specific structure inside the communication module. [Figure 7B] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of another embodiment of a specific structure within the communication module. [Figure 8A] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating another example of a local network structure. [Figure 8B] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating another example of a local network structure. [Figure 9] Application examples related to local network structures. [Figure 10A] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of the basic application / communication layer structure of the system according to the present embodiment. [Figure 10B] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an overview of information exchanged in the communication middleware layer. [Figure 11] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of a transmission data structure within a network line in this embodiment. [Figure 12A]An explanatory diagram of the data structure in the physical layer header and MAC layer header. [Figure 12B] FIG. 2 is a detailed explanatory diagram of an IEEE extended address in this embodiment. [Figure 13] An explanatory diagram of the data structure in the IPV6 header. [Figure 14] An explanatory diagram of the communication middleware data structure in C-format. [Figure 15A] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of the communication middleware data structure in the E-format. [Figure 15B] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of the communication middleware data structure in A-format. [Figure 16] An explanatory diagram of an application example related to the basic application / communication layer structure. [Figure 17A] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of another embodiment (1) relating to the application / communication layer structure. [Figure 17B] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of another embodiment (2) relating to the application / communication layer structure. [Figure 18A] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the periphery of a device driver in a computer system. [Figure 18B] An explanatory diagram of the management / control area of ​​the units within the system. [Figure 19A] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of another embodiment of the management / control relationship of units within the system. [Figure 19B] An explanatory diagram of how units within the system are managed and controlled from a software perspective. [Figure 20] FIG. 10 is a comparison diagram between an existing file system and the unit management method of this embodiment. [Figure 21A] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the internal structure of a unit management pseudo drive. [Figure 21B] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a display structure within a composite module compatible folder. [Figure 21C] An explanatory diagram showing an example of the internal structure of a folder for a sensor / communication module. [Figure 21D] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of displaying sensor information in a sensor / communication module. [Figure 22] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of a routine for managing the location of devices and various modules within a section. [Figure 23] FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of an example of an address table managed by the system of this embodiment. [Figure 24] An explanatory diagram of an example of section division. [Figure 25] Illustrative diagram of the spatial unit section related to sensing and services. [Figure 26A] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating the basic processing flow within the system controller. [Figure 26B] A diagram explaining how information is collected and estimated / judged from equipment and composite modules fixedly placed within a section. [Figure 27] FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of an estimation / determination method according to the present embodiment. [Figure 28] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of time series changes in communication information. [Figure 29] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of an example of a method for providing services in sections. [Figure 30] A diagram explaining how information is collected and estimated / judged from equipment and composite modules that can be moved between sections. [Figure 31] An explanatory diagram of how to monitor the position of equipment and various modules. [Figure 32] FIG. 3 is a structural explanatory diagram of a direction detection unit for detecting a direction of a radio wave source in the embodiment. [Figure 33] FIG. 2 is a structural explanatory diagram of the stealth plate in this embodiment. [Figure 34] 3A and 3B are diagrams illustrating the principle of detecting the direction of a radio wave source in this embodiment. [Figure 35] An explanatory diagram of an example of section division in the social infrastructure field. [Figure 36A] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of application of a combined module between different middleware layers. [Figure 36B] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing an example in which a combination module is applied between different systems. [Figure 37A] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing an example in which a composite module is applied. [Figure 37B] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing another example in which a composite module is applied. [Figure 37C] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing yet another example in which a composite module is applied. [Figure 37D]FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing yet another example in which a composite module is applied. [Figure 37E] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing yet another example in which a composite module is applied. [Figure 37F] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing yet another example in which a composite module is applied. [Figure 37G] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing yet another example in which a composite module is applied. [Figure 37H] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing yet another example in which a composite module is applied. [Figure 38] FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing network connections within a home client system. [Figure 39] An explanatory diagram of how to control smart home appliances that support automatic control. [Figure 40] An example of the robot cleaner control conditions setting screen. [Figure 41] An explanatory diagram of the information exchanged between air conditioners based on the E-format. [Figure 42] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating the contents of information exchanged with a television based on the E-format. [Figure 43] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating the relationship between the status information of each related device and the user's actions and status. [Figure 44] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating detailed control examples of each device related to the robot cleaner. [Figure 45] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating another embodiment of a method for automatically determining optimal operating conditions for a robot cleaner based on collected information. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0014] Hereinafter, the embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. First, the structure of chapters and sections relating to the contents of the description of the embodiment will be shown in the table of contents below.

[0015] Chapter 1 Overview of the Overall System in This Embodiment Section 1.1 Overview of the Overall System in This Embodiment Section 1.2 Explanation of Unit Configuration Section 1.3 Explanation of the Configuration in the Combined Module Section 1.4 Explanation of the Structure in the Sensor / Communication Module Section 1.5 Explanation of the Structure in the Drive / Communication Module Section 1.6 Section 1.7: Explanation of an example of the structure within a communication module. Section 1.8: Explanation of the overall structure of a wide area network system in this embodiment. Section 1.9: Explanation of the structure of a local network system in this embodiment. Chapter 2: Examples of using a composite module within a local network system. Section 2.1 Hierarchical structure of network communication-related functions in this embodiment Section 2.2 Relationship between the hierarchical structure of communication-related functions and communication information on network lines Section 2.3 Z-format data structure in the physical layer and media access layer Section 2.4 Data structure in the Internet Protocol version 6 layer Section 2.5 C-format data structure in the communication middleware layer Section 2.6 E-format data structure in the communication middleware layer Section 2.7 A-format data structure in the communication middleware layer Section 2.8 Address tables used in this embodiment system and examples of their use Chapter 3 Management / display method for each unit Section 3.1 Overview of basic unit management method Section 3.2 Section 3.3 Unit management means Specific examples of unit management and display examples Chapter 4 Overview of sections within the system of this embodiment Section 4.1 Positioning of sections within the system of this embodiment Section 4.2 Method for managing the placement locations of various modules and various devices within sections Section 4.3 Processing method from information collection to service provision for each section Section 4.4 Method for tracking the movement of various modules and various devices between sections Section 4.5 Compatibility of units (composite modules and devices) between different systems Chapter 5 Application examples for each application field Section 5.1 Application example in the civilian field Section 5.1.1 Section 5.1.2 Examples of application of wide area network systems to the consumer sector Section 5.1.3 Examples of application of the section division method to the consumer sector Section 5.2 Examples of application to the social infrastructure sector Section 5.2.1 Examples of application of wide area network systems to the social infrastructure sector Section 5.2.2 Examples of application of composite modules to the social infrastructure sector Section 5.2.3 Examples of application of the section division method to the social infrastructure sector Section 5.3 Examples of application to the healthcare sector Section 5.3.1 Examples of application of wide area network systems to the healthcare sector Section 5.3.2 Examples of application of composite modules to the healthcare sector Section 5.3.3 Examples of application of the section division method to the healthcare sector Chapter 6 Automatic control methods for smart home appliances Section 6.1 Relationship between automatically controlled smart home appliances and related smart home appliances Section 6.2 Overview of control methods for automatically controlled smart home appliances Section 6.3 Communication information between smart home appliance related devices Section 6.4 Methods for estimating / determining user behavior and status Section 6.5 Other embodiments relating to automatic control between smart home appliances Next, in accordance with the above table of contents, each chapter / section will be described below.

[0016] Chapter 1 Overview of the Overall System in the Present Embodiment Section 1.1 Overview of the Overall System of the Present Embodiment First, an overview of the overall system of the present embodiment will be provided using Figures 1 and 2. Figure 1 shows the overall structure of the wide area network system within the overall system of the present embodiment, and Figure 2 shows the structure of a local network system that constitutes part of that wide area network system. Furthermore, the embodiments, service contents, and newly arising effects explained in Figure 1 are applied in their entirety to the embodiment system shown in Figure 2. Similarly, the embodiments, service contents, and newly arising effects explained using Figure 2 (or described later using Figures 8A to 8B and Figure 9) also apply to the entire wide area network system of Figure 1.

[0017] In FIG. 1, the controlling institutions or organizations that handle specific products or information are called wholesalers A_1102 and B1 / 2_1104-1 / 2. Organizations or groups that provide specific services are called service providers A to C_1112-1 to 3. Here, each of service providers A to C_1112-1 to 3 has one or more servers 1 to n_1116-1 to n. In this embodiment system, the above servers 1 to n_1116-1 to n are also called cloud servers or clouds. These service providers A to C_1112-1 to 3 obtain products (or information) from wholesaler B1_1104-1 and / or wholesaler B2_1104-2 that handle similar products (or information), and provide services to each of domains 1 to 3_1122-1 to 3. Here, domains 1 to 3_1122-1 to 3 indicate specific network spaces, and one domain 2_1122-2 is composed of one or more systems α_1132 and β_1134. In the following description, the above systems α_1132 and β_1134 may be referred to as network systems or client systems. Therefore, the terms "network system" and "client system" used in the following description are synonymous with the above "systems α_1132 and β_1134." Also, as mentioned above, one domain 2_1122-2 may be composed of multiple different systems α_1132 and β_1134. Therefore, in the following description, the above domain 2_1122-2 may be referred to as a composite client system. Therefore, the term "composite client" used in the following description is synonymous with "domain 2_1122-2."

[0018] Here, wholesalers A_1102, B1 / 2_1104-1 / 2 are connected to service providers A to C_1112-1 to 3 and domains 1 to 3_1122-1 to 3 via a network. Furthermore, service providers A to C_1112-1 to 3 are also connected to each other via a network, enabling information sharing or resource collaboration 1114.

[0019] System α_1132 shown in FIG. 1 refers to the smallest network system unit whose internal components are connected to each other via a network. In addition, one system controller α_1126 is often installed within system α_1132. This system controller α_1126 manages or operates the (network) system. System β_1134, which is the smallest network system unit, may be composed of only one system controller β_1128. Furthermore, systems α_1132 and β_1134 that constitute the same domain 2_1122-2 may be located in physically separate locations. Furthermore, cooperative processing is also possible between different systems α_1132 and β_1134 within the same domain domain 2_1122-2.

[0020] In this embodiment, the predetermined service units provided to users within the same system α_1132 are defined as sections 1 to m_1142-1 to m. Furthermore, without being limited to this, units related to the integration, management, and control of information collected within the same system α_1132 may also be defined as sections 1 to m_1142-1 to m. Naturally, the same sections 1 to m_1142-1 to m may also be used as both a service unit for users and a unit for integrating, managing, and controlling information. Providing services and collecting / managing information in units of sections 1 to m_1142-1 to m in this way has the effect of increasing the efficiency of service provision and information collection / management, and improving convenience for users.

[0021] The structure of the local network system formed by system α_1132 in Fig. 1 is shown in Fig. 2. A processor 1230 and a memory unit 1232 are built into system controller α_1126, and network communication within system α_1132 is performed via communication module 1202-3. In parallel with this, system controller α_1126 is also capable of network communication with the outside world via the same communication module 1202-3.

[0022] In this embodiment, the basic units having network communication functions other than the system controller α_1126 in the network system α_1132 are defined as units 1-7_1290-1-7. In this embodiment, various predetermined functions scattered throughout the network system α_1132 are managed or controlled on a unit-by-unit basis. This facilitates integrated management / control of various functions within the same network system α_1132, regardless of the physical form of the units. As an example of how the network communication functions of each of the units 1-7_1290-1-7 are realized, FIG. 2 shows an example in which communication modules 1202-4-10 are built into each of the units 1-7_1290-1-7. However, the means for realizing the network communication functions is not limited to this. For example, the network communication functions may be provided in part of a predetermined module or part of a device. Alternatively, the network communication functions may be realized as part of the functions of specific software.

[0023] In the system of this embodiment, the system controller α_1126 is basically responsible for managing / operating / controlling network communications within the network system α_1132. This system controller α_1126 is often physically installed within the network system α_1132, as shown in FIG. 2. In this case, each of the units 1-7_1290-1-7 in FIG. 2 can individually communicate information directly with the system controller α_1126. However, as will be described later with reference to FIG. 9, a system controller β_1128 physically installed outside the network system α_1132 may manage / operate / control network communications within the network system α_1132. Furthermore, under the management of the system controller α_1126 or the system controller β_1128, individual information communications can also be performed between different units 1-7_1290-1-7.

[0024] Section 1.2 Description of Unit Forms The previous section has already explained the feature that the system controller α_1126 manages or controls various predetermined functions scattered throughout the system α_1132 on a unit-by-unit basis. As shown in Figure 2, a large number of different function realization means are scattered throughout the same network system α_1132, and in the past, integrated management and control of these functions was extremely complicated. Furthermore, the physical forms of the units that realize various functions vary widely, including the device 1250, the composite module 1295 (the composite module will be explained later in Section 1.3), the sensor module 1260, and the drive module 1270. This further increases the complexity of integrated management and control.

[0025] To address this increased complexity, the system of this embodiment is characterized by managing and controlling the diverse function realization means scattered throughout the network system α_1132 as units based on network communication functions (meaning that the realization means for each network communication function is the basic unit). In other words, a single function or a collection of multiple functions that can be realized in conjunction with minimal network communication functions is categorized under the common and generalized concept of a unit. As mentioned above, each individual unit can take on a variety of physical forms, but management, control, or information collection is performed using a common and generalized unit that is independent of specific physical forms as the basic unit. In this way, by defining units that are independent of individual functions or physical forms as management units (or control / information collection units) within the network system α_1132, it is possible to significantly simplify management, control, and information collection within the network system α_1132 by the system controller α_1126 or the system controller β_1128. (Specific examples of management / control using units will be discussed later in Chapter 3.) As a specific example of the physical form of the units, as shown in Figure 2, the entire device (Device) 1_1250-1 may correspond to unit 4_1290-4, or the entire independently existing combination modules 1_1295-1 and 7_1295-7 may correspond to units 1_1290-1 and 7_1290-7. Furthermore, not limited to this, combination modules 6_1295-6, 2_1295-2, and 3_1295-3 that constitute part of device 2_1250-2 or device 5_1250-5 may correspond to units 6_1290-6, 2_1290-2, and 3_1290-3, respectively. In Figure 2, unit 2_1290-2 and unit 3_1290-3 overlap at communication module 1202-10. In this embodiment, partial overlap between different units 2_1290-2 and 3_1290-3 is thus permitted. Furthermore, there may be an inclusion relationship between different units (where one unit is completely contained within another unit).

[0026] While Fig. 2 shows a specific example, the form that a unit can generally take will be explained using Fig. 3A. In the unit form shown in Fig. 3A(a), the entire device 1250 having network communication capabilities corresponds to one unit 1290. Here, if this device 1250 has complex multi-functions, the unit 1290 is also managed or controlled / information collected within the network system α_1132 as a basic unit having similarly complex multi-functions.

[0027] 3A(b), a composite module 1295 (specific details of which will be described later in Section 1.3) existing independently within the network system α_1132 may correspond to one unit 1290. As yet another management form (or control / information collection unit form), a specific device 1250 (which may or may not have a network communication function on its own) to which a predetermined composite module 1295 has been added or connected to be expanded may be regarded as one unit 1290 as shown in FIG. 3A(c).

[0028] The unit configuration defined within the device 5_1250-5 shown in FIG. 2 will be explained for clarity using FIG. 3B. As shown in FIG. 3B, the device 5_1250-5 incorporates one sensor module 1260-9 with a sensor function and two drive modules 1_1270-5 and 2_1270-6 with different drive or operating functions. It also incorporates a communication module 1202-10 with network communication functionality with the system controller α_1126 within the network system α_1132. The device 5_1250-5 also includes a device controller 1240-3 that comprehensively controls the operation of these modules and comprehensively collects and manages the status information of these modules and the sensor information obtained therefrom. Information acquired or independently generated by the device controller 1240-3 can be stored in the memory unit 1246.

[0029] As described above, system controller α_1126 or system controller β_1128 can appropriately set (define) the unit form as the reference unit for optimal management or control / information collection within network system α_1132. For example, if system controller α_1126 or system controller β_1128 wants to control / collect information in detail on individual sensor functions and drive (operation) functions within device 5_1250-5 via the network (i.e., via communication module 1202-10), it sets up unit 2_1290-2 as shown in Figure 3B(a). In this case, unit 2_1290-2 is composed of sensor module 1260-9, two drive modules 1_1270-5 and 2_1270-6, and communication module 1202-10. System controller α_1126 (or system controller β_1128) can then finely control individual modules within unit 2_1290-2.

[0030] In contrast, as shown in Figure 3B(b), unit 3_1290-3 is composed only of communication module 1202-10 and device controller 1240-3. Therefore, when system controller α_1126 (or system controller β_1128) communicates with unit 3_1290-3, advanced control of the entire device 5_1250-5 or integrated information collection is possible. Furthermore, information communication with unit 3_1290-3 does not require detailed information communication processing for each module, as is the case when communicating with unit 2_1290-2. Therefore, when unit 3_1290-3 is configured (defined), processing within system controller α_1126 (or system controller β_1128) is greatly simplified, improving processing efficiency. When the form (configuration) of unit 1290 changes as described above, the content of the information communicated between unit 1290 and system controller α_1126 (system controller β_1128) changes.

[0031] As mentioned above, the unit takes the form of a predetermined function that is realized in cooperation with a minimum network communication function. Therefore, the above unit has a minimum network communication function. If the communication module 1202-10 is configured as shown in FIG. 3B as an example of the implementation of this network communication function, the communication module 1202-10 will be included in the above unit. As a result, as shown in FIG. 3B(c), there is overlap between unit 2_1290-2 and unit 3_1290-3, with the communication module 1202-10 as the common part.

[0032] As described above, by making it possible to flexibly configure the specific form of unit 1290 within network system α_1132, such as by allowing multiple different units to be configured with the same functional section, the effect of improving the freedom of management (or control / information collection) of system controller α_1126 (or system controller β_1128) is achieved.

[0033] Section 1.3 Configuration Within the Composite Module As one form of the description unit 1295, the configuration of the composite module 1295 is shown in FIG. 3A(b). In this embodiment, the composite module is defined as a functional module capable of realizing a communication function and other functions other than the communication function. A particular feature of this module is the involvement of a communication function in the realization of the other functions. Information communication with the outside (outside the composite module 1295) related to the other functions is performed via this communication function. In other words, the communication function within the composite module 1295 can be used to collect information obtained as a result of executing a specific function possessed by the composite module 1295 from the outside (outside the composite module 1295). On the other hand, the communication function within the composite module 1295 may also be used to control the specific function possessed by the composite module 1295 from the outside (outside the composite module 1295).

[0034] Specific examples of the other functions include a sensor function, a drive (or operation) function, a control (process) function, a memory function, and a display function. However, the functions are not limited to these, and the combined module may have any function other than the communication function. In particular, a combined module having a sensor function is called a sensor / communication module 1460, and a combined module having a drive (or operation) function is called a drive / communication module 1470. Furthermore, a combined module having a control (process) function is called a processor / communication module 1465, a combined module having a memory function is called a memory / communication module 1475, and a combined module having a display function is called a display / communication module 1478.

[0035] Next, we will explain the difference between the composite module described here and the unit described in Section 1.2. The composite module 1295 can constitute part of the device 1290 as a specified module. The composite module 1295 may also exist independently within a network system. In contrast, the unit 1290 represents the basic unit of management / control / information collection within a network system, which shares and generalizes various forms, such as the device 1290, the composite module 1295, or a combination thereof. Therefore, as shown in Figure 3A(b), one unit 1290 can contain one or more composite modules 1295, in an inclusive relationship. As a specific example, while the device 1290 corresponds to one form of the unit 1290, the composite module 1295 merely constitutes a part of the device 1290. In this inclusive relationship, the means for realizing the above-mentioned communication functions are shared by both the unit 1290 and the composite module 1295. Incidentally, Section 1.2 explained that the system controller α_1126 is not included in the unit 1290. On the other hand, a major difference from unit 1290 is that part of the system controller α_1126 can be set as a composite module 1295.

[0036] The means for realizing the communication function and other functions within the combined module may be either software (program) or hardware (circuit), or may be a combination of software and hardware (partially realized in hardware and the rest in software). Furthermore, in either software or hardware, the communication function and other functions do not need to be separated; the means for realizing both functions may be mixed in software or hardware, or they may overlap or be inclusive. Furthermore, the means for realizing both functions do not necessarily need to be directly connected in software or hardware. In other words, the means for realizing the communication function and the means for realizing the other functions may be located far apart in hardware or programs, and some kind of linking means may be used to enable the means for realizing both functions to process cooperatively.

[0037] For ease of explanation, the configuration within the composite module is shown as a block structure in Figures 4A to 4F. These blocks may be predetermined circuits (hardware) or predetermined coherent programs (software). Furthermore, the blocks do not necessarily need to be separated in terms of software or hardware; as mentioned above, the blocks may be mixed, dispersed, partially overlapping (shared), or inclusive.

[0038] The basic configuration of the combined module 1295 is shown in Figure 4A. The combined module 1295 includes a communication module 1660 as a means for implementing the communication function within the combined module 1295. Note that Figure 4A(a) shows a configuration in which an antenna 1480 for transmitting and receiving wireless signals is separately located and connected to the communication module 1660. On the other hand, Figure 4A(b) shows an antenna for transmitting and receiving wireless signals built into the communication module, forming an antenna-integrated communication module 1666. Furthermore, this antenna-integrated communication module 1666 is configured to be functionally connected to an other function module (function other than communication) 1440 that realizes functions other than the communication function (the two function in conjunction with each other). Note that, as shown in Figure 4A(b), the antenna-integrated communication module 1666 and the other function module 1440 do not necessarily need to be directly connected; it is sufficient if a link is formed between the two functions in some way. 4A(a), an example of such link formation may be such that a communication module 1660 and another function module (function other than communication) 1440, which are remotely located, can be connected by a long-distance cable or the like, and the two can perform remote cooperation 1444. (For example, if a combined module is configured using software and a program constituting the communication module 1660 and a program constituting the other function module 1440 are located on servers in remote locations, the two programs may perform cooperative processing via link data (such as a URL (Uniform Resource Locator)) corresponding to the remote cooperation 1444.) For example, when it is desired to operate the other function module (function other than communication) 1440 in a special environment where wireless transmission and reception (realization of a communication function by the communication module 1660 using an antenna 1480) is impossible, such as underground, deep underwater, or in a recessed location within a steel-frame building, the remote cooperation 1444 has the effect of allowing the combined module 1295 to function stably even in the special environment. Furthermore, configurations other than those shown in Figure 4A are not prohibited for the composite module; for example, the antenna-integrated communication module 1666 and the other function module (functions other than communication) 1440 may be remotely located, and the two may be remotely connected 1444 via a long-distance cable or the like.

[0039] FIG. 4B shows a configuration example when a sensor / communication module 1460 is used as an example of the combined module 1295. The other function module (functions other than communication) 1440 in FIG. 4A is the sensor module 1260 in FIG. 4B. This sensor module 1260 refers to a sensor function unit that has a quantitative or qualitative information collection function or a signal detection function within the specified system α_1132. This sensor module 1260 has the attribute of being installable or movable (portable) within the specified system α_1132, and can contribute to state measurement and observation within the corresponding system α_1132.

[0040] Specific examples of objects to be sensed include common human information such as body temperature, pulse rate, heart rate, and respiratory rate; identifiable information such as facial expressions, individual facial shapes and appearances, and size information such as height and width; physical information such as illuminance (brightness), acceleration, temperature, humidity, power / current / voltage, and flow rate (of water, gas, etc.); movement information such as the number of people present in a specified section 1142, congestion status, or human presence detection information, and movement status of people and vehicles; and structural information such as the temperature, distortion, shape, number of cracks, and internal cavity volume of a structure; but the invention is not limited to these and can be applied to any senseable object.

[0041] FIG. 4C shows a configuration example using a drive / communication module 1470 as another example of the combined module 1295. The other function module (functions other than communication) 1440 in FIG. 4A is the drive module 1670 in FIG. 4C. The external antenna 1480 and the communication module 1660 may be connectable (FIG. 4C(b)), or the module may be configured with an antenna-integrated communication module 1666 that includes an antenna for transmitting and receiving wireless signals (FIG. 4C(a)). In the embodiment of FIG. 4C(a), the antenna-integrated communication module 1666 and the drive module 1670 are located remotely from each other, enabling remote cooperation 1444 between the two via a remote cable or the like. However, the present invention is not limited to this. The remote cooperation 1444 may also be achieved between the communication module 1660 connectable to the external antenna 1480 and the drive module 1670.

[0042] The actuator module 1670 defined here refers to a service provision-related function unit for providing a specific service or a state change control function unit used to control predetermined state changes within the system α_1132. The term "actuator" used in the term actuator module here is often misunderstood as limiting it to a moving or operational unit that actually moves, but it does not necessarily have to move. Therefore, specific functions of the actuator module may include a display function for audio or images, a function to maintain or change the illuminance or intensity of a light or a scent, or a predetermined information transmission function (such as a remote control function) or information communication relay function that serves as part of the information transmission path for controlling these, or a remote control function (of the predetermined device 1250).

[0043] The sensor / communication module 1460 and drive / communication module 1470 described so far often communicate information relatively passively in response to control from the system controller α_1126 (or system controller β_1128). In contrast, the processor / communication module 1465 shown in FIG. 4D performs relatively spontaneous or active functions. In this embodiment, the control (process) function realization means within the processor / communication module 1465 may include not only the device controller 1240 within the device 1250 but also the processor 1230 (FIG. 2) within the system controller α_1126 or the processor 1734 (FIGS. 17A / B) within the system controller β_1128. In particular, the communication module 1202-3 within the system controller α_1126 or the system controller β_1128 enables information communication with devices (e.g., server α_1116-n) installed outside the system α_1132 or the system β_1134. Here, the combined module 1295 is required to have at least an information communication function within system α_1132 (or system β_1134). Therefore, in Fig. 4D, the communication module 1202-3 is functionally separated into an in-same-system compatible communication module 1752 and an out-of-system compatible communication module 1758, and only this in-same-system compatible communication module 1752 constitutes the processor / communication module 1465. However, this is not limited to this, and the out-of-system compatible communication module 1758 may also be included in the processor / communication module 1465. Furthermore, when the configured (defined) processor / communication module 1465 exists within the device 1250, the out-of-system compatible communication module 1758 is often not originally included within the device 1250.

[0044] When the processor / communication module 1465 within the network system α_1132 (or β_1134) performs a relatively spontaneous or active function, it often utilizes information recorded in the management information (table) related information recording area 1740, which will be described later with reference to Figures 10A / B. Therefore, when the processor / communication module 1465 is required to perform a spontaneous / active function, the processor / communication module 1465 may include part of the memory units 1242, 1246 within the device 1250, part of the memory unit 1232 within the system controller α_1126 (Figure 2), or part of the memory unit 1248 within the system controller β_1128 (Figures 17A / B).

[0045] For example, when system controller α_1126 reads information recorded in memory unit 1242 in device 1_1250-1 in Figure 2, a sophisticated exchange of communication information is generally required between processor 1230 in system controller α_1126 and device controller 1240-1 in device 1_1250-1. In contrast, as shown in Figure 4E, by providing a memory / communication module 1475 consisting only of a management information (table) related information recording area 1740 in memory units 1242, 1246, 1232, and 1248 and a corresponding communication module 1752 within the same system, direct information communication between system controller α_1126 (or system controller β_1128) and memory / communication module 1475 is possible using a very simplified communication protocol. Therefore, the memory / communication module 1475 has the effect of simplifying communication of information recorded in management information (table) related information recording area 1740.

[0046] 4B to 4E have only been described as examples of a single function realized by the other function module 1440 in Fig. 4A. However, this is not limiting and multiple different functions may be realized within a single combined module 1295, as shown in Fig. 4F. For example, multiple different sensing functions (corresponding to sensor modules 1_1260-1 and 2_1260-2), multiple different driving (operating) functions (corresponding to driving modules 1_1670-1 and 2_1670-2), a control (processing) function (corresponding to processors 1230 and 1734 or device controller 1240), a memory function (corresponding to memory units 1232 and 1248), and a display function (display module 1226) may be simultaneously realized within the combined module 1295. Furthermore, as in the embodiment shown in Figure 4F, the sensor module 1_1260-1 and the drive module 1670-2 may be individually placed at locations far away from where the antenna 1480 and the communication module 1660 are connected, and a structure may be adopted in which remote connection 1444 is possible using a long-distance cable or the like.

[0047] 4F, each other function module having a function other than communication is individually connected by wiring from the communication module 1660. However, instead of connecting each other function module, the communication module 1660 and a number of other function modules may be connected to a common bus line. In this case, the other function module directly connected to the communication module 1660 is switched over time by a selector action or address designation.

[0048] Section 1.4: Explanation of the Structure Within the Sensor / Communication Module A more specific and detailed example of the structure within the sensor / communication module 1460 outlined in Figure 4B is shown in Figure 5. As a basic structure, a sensor signal or detection information obtained by the sensor module 1260 is transferred to the communication module 1660. This sensor signal or detection information is sent via the communication module 1660 to the communication module 1202-3 (Figure 2) within the system controller α_1126. Here, processing of information communicated by the communication middleware layer APL02 conforming to the C-format, etc., described later in Chapter 2 using Figures 10A and 10B, is also performed within the communication module 1660 in Figure 5.

[0049] Meanwhile, power supplied to the sensor module 1260 and the communication module 1660 is obtained from a power storage module (battery) 1554. Furthermore, the sensor / communication module 1460 in FIG. 5 has a built-in (photovoltaic) power generation module (solar cell) 1552 with a photoelectric conversion function, and the power generated in this (photovoltaic) power generation module (solar cell) 1552 with a photoelectric conversion function is stored in the power storage module (battery) 1554. While FIG. 5 shows the (photovoltaic) power generation module (solar cell) 1552 with a photoelectric conversion function as the power generation means, some other energy conversion means may be used instead. As the energy conversion means other than the photoelectric conversion element, for example, a thermoelectric conversion means such as a thermocouple may be used. The sensor / communication module 1460 with such a built-in thermoelectric conversion means may be worn by an end user, and the sensor / communication module 1460 may be operated by power generation using the end user's body heat. As yet another embodiment, wireless energy received by the communication module 1660 from the communication module 1202-3 in the system controller α_1126 in Fig. 2 may be converted into power and stored, or near-field energy received from the outside by the near-field communication module 1560 described below may be converted into power and stored. In this way, by incorporating an energy conversion means such as a (solar) power generation module 1552 and a power storage module (battery) 1554 in the sensor / communication module 1460, it becomes possible for the sensor / communication module 1460 to operate for a long period of time without an external power supply.

[0050] When the sensor module 1260 is used to measure light, ambient temperature, or ambient humidity, or when the sensor module 1260 corresponds to a human presence sensor, the sensor module 1260 is mounted so as to be exposed on the surfaces of the devices 1_1250-1, 2_1250-2, and 5_1250-5 (FIG. 2). At the same time, the (photovoltaic) power generation module (solar cell) 1552 is also mounted so as to be exposed on the surfaces of the devices 1_1250-1, 2_1250-2, and 5_1250-5.

[0051] However, if the sensor / communication module 1460 is left in a dark place for a long period of time, the amount of power stored in the power storage module (battery) 1554 decreases, posing a risk of not being able to supply sufficient power to the sensor module 1260 and the communication module 1660. In response to this, if the output voltage of the power storage module (battery) 1554 or the amount of power stored in the power storage module (battery) 1554 drops below a predetermined reference value, this is reported to the system controller α_1126 in FIG. 2 via the communication module 1660 as appropriate. Specifically, as will be described in detail in Chapter 2 using FIG. 14, information indicating "low battery power" is reported from a specific sensor / communication module 1460 to the system controller α_1126 in the form of an "alarm notification." When the processor 1230 in the system controller α_1126 detects a decrease in the amount of power stored in the power storage module (battery) 1554 built into the specific sensor / communication module 1460, it notifies the end user via the user I / F unit 1234. In this way, by appropriately notifying the system controller α_1126 of the output voltage or stored energy of the storage module (battery) 1554, it is possible to prevent a specific sensor / communication module 1460 from stopping operation due to a decrease in stored energy, thereby ensuring the operational stability of the entire system of this embodiment.

[0052] The sensor / communication module 1460 shown in FIG. 5 also includes a built-in near-field communication module 1560 capable of near-field wireless communication. Examples of the near-field wireless transfer technology used here include TransferJet and the contactless IC card standard FeliCa (registered trademark) (a portmanteau of Felicity and Card). In addition to the external power supply described above, the near-field communication module 1560 may also be used to detect the installation location of the sensor / communication module 1460 during initial setup, as described below. Specifically, when a combination module 7_1295-7 corresponding to the sensor / communication module is installed independently in the system of this embodiment shown in FIG. 2 (or when a device 2_1250-2 incorporating a combination module 6_1295-6 corresponding to the sensor / communication module is installed), a portable external device (not shown) incorporating a GPS (Global Positioning System) function is brought close to communicate with the near-field communication module 1560. The GPS location information at this time is notified to the system controller α_1126 via the communication module 1202-3. As a result, the location information of the installed combination module 7_1295-7 corresponding to the sensor / communication module alone (or device 2_1250-2 incorporating combination module 6_1295-6 corresponding to the sensor / communication module) is registered in system controller α_1126. This registration information is stored in memory section 1232 (Figure 2) in system controller α_1126, for example, as information in the format of Figure 23 described in Chapter 2. In this way, by incorporating a GPS function and initially setting it up using near-field communication with a portable external device, the installed location of the sensor / communication module 1460 can be determined, which has the effect of enabling the provision of detailed services to end users.

[0053] Section 1.5: Description of the Structure Within the Driving / Communication Module. A more specific and detailed structural example of the driving / communication module 1470 outlined in FIG. 4C is shown in FIGS. 6A to 6D. When the externally controllable driving / communication module 1470 is used as part of a circuit (a component within the circuit) within the device 1250, the circuit component function is often an "ON / OFF switch," "predetermined voltage output," or "variable resistance." In this embodiment, the above-mentioned standard functions (the most commonly used within the circuit) are provided within the specific device 1250 as a module. This is characterized by the reduced cost and improved ease of assembly of the compatible device 1250. As an example, FIG. 6A shows the internal structure of the driving / communication module 1470 that provides the "variable resistance" function, FIG. 6B shows the internal structure of the driving / communication module 1470 that provides the "ON / OFF switch" function, and FIG. 6C shows the internal structure of the driving / communication module 1470 that provides the "predetermined voltage output" function. Among these, to provide the functions of "variable resistance value" and "ON / OFF switch," an input terminal 1602 and an output terminal 1604 are required. Figure 6A shows a structure in which a variable resistance unit 1610 is placed between the two terminals, making it possible to set the variable resistance value between the two. On the other hand, in Figure 6B, a conduction / disconnection switching unit 1614 is placed between the two terminals to form an ON / OFF switch between the two. CMOS (Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor) type FET (Field-effect Transistor) elements may be used as specific circuit elements for the variable resistance unit 1610 and the conduction / disconnection switching unit 1614. Here, an element with a gentle Gamma characteristic (resistance characteristic between input terminal 1602 and output terminal 1604 in response to the input voltage applied to variable resistance unit 1610 or conduction / disconnection switching unit 1614) (an element whose resistance value changes gradually even when the applied input voltage value is changed significantly) is used for variable resistance unit 1610, and an element with a steep Gamma characteristic (an element whose resistance value changes rapidly from a conduction state where the resistance value is close to "0" to a disconnection state where the resistance value is "very large" in response to a slight change in input voltage around a predetermined threshold) is used for conduction / disconnection switching unit 1614.However, in this embodiment, the circuit element is not limited to the CMOS-type FET element, and any circuit element that provides a variable resistance or an ON / OFF switch function under some control may be used. Meanwhile, the terminal that outputs the "predetermined voltage" may be a single terminal, voltage output terminal 1606, as shown in FIG. 6C. The output voltage from this terminal is connected to the output of predetermined voltage generator 1618 in drive module 1670. As a specific example of the circuitry within predetermined voltage generator 1618, this embodiment employs a system in which an intermediate voltage is extracted from a constant voltage source generated within drive / communication module 1470 or a constant voltage (e.g., power supply voltage) supplied from an external source to a ground line (earth line) through a variable resistor, and the extracted voltage is maintained by a current supply buffer circuit (an electronic circuit capable of supplying a relatively large external current to maintain the output voltage even when the external impedance is low). However, this is not limited to this, and any system or circuit capable of generating and maintaining a predetermined voltage may be used.

[0054] In all of FIGS. 6A to 6C, the set value is provided by the communication module 1660, which is located outside the drive module 1670. This embodiment is characterized by the inclusion of an internal storage section for the set value, so that the set value does not change even if the drive / communication module 1470 is powered off. The corresponding storage section is the set resistance value storage section 1620 in FIG. 6A, the set state storage section 1624 in FIG. 6B, and the set voltage storage section 1628 in FIG. 6C. These are all, for example, configured with nonvolatile semiconductor memory such as NAND (Not And) memory. However, the storage section may be configured with any nonvolatile memory. That is, in all of FIGS. 6A to 6C, the set value notified from the communication module 1660 is once notified to the set resistance value storage section 1620, the set state storage section 1624, or the set voltage storage section 1628, and then nonvolatilely stored in these storage sections. At the same time, the stored setting values ​​are output from these storage sections to control the operation of the variable resistor section 1610, the conduction / disconnection switching section 1614, or the predetermined voltage generating section 1618.

[0055] When drive modules 1270-1 and 1270-6 are used to control or change the settings of devices 1_1250-1 and 5_1250-5 in Figure 2, the specific form of these drive modules 1270-1 and 1270-6 may be an extended form of a remote control using existing infrared communication. That is, drive module 1270-1 and communication module 1202-4 in device 1_1250-1 form drive / communication module 1470 (a type of composite module 1295), which can be placed at a remote location outside device 1_1250-1 as a "new type remote control." Similarly, drive module 1270-5 and part of communication module 1202-10 in device 5_1250-5 form drive / communication module 1470 (a type of composite module 1295), which can be placed at a remote location outside device 5_1250-5 as a "new type remote control." As a concrete example, this "new type remote control" can be used as an extension (replacement) of the conventional type of remote control that uses infrared communication and is attached to air conditioners, televisions, lighting equipment, etc.

[0056] The internal structure of the drive / communication module 1470 adapted to this usage method is shown in Fig. 6D. The embodiment shown in Fig. 6D is capable of both controlling transitions between binary states (changing state settings) such as "switching between ON / OFF" and controlling "fine state setting changes using multi-valued information." Furthermore, the control of transitions between binary states (changing state settings) from the communication module 1660 that receives communication information exchanged within the network system α_1132 is stored or updated in the setting state memory unit 1624. Meanwhile, the control information related to "fine state setting changes using multi-valued information" sent from the communication module 1660 is stored or updated in the setting voltage memory unit 1628.

[0057] The information stored or updated in the setting state memory unit 1624 and the setting voltage memory unit 1628 is format-converted by the format conversion unit 1644, then passes through the infrared light emitting drive circuit 1648 and is modulated by the infrared light emitting element 1608, and reaches the remote control-compatible infrared receiving unit in the device 1_1250-1 or 5_1250-5. This has the effect of making it possible to inexpensively and easily incorporate existing devices 1250 into the network system α_1132 by simply replacing the existing infrared communication remote control with the drive / communication module 1470 shown in Figure 6D, without replacing the main body of many existing devices 1_1250-1 or 5_1250-5, such as air conditioners, televisions, and lighting equipment.

[0058] Here, the minimum functionality required for an existing remote controller does not necessarily require storing the state when controlling device 1250. However, since setting state memory unit 1624 and setting voltage memory unit 1628 are built into drive module 1670 in drive / communication module 1460, there is an advantage that system controller α_1126 can later check the control history via communication module 1660. Note that, as described above, NAND (Not And) memory or other non-volatile memory may be used for setting state memory unit 1624 and setting voltage memory unit 1628.

[0059] Here, the C-format, which will be described in detail later in Chapter 2, may be used as communication information transmitted between the system controller α_1126 and the drive / communication module 1470. Below, a method for transferring communication information exchanged with the system controller α_1126 in Fig. 2 within the drive / communication module 1470 based on the C-format will be described. However, without being limited to this, information communication processing with the system controller α_1126 may also be performed in A-format, E-format, or any other format.

[0060] First, when the system controller α_1126 issues a command to start operation (to turn on the power) to the existing device 1250, the communication access control information 1830 in the communication information (FIG. 14(d)) from the system controller α_1126 to the corresponding drive / communication module 1470 is set to

[0111] (reset instruction), the multi-value transmission data section CTMDT is set to

[0000] , and the value of the binary transmission data section CT2DT is set to [1] (ON). When the communication module 1660 receives this information, it transfers and stores the information [1] (power ON) in the setting status memory section 1624 in the drive module 1670. The information also passes through the setting status memory section 1624 and is notified to the format conversion section 1644, where it is converted into information indicating power ON in the existing remote control. The converted information is then transferred to the infrared light emission drive circuit 1648, which controls the emission of the infrared light emitting element 1608. The converted information is then transmitted to the existing device 1250, and the power to the device 1250 is turned on.

[0061] The C-format shown in FIG. 14(d) also allows for the simultaneous setting (resetting) of multi-value information, such as a change in the temperature setting of an air conditioner or a change in the illuminance of lighting equipment. In this case, the communication access control information 1830 in the communication information (FIG. 14(d)) from the system controller α_1126 to the drive / communication module 1470 is set to

[0111] (reset instruction), and the multi-value transmission data section CTMDT is set to a value other than

[0000] . In this case, the 5-bit information consisting of the multi-value transmission data section CTMDT and the binary transmission data section CT2DT is assigned values ​​from

[0010] to

[11111] , respectively, ranging from 0% to 100%. Next, when the communication module 1660 receives this information, the changed setting value is converted into a percentage. The converted percentage information is then transferred to and stored in the set voltage storage unit 1628. The information passes through the set voltage storage unit 1628 and is notified to the format conversion unit 1644, where it is converted into information indicating the state setting change value of the existing remote controller. The converted information then operates the infrared light emission drive circuit 1648, which controls the emission of the infrared light emitting element 1608, and the setting state of the existing device 1250 is changed.

[0062] Next, a method for the system controller α_1126 to check the status already set in the drive / communication module 1470 will be described. In this case, communication information in which the communication access control information 1830 is set to

[0011] (response (data) request) is first communicated from the system controller α_1126 to the drive / communication module 1470. Then, when the communication module 1660 in FIG. 6D receives a response (data) request from the system controller α_1126, it reads out the information already stored in the setting status memory unit 1624 and the setting voltage memory unit 1628. The result is then set in the binary transmission data unit CT2DT or multi-value transmission data unit CTMDT in FIG. 14(d). Here, the communication access control information 1830 in the communication information communicated from the drive / communication module 1470 to the system controller α_1126 is set to

[0010] (response answer).

[0063] To simplify the explanation of the operation of the drive / communication module 1470 in this embodiment, the operation of the drive / communication module 1470 has been disclosed in the form of hardware (electrical circuitry). However, this is not a limitation, and the drive / communication module 1470 in this embodiment may be formed as a software module. However, even when the drive / communication module 1470 is formed as a software module, the input / output terminals 1602 and 1604, the voltage output terminal 1606, or the infrared light emitting element 1608 are still provided as shown in FIGS. 6A to 6D. The following describes the use of a software module. As shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B, the communication modules 1202-4 to 1202-10 in FIG. 2 and the communication module 1660 in FIGS. 6A to 6D each include a built-in processor 1960 or 1736, which performs communication control processing according to a predetermined communication control program. This communication control program can be written in any programming language that can be executed by the processors 1960 or 1736.

[0064] Hereinafter, the overall communication control program will be referred to as the "main program," and the blocks of predetermined small programs called from this main program will be referred to as "subprogram modules." However, this description is not limited to these, and will also include terminology used in Java, taking into consideration Java scripts that are independent of the OS (Operating System) or Java applets that support HTML / HTML5. In the main program (class) that causes the processor built into communication module 1660 in FIGS. 6A to 6D to perform processing, processing is performed in accordance with a subprogram module (predetermined method) that corresponds to drive module 1670. In this subprogram module (predetermined method), processing is performed for input / output terminals 1602 and 1604 or voltage output terminal 1606 based on settings preset in the subprogram module (predetermined method). 2 sends a setting change command to the drive / communication module 1470, the main program (class) calls another subprogram module (another method) that processes "setting value change" to perform the setting value change process. After that, the corresponding process is executed for the input / output terminals 1602, 1604 or the voltage output terminal 1606 based on the changed setting value.

[0065] The above description has been given using as an example the drive / communication module 1470, which is one type of combination module 1295. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and any combination module 1295, such as the sensor / communication module 1460, the processor / communication module 1465, or the memory / communication module 1475, may be realized by the above-mentioned software modules.

[0066] Although omitted in Figures 6A to 6D for the sake of simplicity, the drive / communication module 1470 shown in Figures 6A to 6D may incorporate an energy conversion means such as a (solar) power generation module 1552, a storage module (battery) 1554, and a near-field communication module 1560, as in Figure 5.

[0067] Section 1.6 Explanation of an Example of the Structure Within a Communication Module An example of the structure within communication module 1660 with external antenna 1480 that constitutes the combined module shown in Figures 4A to 4F is shown in Figures 7A and 7B. Note that in the example of the structure within antenna-embedded communication module 1666 and within-same-system compatible communication module 1752 in Figures 4A to 4E, antenna 1480 compatible with communication within the same system is built into communication module 1660 shown in Figure 7A or 7B.

[0068] A major feature of this embodiment is that it is designed to have a structure in which the same communication module 1660 can be commonly used among the system controller α_1126 (or system controller β_1128), the device controllers 1240-1 and 1240-3 in the device 1_1250-1 or device 5_1250-5, and the independently existing composite modules 1_1295-1 and 7_1295-7 in Fig. 2. In this way, by sharing the same communication module 1660 between many constituent members (system controller α_1126 (or system controller β_1128) and unit 1290) in the same network system α_1132, the cost of the communication module 1660 can be reduced by utilizing mass production effects.

[0069] As a specific method for realizing the above-mentioned features, the communication module 1660 is provided with functions common to all of the combination modules 1295 shown in Figures 4B to 4F. Here, the functions common to all of the combination modules 1295 shown in Figures 4B to 4F include the following two points: 1) supporting a common communication protocol used within the same network system α_1132, and 2) supporting information communication of all information related to functions other than communication functions. As explained in Sections 1.2 and 1.3, within the unit 1290 and combination module 1295, the communication module 1660 is always connected to other function modules having functions other than communication, so function [2] is particularly important.

[0070] The functions for realizing the above [1] and [2] are provided within the communication module 1660. Specifically, the function [1] above is mainly realized in the communication control unit 1700 of FIG. 7A. The function [2] above is mainly realized in the interface unit 1710 of FIG. 7A. For ease of understanding, FIG. 7A shows the communication control unit 1700 / interface unit 1710 as separate areas for each function. However, this is not limiting, and circuits that implement the above two points may be mixed, or some functions may be shared by the same circuit.

[0071] Furthermore, in this embodiment, as a method for providing versatility to the communications module 1660 so that it can be shared among many combined modules 1295, the structure of the interface unit (I / F unit) between the communications module 1660 and the other function module 1440 is also characterized. Specifically, the connection unit between the communications module 1660 and the other function module 1440 is separated into a content information I / F unit 1950 and an address information I / F unit 1940, and the connection method is variable depending on the type of other function module 1440 to be connected. This improves versatility for many types of other function modules 1440, and produces the effect of being applicable to multipurpose (widely varied) combined modules 1295.

[0072] The above features will be described in detail below. When the combined module 1295 takes the form of the single-function sensor / communication module 1460 shown in Fig. 4B or Fig. 5, or the single-function drive / communication module 1670 shown in Fig. 4C or Fig. 6A-6D, information communication within the network system α_1132 is established if only address information specific to the combined module 1295 and address information of the system controller α_1126 (or system controller β_1128) are stored. Therefore, when connecting only one sensor module 1260 (Fig. 4B) or only one drive module 1670 (Fig. 4C) as the other function module 1440 (Fig. 4A), the address information I / F unit 1940 in Fig. 7A is not used.

[0073] On the other hand, when used in the system controller α_1126 (or system controller β_1128) as part of the processor / communication module 1465 in the form shown in Figure 4D, the address information differs for each unit 1290 (or combination module 1295) that is the communication partner in the network system α_1132. Therefore, the address information of the communication partner is notified to the in-same-system corresponding communication module 1752 from the processor 1230, 1734 in Figure 4D via the bus line 1490. At this time, the address information I / F unit 1940 is used as the address information transmission means (information transmission input / output terminal) described above.

[0074] 4E, when used in memory / communication module 1475, the address range in which management information (table) related information recording area 1740 is stored in memory units 1242, 1246, 1232, and 1248 must be specified by in-system compatible communication module 1752 via bus line 1490. In this way, in processor / communication module 1465 shown in FIG. 4D and memory / communication module 1475 shown in FIG. 4E, both content information I / F unit 1950 and address information I / F unit 1940 in FIG. 7A are connected to bus line 1490.

[0075] Meanwhile, at the end of section 1.3, we explained a method of connecting to multiple other function modules using a common bus line instead of Figure 4F. In this case, the corresponding addresses of the other function modules directly connected to the communications module 1660 are specified in part of the address information I / F unit 1940. This makes it possible to switch the other function modules directly connected to the communications module 1660 over time.

[0076] When wireless is used as the communication medium for network communication within the network system α_1132, the transmitting side sends out radio waves by passing a current through the antenna 1480, and the receiving side detects the signal by detecting the weak current passing through the antenna 1480. Then, both the current supply and signal detection corresponding to the antenna 1480 are performed within the information communication execution unit 3016.

[0077] On the other hand, the communication information exchanged between the information communication execution unit 3016 and the other communication module 1660 via the antenna 1480 has the structure shown in Fig. 11(a). (Note that the communication information shown in Fig. 11 will be described in detail later in Section 2.2.) The communication middleware data APLDT (and extended data EXDT) shown in Fig. 11(b) is processed in the interface unit 1710 of Fig. 7A. That is, the communication middleware data APLDT (and extended data EXDT) is analyzed in the content extraction unit 1938, and the necessary information is transmitted to the other function module 1440 via the content information I / F unit 1950. 11(b), when the communication middleware data APLDT (and extension data EXDT) includes state setting change information (control information) for the device 1250 or the drive / communication module 1470, the specific contents are decoded in the content extraction unit 1938, and the decoded result is notified to the drive module 1670 via the content information I / F unit 1950. Then, the operation (or state setting change) of the drive module 1670 is started in response to the notified contents.

[0078] Furthermore, information input from other functional module 1440 via content information I / F unit 1950 is format-converted in content setting unit 1934 to generate communication middleware data APLDT (and extended data EXDT). As a specific example, when content information I / F 1950 is connected to sensor module 1260, sensor information obtained in sensor module 1260 is converted into communication middleware data APLDT (and extended data EXDT) in content setting unit 1934. This communication information is then communicated to system controller α_1126 (or system controller β_1128) via information communication execution unit 3016 and antenna 1480.

[0079] 11(c) to 11(f) in the structure of Fig. 11(a) is processed in the communication control unit 1700 of Fig. 7A. That is, the information of Fig. 11(c) to 11(f) is generated in the physical layer frame generation unit 1914, combined with the information of Fig. 11(b) generated in the content setting unit 1934, and transferred to the information communication execution unit 3016 to transmit the communication information. On the other hand, when receiving communication information, the communication information having the structure of Fig. 11(a) is analyzed in the physical layer frame analysis unit 1918, and the information of Fig. 11(b) extracted therein is sent to the content extraction unit 1938.

[0080] Furthermore, if the address information I / F unit 1940 is connected at the time of transmission, the address information of the transmission destination is notified via the address information I / F unit 1940. Then, address information conforming to the format of Fig. 11(a) is generated in the address information generation unit 1924, and the communication information of Fig. 11(a) is generated in the physical layer frame generation unit 1914.

[0081] 11(c) to 11(f) is selected in the physical layer frame analysis unit 1918 and transferred to the address information extraction unit 1928. Then, only predetermined address information is extracted in this address information extraction unit 1928 and passed to the address information I / F unit 1940.

[0082] When this communication module 1660 is used in a single-function sensor / communication module 1460, the address information I / F unit 1940 is not used, and instead the address information of the transmission destination system controller α_1126 (system controller β_1128) is stored in advance in the address information generation unit 1924. This makes it possible to automatically communicate the sense information to the system controller α_1126 (system controller β_1128).

[0083] Furthermore, when this communication module 1660 is used in a single-function drive / communication module 1470, the address information I / F unit 1940 is not used, and instead its own address information is stored in advance in the address information extraction unit 1928. That is, all wireless information detected in the information communication execution unit 3016 is transferred via the physical layer frame analysis unit 1918 to the content extraction unit 1938 and the address information extraction unit 1928, where each piece of corresponding information is transferred. The address information extraction unit 1928 then sequentially determines whether the extracted receiver address information matches its own address information. If the receiver address information does not match its own address information, the information temporarily stored in the content extraction unit 1938 is discarded as appropriate. Only when the receiver address information matches its own address information is the information determined to be communication information for the corresponding combination module 1295, and the information temporarily stored in the content extraction unit 1938 is transferred to the content information I / F 1950.

[0084] The above-described series of processes is controlled by processor 1960. Incidentally, although the connection lines of processor 1960 are omitted in Fig. 7A, the processor 1736 may be directly connected to a bus line BUS or the like as shown in Fig. 7B, or processor 1960 may be directly connected to each unit individually.

[0085] Another embodiment of the communication module 1660 is shown in Fig. 7B. In Fig. 7B, a major feature is that a memory unit 1790 is built into the communication module 1660. This creates the effect of facilitating seamless adaptation to different systems when the unit 1290 incorporating the communication module 1660 is moved into another system (for example, when moved from system α_1132 to system β_1134).

[0086] Incidentally, external module connection unit 1778 in Fig. 7B corresponds to content information I / F unit 1950 and address information I / F unit 1940 in Fig. 7A. Furthermore, signal processing unit 1780 in Fig. 7B corresponds to content extraction unit 1938 and content setting unit 1934 in Fig. 7A. Furthermore, without being limited to this, signal processing unit 1780 in Fig. 7B may further correspond to address information extraction unit 1928 and address information generation unit 1924 in Fig. 7A, and may further correspond to information communication execution unit 3016, physical layer frame analysis unit 1918, and physical layer frame generation unit 1914.

[0087] The communication module 1660 shown in FIG. 7B is used by being attached, embedded, glued, or mounted to another function module 1440 having a function other than communication, as shown in FIG. 4A. The combination module 1295 is formed by attaching, embedding, gluing, or mounting the communication module 1660. As shown in FIG. 3A(b) or (c), a unit 1290 including the combination module 1295 is formed. The unit 1290 can take various forms, such as a part, product, commodity, device, material, or commodity. Therefore, the communication module 1660 is used by being attached, embedded, glued, or mounted to any part, product, commodity, device, material, commodity, or other object (unit 1290) to which it is integrated.

[0088] Specifically, the communication module 1660 has various functional blocks constructed on an insulating substrate 1660-1 using integration technology. The communication module 1660 includes an antenna connection section 1774 for connecting an antenna ANT_1772 for transmitting and receiving wireless signals 1770. Here, the antenna ANT_1772 may be configured on the insulating substrate 1660-1 of the communication module 1660. The communication module 1660 also includes an external module connection section 1778, through which the communication module 1660 can be connected to, for example, multiple other functional modules 1766-1, 1766-2, ..., 1766-n. Examples of the other functional modules 1766-1, 1766-2, ..., 1766-n include the sensor module 1260 and / or the drive module 1670, the processor module 1680, the memory module 1680, and the display module 1226.

[0089] The sensor module 1260 used in the other function modules 1766-1 to 1766-n includes various sensors. The sensors include sensors that detect temperature, humidity, pressure, strain, water quality (using chemical reactions, filtration, etc.), gas (using chemical reactions), light and dark, ultrasonic waves, color, and pulse, and one or more of these sensors are selectively set depending on the usage environment of the communication module 1660. Also, different types of sensors may be prepared in combination depending on the order. Some sensors are connected to the external module connector 1778 wirelessly (via radio waves, infrared rays, ultrasonic waves, etc.).

[0090] Furthermore, the specific form of the drive module 1670 used in the other function modules 1766-1 to 1766-n may be selected arbitrarily depending on the purpose of use, such as an electrical switch, a mechanical switch, a light-emitting element, a heat-generating element, a displacing object (shape memory medium), or an expandable object (rubber).

[0091] Here, one or more of the other functional modules 1766-1, 1766-2, ..., 1766-n may be configured on the insulating substrate 1660-1. Also, some other functional modules may be optionally connected via an external module connection section 1778.

[0092] Furthermore, the communication module 1660 has a power supply unit 1776 and can be connected to a power source via the power supply unit 1776. The power source may be located at a position remote from the communication module 1660. Alternatively, a power source mounting portion may be provided on the insulating substrate 1660-1, and the power source may be integrated with the communication module 1660.

[0093] Various methods for storing power in a power source (not shown) are possible, as described below. One example of such a method is a method in which a current from a power generation element that generates power using sunlight is charged to a storage unit. This method corresponds to the combination of the (solar) power generation module 1552 and the power storage module (battery) 1554 in FIG. 5. Another method is a method in which a current induced in a coil by the influence of electromagnetic waves is charged to a storage unit. This method corresponds to the combination of the near-field communications module 1560 and the power storage module (battery) 1554 in FIG. 5. Another method is a method in which mechanical vibrations are applied to a piezoelectric element, and the voltage generated in the piezoelectric element is converted into a current and charged to a storage unit. The mechanical vibrations can be, for example, pressure and vibrations caused by sound, pressure and vibrations caused by gas (wind, gas, etc.), pressure and vibrations caused by liquid (water, oil), etc. One method or a combination of multiple methods can be selected depending on the usage environment of the communication module 1660.

[0094] The antenna connection unit 1774, external module connection unit 1778, and power supply unit are connected to the signal processing unit 1780. Furthermore, inside the communication module 1660, the processor 1736, memory unit 1790, and signal processing unit 1780 are connected via a bus BUS so that they can communicate with each other. Here, the processor 1736 controls the overall operation of the communication module 1660 based on an application stored in an application storage unit 1792 of the memory unit 1790.

[0095] The processor 1736 and signal processing unit 1780 operate based on an application, and perform operations such as taking in output from the sensor module 1260, outputting control signals to the drive module 1670 and the display module 1226, cooperative control processing with the processor module 1666, inputting and outputting recorded information to the memory module 1690, supplying a transmission signal to the antenna ANT_1772, taking in received signals from the antenna ANT_, writing data to the memory unit 1790, or reading data from the memory unit 1790.

[0096] The memory unit 1790 includes an application change software storage unit 1791 and a security target data storage unit 1799. The memory unit 1790 also includes a drive module management data storage unit 1792, a sensor module management data storage unit 1796, a self-attribute data storage unit 1793, a lifespan management data storage unit 1794, and an operating period management data storage unit 1795.

[0097] A drive module management data storage unit 1792 inside the memory unit 1790 stores management data for the drive module 1670 connected via the external module connection unit 1778. A sensor module management data storage unit 1796 stores management data for the sensor module 1260 connected via the external module connection unit 1778.

[0098] For example, the communication module 1660 may be inspected when inspecting the communication module 1660 or when it is shipped from a factory. When an inspection device (not shown) issues a predetermined command to the communication module 1660 via the antenna ANT_1772 during inspection, the management data of the drive module 1670 stored in the drive module management data storage unit 1792 and / or the management data of the sensor module 1260 stored in the sensor module management data storage unit 1796 is read out. The read management data is transmitted to the inspection device via the antenna ANT_1772. This allows the inspection device to know the sensing capability and drive capability of the communication module 1660.

[0099] Although not shown in Figure 7B, the memory unit 1790 may include a processor module management data storage unit that stores management data for the processor module 1680, a memory module management data storage unit that stores management data for the memory module 1690, or a display module management data storage unit that stores management data for the display module 1226.

[0100] In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, multiple different systems (system α_1132 and system β_1134) are formed within the same domain 2_1122-2. Similarly, one or more systems (often multiple systems) are formed within each of domain 1_1122-1 and domain 3_1122-3. Furthermore, different application fields and system usage purposes are permitted for each system, such as for the consumer field, the social infrastructure field, and the healthcare field. Even if the combination module 1295 or unit 1290 incorporating the communication module 1660 in FIG. 7B moves across multiple systems with different application fields and usage purposes, optimal operation is possible for each system. That is, when the above-mentioned combined module 1295 or unit 1290 moves between different systems α_1132 and β_1134 in the same domain 2_1122-2, or between different systems in different domains 1_1122-1, 2_1122-2, and 3_1122-3, the operation of the above-mentioned combined module 1295 or unit 1290 is appropriately switched so that it can be optimized according to the application field and purpose of use of the system α_1132 (or system β_1134) to which it belongs. To enable this feature, the memory unit 1790 is provided with at least one of an application storage unit 1792, an application change software storage unit (application change software) 1791, a security target data storage unit 1799 or a self-attribute data storage unit 1793, a lifespan management data storage unit 1794, and an operating period management data storage unit 1795. This has the effect of ensuring flexible system compatibility and enabling general-purpose use of the combination module 1295 or unit 1290 in this embodiment.

[0101] As already explained, the communication modules 1660 and 1202 shown in FIG. 7B are incorporated to form a combined module 1295 (see FIG. 4) or a device 1250 (see FIG. 2) to form a unit 1290 (FIG. 3A). Once this unit 1290 is formed, information may be pre-recorded in at least one of the application storage unit 1792, security target data storage unit 1799, self-attribute data storage unit 1793, lifespan management data storage unit 1794, and operating period management data storage unit 1795 using external wireless radio waves. Alternatively, the system controller α_1126 may write the information during check-in processing or plug-in processing (described later in Section 4.2) executed after the user purchases the unit 1290.

[0102] The application change software storage unit 1791 is used when an application that controls the operation of the communication module 1660 needs to be modified or changed. For example, if the combination module 1295 or unit 1290 incorporating this communication module 1660 is moved to a different system from the previous one (e.g., moved from system β_1134 to system α_1132), a "plug-in process" is executed each time the system changes, as described in Section 4.2. If the application field or purpose of use differs significantly between the system β_1134 before the move and the system α_1132 after the move, software to execute the new application is sent from the system controller α_1126 (or system controller β_1128) that manages / controls / operates the system α_1132 after the move via the communication module 1202-3 in Figure 2. The software to execute this new application is then stored appropriately in the application change software storage unit (application change software) 1791 described above. The processor 1736 then performs processing based on the software that executes the new application, enabling optimal operation of the system α_1132 when the composite module 1295 or unit 1290 is moved to a system α_1132 with a completely different application field or purpose of use.

[0103] Here, the communication module 1660 may request a new application, or an application change command may be given from outside (for example, the system controller α_1126). There are many possible timings for changing an application, such as when the communication module 1660 is manufactured and shipped from the factory, when it becomes necessary to switch the operating mode while in use, when the usage environment of the communication module 1660 changes (such as when the communication module 1660 is moved between systems α_1132 and β_1134), or when the usage period of the communication module 1660 expires. In this way, by providing an application change software storage unit (application change software) 1791 inside the memory unit 1790, the communication module 1660 can freely change, add, or update applications in accordance with the changes in the usage environment or the purpose of use.

[0104] 7B stores common application software that is not dependent on system changes. Therefore, even if combination module 1295 or unit 1290 incorporating communication module 1660 is moved between different systems, the common application software previously stored in application storage 1792 is preserved and continues to be used without change.

[0105] The application software stored in the application change software storage unit (application change software) 1791 and application storage unit 1792 is written in a predetermined programming language or script language (including machine language). The application software 3050 may include a (predetermined) API command 3045 corresponding to a predetermined OS_3030, as will be described later with reference to FIG. 18B. Furthermore, the application software may be written in JavaScript, as will be described later with reference to FIGS. 19A and 19B, or in machine language or a similar language. Furthermore, the application software may be written in a web-related language such as HTML (Hyper-text Markup Language) or XML (Extensible Markup Language).

[0106] The security target data storage unit 1799 can be used to store highly important information, such as personal information, etc. The security target data storage unit 1799 may also be used as a part for storing any personal data.

[0107] For example, the communication module 1660 may be used in a hospital, where the communication module 1660 is embedded in an individual's medical record holder. In such a case, personal information (name, age, name of illness, medical history), etc. may be stored in the security target data storage unit 1799. However, the medical record holder is not necessarily used forever and may be discarded. Furthermore, it may be replaced with a new medical record holder. In such a case, the security target data in the communication module of the old medical record holder must be erased.

[0108] Various methods are possible for timing the erasure of security target data. For example, there may be cases where the communication module 1660 has not communicated with the system controller α_1126 for a certain period of time or longer. In such cases, the communication module 1660 may be independently determined to have been discarded or replaced, and the security target data may be erased. Alternatively, the system controller α_1126 may actively request the communication module 1660 to erase the security target data. Furthermore, the security target data may be erased when the sensor module 1260 connected to the communication module 1660 detects a specific atmosphere and / or detection element (e.g., pressure, heat, humidity, liquid, etc.). In other words, when the sensor module 1260 detects a specific atmosphere and / or detection element (e.g., pressure, heat, humidity, liquid, etc.), the processor 1736 automatically determines that the environment has changed from its normal usage environment, and the security target data may be erased. Furthermore, the security target data may be erased when various predetermined conditions are met.

[0109] On the other hand, for example, if an old medical record holder is replaced with a new medical record holder and it becomes necessary to move the security target data of the old medical record holder to the new medical record holder, the system controller α_1126 may control the inheritance or transfer of the security target data.

[0110] Attribute data related to the handling of a unit (product, part, material, commodity, etc.) to which communication module 1660 is attached, adhered, mounted, or embedded is stored in self-attribute data storage unit 1793. The specific attribute data may include identification data of the corresponding unit (product name, part name, product name, etc.), as well as identification data such as the manufacturing location and manufacturer.

[0111] For example, a composite module 1295 (or unit 1290) including a communication module 1660 may be attached to or embedded in an aluminum beverage can. After use, the aluminum beverage can is discarded and transported to a recycling plant. If information such as "the material of the object to which it is attached or embedded is aluminum" is stored as attribute data, the beverage can can be automatically sorted into an aluminum processing section within the recycling plant. In this case, the entire recycling plant corresponds to system α_1132, and the sorting device within the recycling plant corresponds to system controller α_1126. The sorting device corresponding to system controller α_1126 then transmits a specific command to communication module 1660 to read the self-attribute data. Based on the self-attribute data, it is then possible to determine what material the beverage can is made of.

[0112] Meanwhile, there may be cases where the combination module 1295 (or unit 1290) including the communication module 1660 is embedded in a plastic beverage bottle. In this case, the sorting device sends a specific command to the communication module 1660 to read the self-attribute data and detect that the beverage can is made of plastic. This allows the sorting device to easily and automatically sort the beverage can to the plastic processing unit. However, the above example is not limiting, and the self-attribute data may be used for any object (part, product, commodity, equipment, material, commodity, etc.) to which the combination module 1295 (or unit 1290) including the communication module 1660 is attached, embedded, glued, or mounted.

[0113] Incidentally, when the combination module 1295 (or unit 1290) including the communication module 1660 is moved between different systems, the environment in which it is placed may change. The content of the self-attribute data may change progressively in response to the change in the environment. For example, when the beverage cans are displayed in a store, the selling price of the beverage can, the display location in the store, or the product category may be stored in the memory unit 1790 as the self-attribute data. In this case, the system controller α_1126 that manages the store may use the self-attribute data to manage inventory and process accounts for customers.

[0114] As another example, a case will be described in which the composite module 1295 (or unit 1290) is used as a tag attached to a fish. Fish caught in the sea are transported to a port by fishing boat, purchased by a trader at the port's auction market, transported by car, displayed in a supermarket, and purchased by a consumer.

[0115] We will explain the case where a temperature sensor and a humidity sensor for quality control are installed as the sensor module 1260 in the tag (composite module 1295 / unit 1290) integrated with the fish. In this case, the self-attribute data stored includes appropriate temperature range data, appropriate humidity range data, and expiration date data. Here, the fishing boat crew or market manager inputs the self-attribute data.

[0116] If the temperature or humidity of the surrounding environment exceeds the appropriate range during transport or storage of the fish, the communication module 1660 can output a first warning signal to the system controller α_1126 installed on the fishing boat or in the transport truck. Also, if the expiration date is approaching or has passed, the communication module 1660 can output a second warning signal and a third warning signal via the antenna 1772.

[0117] Furthermore, when the product is displayed in the store, the selling price, the display location in the store, or the product category are added as self-attribute data. In this case, the above self-attribute data is automatically stored in the memory unit 1790 from another system controller α_1126 installed in the store. This self-attribute data can then be used for inventory management and customer settlement processing.

[0118] Another feature of the system of this embodiment is that, as described above, when the system in which the combination module 1295 / unit 1290 is placed (belongs to) moves, the system controller α_1126 that manages / controls / operates the system α_1132 can automatically add or update the self-attribute data 1793. This has the effect of greatly improving the flexibility and versatility of utilizing the corresponding combination module 1295 or unit 1290. In other words, by using the added / updated self-attribute data, the system controller α_1126 can execute processing that is optimal for the system α_1132.

[0119] Furthermore, without being limited to this, the self-attribute data may be used as data for the communication module 1660 to respond to a specific command (request signal) and output a response signal indicating the presence of the communication module 1660. For example, the communication module 1660 may be embedded in a surgical instrument or an inspection tool of an aircraft or train. In this case, the work site is regarded as a specific system α_1132, and a response is requested from the communication module 1660 from the system controller α_1126 installed at the work site. Then, depending on whether or not a response is received at the work site (system α_1132), it becomes clear whether or not any surgical instruments, inspection tools, or other items have been left behind at the work site. In this way, by utilizing information and communication processing related to the self-attribute data, it is possible to determine whether or not any items have been left behind after surgery or inspection.

[0120] As an example of the use of the self-attribute data 1793 other than the above, this area may record owner information of the corresponding unit 1290 (or combination module 1295 or device 1250). When the unit 1290 (or combination module 1295 or device 1250) with this self-attribute data 1793 recorded is sold, it is displayed in a store as described above. At this time, the store where it is displayed corresponds to one system β_1134. When a user purchases the unit 1290 (or combination module 1295 or device 1250), they move it to their home. The home of the user who purchased it then corresponds to system α_1132 (see Figure 1). Therefore, the system in which the unit 1290 is placed changes before and after the purchase of the unit 1290 (or combination module 1295 or device 1250). When the unit 1290 is placed in the user's home, the system controller α_1126, which manages / operates / collects information within the new system α_1132, performs the check-in process described later in Section 4.2. At this time, the system controller α_1126 records user information about the owner in part of the self-attribute data 1793. This user information is not limited to the owner's name, and may be any of the user's ID information, address information, telephone number information, email address information, etc. Recording the user information recorded in part of the self-attribute data 1793 in this way has the effect of making it easier to find the corresponding unit 1290 if it is left outside.

[0121] The above-mentioned owner is not limited to the direct owner of the unit 1290. In other words, it also includes a person, organization, or company involved in the use of the unit 1290 (or the combination module 1295 or the equipment 1250). It may also be a person, organization, or company involved in the use of a product, part, or material in which the combination module 1295 in which this self-attribute data 1793 is recorded is installed, inserted, or mixed.

[0122] As an example, let us consider a tablet or powder medicine into which a composite module 1295 recording this self-attribute data 1793 is inserted or mixed. For example, when the above medicine is taken in a hospital, facility, or at home, the system controller α_1126 records the name of the person who took it and the date and time of taking it in the self-attribute data 1793. The self-attribute data 1793 also pre-records the name of the medicine. Then, even when the user who took the medicine is away from home, the system controller β_1134 installed at the user's location can manage "who took what medicine at what time?" For people with chronic illnesses, regular medication is very important, but they tend to forget. If the system controller β_1134 constantly manages the medication status as described above, it becomes less likely that they will forget to take their medicine.

[0123] By recording multiple pieces of mutually related information as self-attribute data 1793 as described above, the effect is achieved that it becomes easier to manage the usage status of the composite module 1295 (unit 1290) in which the self-attribute data 1793 is recorded with high precision.

[0124] Lifetime management data for managing the lifespan of the combination module 1295 (or unit 1290) incorporating the communication module 1660 can be stored in the lifespan management data storage unit 1794. This lifespan management data indicates the lifespan period until the combination module 1295 (or unit 1290) incorporating the communication module 1660 is no longer needed. When this lifespan period has elapsed, the communication module 1660 automatically converges and stops operating. This prevents unnecessary radio waves from being emitted after the lifespan period has expired.

[0125] For example, for the above-mentioned discarded beverage cans and cooked fish, the use of the corresponding tags (composite module 1295 / unit 1290) becomes unnecessary. As described above, by having a lifespan management data storage unit 1794 in the memory unit 1790 and automatically deactivating it after the end of its lifespan, unnecessary radio wave generation within system α_1132 can be prevented. And by preventing unnecessary radio wave generation, the effect of improving the efficiency of information communication within system α_1132 is achieved.

[0126] Data for setting the operating period of the communication module 1660 can be stored in the operating period management data storage unit 1795. Setting operating periods and sleep periods for the communication module 1660 according to the usage environment and conditions will improve power saving effects and also prevent interference with surrounding devices. As the operating period management data, for example, the operating period and sleep period can be set in hourly units, or the operating period and sleep period can be set according to the sensor output.

[0127] Section 1.7: Description of the Overall Structure of the Wide Area Network System in This Embodiment Section 1.1 already provided an overview of this embodiment's system. In this section, we will explain in detail the overall structure of the wide area network system in this embodiment using Figure 1. As shown in Figure 1, service provider B_1112-2 obtains goods (or information) from wholesaler B1_1104-1 and / or wholesaler B2_1104-2, who handle similar goods (or information), and provides services.

[0128] Here, wholesalers A_1102 and B1 / 2_1104-1 / 2 refer to central agencies or organizations that handle specified products or information. Specific examples of such agencies or organizations are not limited to businesses related to private profit-making organizations such as incorporated foundations or business corporations, but may also include public organizations such as national and local governments, public corporations, and public interest corporations. Therefore, from the perspective of service providers A to C_1112-1 to 3, the positioning of the wholesalers is not limited to being "commercial transaction partners" but may also include "contractors for specified services" or "partners for providing guidance and approval for specified services." For example, when the wholesaler corresponds to a trading partner of service providers A to C_1112-1 to 3, the products handled by the wholesaler may not be limited to public consumer goods such as electricity, gas, water, and gasoline, but may also include general consumer goods, liquid assets such as currency, bonds, and precious metals, and fixed assets such as real estate, or may include information with commercial value that is difficult to obtain via the normal Internet (market research information, information specialized for specific individuals or specific regions (such as weather information or traffic information limited to a very small region)).

[0129] Next, in this embodiment system, service providers A to C 1112-1 to 3 refer to organizations or groups that provide specific services. In particular, these service providers A to C 1112-1 to 3 are characterized by "integrated management of specific services." Furthermore, the services provided by the service providers may correspond to any type of service that utilizes information obtained from a sensor module 1260, which will be described later. In particular, information obtained via the network from the sensor modules in domains 1 to 3 1122-1 to 3, and some of the information related thereto, are transmitted to server n 1116-n in service provider B 1112-2, and service provider B 1112-2 can provide specific services based on this information. In this way, this embodiment system allows service providers A to C 1112-1 to 3 to retrieve products and information from domains 1 to 3 1122-1 to 3. Furthermore, this service provider B_1112-2 owns multiple servers 1 to n 1116-1 to n, and manages databases 1118-1 to n for each server 1 to n 1116-1 to n. Servers 1 to n 1116-1 to n also perform distributed processing in coordination with each other to speed up processing. Although omitted from Figure 1, similar servers and corresponding databases are also installed within service provider A_1112-1 and service provider C_1112-3.

[0130] As one of the specific operations of the service provider, products and information wholesaled from wholesaler A_1102 or wholesaler B1 / 2_1104-1 / 2 are distributed (including both inflow and outflow) within domains 1 to 3_1122-1 to 3. A specific example of this service is shown below.

[0131] α) Retail services to end users of products and information handled by wholesaler A_1102 and wholesaler B1 / 2_1104-1 / 2; β) Services that process products and information handled by wholesaler A_1102 and wholesaler B1 / 2_1104-1 / 2 independently and provide the results to end users; γ) Services determined to be optimal based on information obtained from sensor modules; δ) Combinations of the above [α] to [γ]. The products handled by the service provider are not limited to retail of public consumption goods such as electricity, gas, water, and gasoline, but may also include retail of general consumer goods, current assets, and fixed assets. Furthermore, the information (products) handled may also include information with commercial value that is difficult to obtain via the regular Internet (e.g., market research information, information specific to specific individuals or specific regions (e.g., weather information or traffic information limited to a very small area)).

[0132] Meanwhile, service provider A_1112-1 obtains from wholesaler A_1102 products (or information) different from those of wholesaler B1 / 2_1104-1 / 2 and provides a different type of service. Service provider A_1112-1 and service provider B_1112-2, or service provider B_1112-2 and service provider C_1112-3, share information or cooperate and exchange resources 1114 to improve the efficiency and sophistication of services. Service provider A_1112-1 also includes a predetermined product storage unit 1154 that stores the products obtained from wholesaler A_1102. The predetermined product generation unit 1152 in service provider A_1112-1 shown in FIG. 1 manufactures new products using the products obtained from wholesaler A_1102 as materials, or processes the products (or information) obtained from wholesaler A_1102 to create new products (or new information). Although omitted in FIG. 1, a predetermined product storage unit 1154 and a predetermined product generation unit 1152 are also installed within service provider B_1112-2 and service provider C_1112-3.

[0133] The predetermined product generation unit 1152 shown in FIG. 1 refers to a location where unique products with unique added value are generated. A specific example of unique product generation is the processing of raw materials purchased from wholesaler A_1102. For example, in the manufacturing industry, a product manufacturing factory corresponds to the predetermined product generation unit 1152. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the predetermined product generation unit 1152 is not limited to this, and may also correspond to, for example, a power plant equipped with solar cells, wind power generators, thermal power generators, geothermal power generators, or related peripheral equipment such as a substation or power transmission station. Furthermore, the system of this embodiment is not limited to the above, and other production sites of public consumer goods, such as gasoline refineries and water storage facilities, may also correspond to the predetermined product generation unit 1152. Furthermore, as another product form, a location where "unique information created within service provider A" is generated may correspond to the predetermined product generation unit 1152. For example, analytical information newly obtained as a result of analyzing various information publicly available on the Internet, such as market trend information or weather forecast information, also corresponds to one form of the above product.

[0134] The predetermined product storage unit 1154 shown in FIG. 1 temporarily stores any of the following products (including information):

[0135] α) Products and information wholesaled from wholesaler A_1102 or wholesaler B1 / 2_1104-1 / 2 β) Products and information generated by the above-mentioned specified product generation unit 1152 γ) Products and information collected from domains 1-3_1122-1-3 δ) A combination of the above-mentioned [α] to [γ] For example, if the product to be temporarily stored is electricity, the above-mentioned specified product storage unit 1154 is composed of a storage battery, a charge / discharge amount monitor unit (corresponding to the smart meter 1124 in system α_1132), and a charge / discharge amount control unit. On the other hand, if the product to be temporarily stored is tap water or city gas, it is composed of a water or gas tank, a storage / discharge amount monitor unit, and a storage / discharge amount control unit.

[0136] The recipient of services from the above-mentioned service providers A to C_1112-1 to 3 is the domain 2_1122-2 or its sub-system α_1132 (details will be described later). The system pays the service provider A to C_1112-1 to 3 directly for the service provided. As shown in FIG. 1, the server n_1116-n in the service provider B_1112-2 and the specified product storage unit 1154 in the service provider A_1112-1 are directly network-connected to the smart meter 1124 installed in the domain 2_1122-2 and the system α_1132, and the system controller α_1126 (described later). Furthermore, as indicated by the dashed line in FIG. 1, the smart meter 1124 is also network-connected to the wholesaler A_1102, enabling direct information communication. 1, the measurement values ​​of the smart meter 1124 are communicated to a server n_1116-n in the service provider B_1112-2, a system controller α_1126 in the same system α_1132, or a wholesaler A_1102. However, the measurement values ​​of the smart meter 1124 may be communicated to a system controller β_1134 that exists in the same domain 2_1122-2 but belongs to a different system β_1134, or to another device in the same domain 2_1122-2.

[0137] This smart meter 1124 refers to a device that measures the amount of each (similar) commodity flowing between the inside and outside of domain 2_1122-2 (or system α_1126) at predetermined time intervals. It primarily refers to the measurement of the amount of input and output related to public consumption goods such as electricity meters, gas meters, water meters, and sewerage meters, and is characterized in that it can collect as measurements not only the amount flowing from the outside to the inside (or consumed internally) but also the amount flowing from the inside to the outside (e.g., sold externally). However, in this embodiment, the system is not limited to the amount of input and output of the public consumption goods described above. For example, the smart meter 1124 may measure the amount of input and output of general consumer goods or liquid assets purchased through mail order or other means, or specific information, and transmit the results by communication.

[0138] In particular, in the system of this embodiment, the smart meter 1124 has a built-in communication module 1202-1 (FIG. 8A), which has the function of communicating and transmitting the smart meter's measurement values ​​at predetermined time intervals. Furthermore, the time interval for communication can be changed as appropriate by the server n_1116-n, the system controller α_1126, the wholesaler A_1102, etc. Furthermore, the timing for communicating and transmitting the measurement values ​​obtained from the smart meter 1124 is not limited to the predetermined time intervals, but may be appropriately communicated in response to a request from the system controller α_1126, the server n_1116-n, or the wholesaler A_1102. Furthermore, the smart meter 1124 may communicate and transmit the measurement values ​​when it autonomously determines that external communication is necessary.

[0139] An example of a service provided by service provider A1102 using this smart meter 1124 is described below. In this example, specified products and specified information previously stored in specified product storage unit 1154 within service provider A1102 are supplied to domain 2_1122-2 (or system α_1132) via system controller α_1126 or smart meter 1124. Conversely, surplus products remaining in domain 2_1122-2 (or system α_1132) may be returned to specified product storage unit 1154 via smart meter 1124. In this case, the difference between the quantity of product supplied from specified product storage unit 1154 to domain 2_1122-2 (or system α_1132) and the quantity of product returned to specified product storage unit 1154 via smart meter 1124 is charged by service provider A_1112-1 as the quantity of product used.

[0140] In parallel with this, the user may also receive goods (or information) directly using the infrastructure or delivery systems owned or managed by wholesaler A_1102 or wholesaler B1 / 2_1104-1 / 2. That is, following the dashed line connecting wholesaler A_1102 to smart meter 1124 in Figure 1, the user may directly receive the goods (or information) handled by wholesaler A_1102 within domain 2_1122-2 or within system α_1132 therein via smart meter 1124. In this case, information regarding the content and quantity of the goods (or information) received within domain 2_1122-2 is simultaneously notified from smart meter 1124 to server n_1116-n in service provider B_1112-2, and service provider B_1112-2 periodically bills the user based on the notified information. Here, the feature of this embodiment system shown in Figure 1 is that there are multiple product supply routes from wholesaler A_1102 to smart meter 1124, which serves as the gateway for supplying specified products within domain 2_1122-2 or system α_1132 (the direct route indicated by the "dashed line" from wholesaler A_1102 to smart meter 1124 and the route via service provider A_1112-1), which enables new unique services to be provided by service provider A_1112-1. The unique effects that arise from this feature will be explained in detail in Section 5.2.1.

[0141] Next, we will explain domain 2_1122-2 or its system α_1132, which receives services from the above-mentioned service providers A to C_1112-1 to 3 via a wide area network. As shown in Figure 1, one domain 2_1122-2 consists of one or more systems α / β_1132 / 1134, and each system α / β_1132 / 1134 is equipped with a system controller α / β_1126 / 1128. Furthermore, system controllers α / β_1126 / 1128 are connected to each other or to smart meters 1124 via a network, either directly or via server n_1116-n, enabling mutual information communication. System α_1132 can be divided into multiple sections 1 to m_1142-1 to m (sections will be explained in detail in Chapter 4).

[0142] As described above, the system of this embodiment is characterized in that it allows a plurality of different systems (client systems) to coexist simultaneously. In other words, taking into account the contents described in Figure 2, it is a composite client system (corresponding to domain 2_1122-2 in Figure 1) that includes multiple client systems α_1132 (and β_1134) (multiple client systems α_1126 and client systems β_1134) that have a unit 1290 that has the function of acquiring or creating information and communicating it, and a system controller α_1126 (and β_1128) that acquires and manages the information from the unit 1290, and the system controller α_1126 that manages the client system α_1132 included in the composite client system (domain 2_1122-2) divides the multiple units 1295-1 to -7 into sections that it manages (section 1_1142-1, section 2_1142-1, and section m_1142-m in Figure 2) and holds information (section information in Figure 23) related to the section to which each unit belongs.

[0143] The above-mentioned domains 1 to 3_1122-1 to 3 refer to a network space consisting of one or multiple systems interconnected with each other. In particular, in the system of this embodiment, a domain corresponds to a "network space that is the target of various state observations" or a "network space that is the target of predetermined operations or executions or the target of operation executions (related to a specific service)." Here, in order to participate and operate within a specific domain, a domain-specific identification information (ID) and a unique password may be required. If one system α / β_1132 / 1134 corresponds to a specific area that is physically or geographically close, one domain 1 to 3_1122-1 to 3 corresponds to a specific area on the network managed / used by members of a specific group that transcends the physical or geographical space.

[0144] Next, the above-mentioned system α_1132 refers to the smallest network system unit in which one system controller α_1126 is installed and in which the internal components are connected to one another via a network. This network system is managed or operated by the above-mentioned system controller α_1126. The physical or geographical range of one system α_1132 may be defined as a specific area physically or geographically close to one or more specific users (e.g., an area defined within the range of activity of one or more specific users within a given period of time). Furthermore, one system α_1132 in this embodiment system can be associated with a network unit identified by specific identification information, such as a PAN (Personal Area Network), LAN (Local Area Network), MAN (Metropolitan Area Network), or WAN (Wide Area Network). For example, IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers) 802.15.4 specifies the setting of individual identification information PANID (Personal Area Network Identifier) ​​for each PAN, and one PAN specified by this specific PANID may be associated with one system in this embodiment. As another specific expression, one system may be associated with one home, the interior of one vehicle, the space surrounding one mobile terminal, one work station area, etc.

[0145] Furthermore, the above-mentioned system controller α / β_1126 / 1128 refers to a device that is placed in one or more units within a system and that controls communication and manages and operates the communication status within a network system corresponding to the above-mentioned system α / β_1132 / 1134. As described above, the system controller α / β_1126 / 1128 is also connected to a wide area network outside the system α / β_1132 / 1134 (a network used for information communication with service providers A to C_1112-1 to 3) via the above-mentioned system controller α / β_1126 / 1128. The above-mentioned system controller α / β_1126 / 1128 also has a built-in processor that collects signals and information obtained from one or more sensor modules (sensor module 1260, described later using Figures 8A and 9) within the same system α / β_1132 / 1134 and performs appropriate processing. Specific examples of the system controller include a single personal computer (PC), a mobile device such as a smartphone, tablet, or mobile phone, a distribution board with a built-in processor, a refrigerator with a built-in processor, a television, a recorder capable of recording, or a recorder that only records audio. A processor may be built into the smart meter 1124, giving the smart meter 1124 the functionality of the system controller α_1126. Alternatively, a processor and a communication module (communication module 1202, described later with reference to FIGS. 8A and 9) may be built into a remote control for an air conditioner, television, lighting fixture, or the like and used as a system controller. However, in this embodiment, any device with a built-in processor that is configured with a program for collecting signals and information obtained from sensor modules in the system and providing appropriate services to users may correspond to the system controller. Furthermore, a single system controller may be physically configured by combining and cooperating with multiple devices.

[0146] In particular, unique usages (and resulting benefits) can be achieved by temporarily placing a remote control with a built-in processor and communications module as a system controller on a wall or shelf, either fixed with screws or movable. However, in this case, the remote control must be fixed or placed in a location that allows infrared communication with the main device, such as an air conditioner, television, or lighting fixture. Furthermore, installing sensor / communication modules (described later using Figure 8B) related to temperature sensors, wind sensors, or short-range motion sensors throughout the room enables communication within the system α_1132 between the remote control (system controller α_1126) and the remote control. This allows for efficient user services, such as prioritizing and precisely controlling the temperature only in areas where multiple users are present, or controlling the display method of a naked-eye television so that multiple users can see a stereoscopic image simultaneously in their respective locations. This allows existing remote controls to be replaced with remote controls with the above-mentioned system controller functionality, resulting in more efficient operation of existing installed devices (such as air conditioners, televisions, and lighting fixtures) without having to replace them.

[0147] In conventional technologies known as M2M (Machine to Machine) or IoT (Internet of Things), a cloud server (corresponding to server n_1116-n in Figure 1) collects all signals and information obtained from each household's sensor module and provides services directly to end users. In this case, the system controller α_1126 functions as a gateway or router, as shown in Figure 9, simply relaying the transmission of signals and information on the network. This conventional technology has the following issues: (1) users' personal information is easily transmitted to server n_1116-n, which is relatively public, which poses a problem from the perspective of protecting users' personal information; and (2) if a problem occurs in the communication line between the system controller α_1126 or smart meter 1124 and server n_1116-n, services to end users will be interrupted, creating a vulnerability in the entire system. In this embodiment, the system controller α_1126 is not limited to the function of relaying signals and information on the network as a gateway or router, but is characterized in that it performs specific processing including the judgment, integration, and processing of signals and information collected by the built-in processor from the sensor modules, or unique services based on these, for the user. The system controller α_1126 independently determines whether or not to send each signal or information to the server n_1116-n, thereby protecting the user's personal information. (2) Based on the signals and information collected from the sensor module, the system controller α_1126 can provide unique services to the user. Moreover, this service can be executed regardless of whether or not there is a problem with the communication line with the server n_1116-n, improving the robustness of the entire system. The system controller α_1126 in this embodiment is particularly characterized by its function of integrating information obtained from the sensor module 1260 to determine / estimate the user's behavior (whether the user is present or not, and behavior such as sleeping / awake) and situation (e.g., whether the user is a child or an adult), and even to estimate the user's requests. This brings about the effect that even in the absence of server n_1116-n, it is possible to independently provide comfortable services to users within domain 2_1122-2.

[0148] Another major feature of this embodiment system is that it allows for cooperative work between multiple system controllers α / β_1126 / 8 within the same domain 2_1122-2. Therefore, one system controller α_1126 can collect signals and information obtained from all sensor modules (including sensor modules located within system β_1134, although not shown) present within the same domain 2_1122-2. As a result, the system controller α_1126 can integrate and utilize information within the same domain 2_1122-2 to provide users with optimal services within system α_1132.

[0149] In this embodiment, the system features two types of network paths for the collaborative work between multiple system controllers α / β_1126 / 8 within the same domain 2_1122-2: one network path for direct information exchange between system controllers α / β_1126 / 8, for example, using wireless communication, as shown in FIG. 1, and another network path for indirect information exchange between system controllers α / β_1126 / 8 via server n_1116-n, for example, using the Internet. This allows users to enjoy a variety of services. For example, if system controller α_1126, which is a home PC, and system controller β_1128, which corresponds to a mobile device such as a smartphone or tablet, are located physically close to each other, they can exchange information at high speed via a WLAN (Wireless Local Area Network) or a WPAN (Wireless Personal Local Area Network). Using an Internet line, including a wired line, ensures information exchange between the two devices, regardless of their physical distance. On the other hand, by directly exchanging information between the two, private services can be obtained independently without involving server n_1116-n, preventing the risk of personal confidential information leaking to server n_1116-n, which is relatively public. Meanwhile, server n_1116-n can use a different network route to obtain information unavailable within domain 2_1122-2, such as local weather forecast information and traffic congestion information. Therefore, by indirectly exchanging information between system controllers α / β_1126 / 8 via server n_1116-n, a variety of services can be provided to users, utilizing information owned by server n_1116-n. Switching network communication routes appropriately in this way also has the effect of providing a wider variety of services desired by users. As mentioned above, system controller α_1126 itself can estimate user behavior and status, or user desires / requests, so the system controller α_1126 can independently switch the connection route between system controllers α / β_1126 / 8.

[0150] Section 1.8 Explanation of the local network system structure in this embodiment Section 1.1 already outlined an example of the structure within the local network system configured within system α_1132 included in domain 2_1122-2 described in Figure 1 using Figure 2. In this Section 1.8, application examples of other embodiment systems other than those shown in Figure 2 above will be explained using Figures 8A to 9.

[0151] In the embodiment shown in FIG. 8A, each of the devices 1250-1 to 1250-3 has built-in communication modules 1202-4 to 1202-6, enabling information communication within the same system α_1132. Furthermore, the devices 1250-1 to 1250-3 have built-in sensor modules 1260-1 to 1260-5 or actuator module 1270-1. In contrast, in FIG. 8B, the association state between the communication modules 1202-4 to 1260-6 and the sensor modules 1260-1 to 1260-5 is understood or managed using the concept of sensor / communication modules 1460-1 to 1460-5. Similarly, the association state between the communication module 1202 and the actuator module 1270 is understood or managed using the concept of actuator / communication modules 1470-1 to 1470-2. Furthermore, as described in Section 1.3, the association state is not limited to this, and is managed in an integrated manner using the concept of a composite module 1295, which also collectively refers to concepts such as a processor / communication module 1465, a memory / communication module 1475, and a display / communication module 1478. Incidentally, one combined module may exist alone, such as the sensor / communication module 1460-5 in FIG. 8B.

[0152] In this embodiment, a smart meter 1124 is installed that automatically measures the total usage (or cumulative amount) of public consumption items such as electricity, gas, water supply / sewage, etc. used within one system (for example, within system α_1132) per predetermined time period and automatically transmits the measurement data periodically. In reality, a different smart meter 1124 is installed for each public consumption item such as electricity, gas, water supply / sewage, etc., but Figures 8A / B show only one representative smart meter 1124. Furthermore, without being limited to the above, the usage (or cumulative amount) of the above public consumption items for each section 1_1142-1 and 2_1142-2, which will be described later, may be automatically measured / transmitted.

[0153] As shown in Figures 8A and 9, the detailed structure of the smart meter 1124 includes an emission amount monitor 1206 (e.g., an electricity sales amount meter) installed separately from an inflow amount monitor 1208 (e.g., an electricity purchase amount meter). This emission amount monitor 1206 is used to measure the amount of surplus public consumption goods emitted (sold) to wholesaler A_1102 within system α_1132. Each measurement value (or integrated value) obtained within the smart meter 1124 is periodically reported to server n_1116-n via communication module 1202-1. In parallel with this, the values ​​are also reported to wholesaler A_1102.

[0154] 8A or 9 indicates a communication function unit capable of communicating information via wired or wireless connections. The wired communication supported by this communication function unit may include any communication method, from local video signal transmission lines and audio signal transmission lines to telephone lines and Internet-related Ethernet (registered trademark)-compatible communication. The wireless communication supported by the communication function unit may include any short-range wireless method, such as ZigBee (registered trademark), Bluetooth (registered trademark), UWB (Ultra Wide Band), or Z-Wave; medium-range wireless methods, such as Wi-Fi (Wireless Fidelity) or EnOcean; and long-range wireless methods, such as 2G / PDC, GSM (Registered Trademark) (Second Generation / Personal Digital Cellular, Global System for Mobile Communications), 3G / CDMA (Third Generation / Code Division Multiple Access), or WiMAX (World Wide Interoperability for Microwave Access).

[0155] In particular, the system of this embodiment has the ability to execute the minimum necessary processing within the communication modules 1202 and 1660, as will be described later with reference to FIG. 10A. As a result, the processing and execution of communication protocols (communication information) having the structures shown in FIGS. 11 to 15B, as will be described later in Chapter 2, are processed within the communication modules 1202 and 1660. This processing may be, for example, processing that conforms to a basic (standard) application with generality, such as Java Script, which does not require a specific OS. Furthermore, it may also be processing that conforms to ECMA Script, or a function for interpreting HTML (Hyper-text Markup Language) or HTML5, and the execution of a Java applet that corresponds to it. Furthermore, it may also be a unique processing method, not limited to the existing general-purpose scripts described above.

[0156] 8A and 9, the communication module 1202 is commonly built into the system controller α_1126, the smart meter 1124, and various devices 1250, enabling information communication between them. On the other hand, as shown in Fig. 8A and 9, a sensor module 1260 or an actuator module 1270 is built into the various devices 1250.

[0157] In the system of this embodiment shown in Fig. 8A, multiple devices 1250-1 to 1250-3 installed in the same system α_1132 communicate information with the system controller α_1126 via built-in communication modules 1202-4 to 1202-6 and communication module 1202-3, respectively. As shown in Fig. 8A, the existence of devices 1250-2 to 1250-3 having only one or more (plural) sensor modules 1260-3 to 1260-5 built-in, device 1250-1 having both one or more (plural) sensor modules 1260-1 to 1260-2 and a drive module 1270-1 built-in, and a device 1250 (not shown) having only a drive module 1270 built-in are permitted. On the other hand, in the embodiment shown in Figure 8A, it is possible to mix and arrange devices 1250-1 that have a built-in device controller 1240-1 and a memory unit 1242 that can sequentially store / manage historical information related to sensor modules 1260-1 to 1260-2 and drive module 1270-1 with devices 1250-2 to 3 that do not have these.

[0158] Similarly to the service provider A_1112-1 described in Section 1.7 using FIG. 1, by possessing a function equivalent to the predetermined product generation unit 1152 or a function equivalent to the predetermined product storage unit 1154 in the system α_1132, it becomes possible to secure and temporarily store the surplus public consumables. FIGS. 8A / B show an example of the use of a (car) battery 1220 as an example of a function equivalent to the predetermined product storage unit 1154. However, this is not limited to this, and in this embodiment, any device having the function of the predetermined product generation unit 1152 or the predetermined product storage unit 1154 may be installed in the system α_1132. For example, a battery center or a water tank (or other storage equipment) may be installed on a building or area basis to temporarily store surplus public consumables generated within the building or area.

[0159] 8A / B, for convenience, an example of use of the (car) battery 1220 will be described as a specific example. Here, the interior space of one vehicle corresponds to one section 1_1142-1, which will be described later. Therefore, all information detected inside the vehicle (e.g., gasoline consumption, engine RPM, interior temperature, and personal information of each occupant, etc.) is detected by the sensor module 1222, and the results are transmitted to the system controller α_1126 via the communication module 1202-2. Similarly, within this section 1_1142-1 (inside the vehicle), an inflow amount monitor unit 1218 that measures the amount of charge to the (car) battery 1220 and a discharge amount monitor unit 1216 that measures the amount of power discharged (sold) from the (car) battery 1220 to the outside are installed, and each measurement value is transmitted to the system controller α_1126 via the communication module 1202-2. In particular, the system of this embodiment is provided with a discharge amount control unit 1212 that can precisely control the amount of power discharged (sold) from the (car) battery 1220 to the outside, and an inflow amount control unit 1214 that can precisely control the amount of power charged to the (car) battery 1220. Both are connected to the system controller α_1126 via communication modules 1202-2 and 1202-3. Therefore, the system controller α_1126 can precisely control the amount of power discharged (sold) to the outside by feeding back the amount of discharged (sold) power successively measured by the discharge amount monitor unit 1216 to the discharge amount control unit 1212. Similarly, the system controller α_1126 precisely controls the amount of power charged to the (car) battery 1220 by feeding back the amount of inflow (purchased) power successively measured by the inflow amount monitor unit 1218 to the inflow amount control unit 1214.

[0160] As already explained in Section 1.7, the system controller α_1126 controls communications within the corresponding system α_1132 (network system) and manages and operates the communication status. As shown in FIG. 8A, the system controller α_1126 incorporates a processor 1230. The processor 1230 collects information from all sensor modules 1222 and 1260-1 to 1260-5 within the same domain 2_1122-2 and stores it sequentially as history information in the memory unit 1232. It also stores command information for the drive module 1270-1 as history information. Furthermore, the system controller α_1126 includes a user I / F unit 1234, which allows direct input of user requests and displays the current progress status to the user. However, the user I / F unit 1234 may be installed outside the system controller α_1126 and connected via the communication module 1202-3.

[0161] In particular, the system of this embodiment is characterized in that, rather than automatically transferring all information relating to all sensor modules 1222, 1260-1 to 5 and drive module 1270-1 in domain 2_1122-2 to server n_1116-n, system controller α_1126 (processor 1230 therein) autonomously selects and transmits only necessary information to server n_1116-n. This has the effect of protecting the user's personal information. Furthermore, in addition to the above-described selection of information, it is also possible to process and analyze some of the information and notify server n_1116-n of only the results. This allows server n_1116-n to collect only the minimum necessary information, which also has the effect of improving the efficiency of the integrated management process performed within service provider B_1116-1.

[0162] Furthermore, in this embodiment of the system, the system controller α_1126 (processor 1230 therein) can collect unique information from the server n_1116-n via the communication module 1202-3 and store it in the memory unit 1232. This unique information refers to information that cannot be obtained from the domain 2_1122-2, such as traffic congestion information, local weather forecast information, and time-varying price information for public consumption goods. The system controller α_1126 (processor 1230 therein) analyzes the information stored in the memory unit 1232 in this manner and estimates / determines the behavior, status, or requirements of the end user. Based on this estimation / determination, the system controller α_1126 (processor 1230 therein) then controls the system α_1132 (or domain 2_1122-1) and provides the end user with optimal services. As an example of a method for providing this service, the drive module 1270-1 in FIG. 8A may be remotely controlled. In this way, the system controller α_1126 (processor 1230 therein) independently analyzes and compiles information collected from the sensor modules 1222, 1260-1 to 1260-5 and server n_1116-n and the command history to the drive module 1270-1, which has the effect of enabling the provision of unique services such as detailed services to users within domain 2_1122-2, which was previously difficult to do. Furthermore, such unique services within domain 2_1122-2 can be provided stably even when communication with server n_1116-n is unavailable due to a system problem, ensuring the robustness of the services provided to end users.

[0163] An application example of the system of this embodiment shown in Fig. 8A is shown in Fig. 9. In Fig. 9, all devices 1250-1&4 in domain 2_1122-2 except for the smart meter 1124 and the router (gateway) 1300 have a built-in processor 1330 or device controllers 1240-1 to 1240-2, and direct information exchange with server n_1116-n is possible via the router (gateway) 1300 with a built-in battery.

[0164] Here, the processor 1330 built into section 1_1142-1 (inside one vehicle) is not limited to controlling the amount of power charged / discharged from the (car) battery 1220, but also performs various controls, such as air conditioning management inside the vehicle and fuel-efficient engine combustion control, and this related information can be transmitted to server n_1116-n via router (gateway) 1300 (or directly). Also, all communication modules 1202-1 to 7 are network-connected to server n_1116-n via router (gateway) 1300. Here, in the application example shown in Fig. 9, the router (gateway) 1300 does not perform any discrimination or selection, but automatically transfers all information from devices 1250-1 / 4 to server n_1116-n, which is a major functional difference from system controller α_1126 in Fig. 8A.

[0165] 9, all devices 1250-1 / 4 in domain 2_1122-2 are equipped with memory units 1244 and 1246. Signals and information constantly detected by sensor modules 1260-1 to 1260-7 are sequentially stored in memory units 1244 and 1246 in chronological order. Command information appropriately issued from device controllers 1240-1 to 1240-2 to drive modules 1270-1 to 1270-3 is also sequentially stored in memory units 1244 and 1246. Using the information stored in memory units 1244 and 1246, device controllers 1240-1 to 1246 can provide unique services to end users for each device 1250-1 to 1250-4. When providing this service, the device controller 1240-1 / 2 uses the history of detection signals and measurement information from the sensor modules 1260-1 to 1260-7, which change from moment to moment and are stored in the memory units 1244 and 1246, to estimate / determine the end user's behavior, state, or requests, and control the drive modules 1270-1 to 1270-3 (details will be described later in Sections 4.2 to 4.4).

[0166] 9 is characterized in that "the entire network communication system α_1132 is managed or controlled from outside the network communication system α_1132 (the physical spatial area formed by it)" or "there is no system controller α_1126 located within the network communication system α_1132 (the physical spatial area formed by it) that manages or controls the entire network communication system α_1132." From this perspective, the management and operation of information communication within the same system network line 1782 formed between devices 1250-1 and 1250-4 within system α_1132 via a battery-equipped router (gateway) 1300 may be performed by a system controller β_1128 installed at a location physically separated from system α_1132 instead of server n_1116-n.

[0167] As a further application example, a "hybrid form" between the embodiment system shown in Figure 2 or Figure 8A / B and the embodiment system shown in Figure 9 may be adopted. In this case, both the system controller α_1126 and a battery-equipped router (gateway) 1300 may be used as relay means inside and outside the system α_1132. Furthermore, the management, operation, or control of the entire network communication system α_1132 may be performed cooperatively by both the system controller α_1126 and the system controller β_1128, or may normally be performed only by the system controller α_1126. Furthermore, the system controller α_1126 and the system controller β_1128 frequently exchange information, and all information necessary for collecting information for each section 1_1142-1 to m_1142-m and providing services to users is shared between the two companies. In this case, related files stored in the memory unit 1232 in the system controller α_1126 are mirrored and appropriately copied to the corresponding memory unit 1248 in the system controller β_1128. The address table in Figure 23, the estimation / judgment matching table in Figure 27, and the time-series information tracking table in Figure 28, which are examples of information required for collecting information for each section 1_1142-1 to m_1142-m and providing services to users, will be explained later. By appropriately sharing information between system controllers α_1126 and β_1128 in this manner, processing within the stable system α_1132 can continue without disruption even if the entities responsible for management / operation or control change (or are mixed) along the way. Furthermore, the system controller α_1126 and server n_1116-n may cooperate to manage, operate, or control the entire network communication system α_1132. In this case, as described above (using mirroring, etc.), all information required for collecting information for each section 1_1142-1 to m_1142-m and providing services to users may be shared between the system controller α_1126 and server n_1116-n. By managing, operating, and controlling the entire network communication system α_1132 using multiple devices located in different locations in this way, it is possible to respond flexibly to emergencies, etc., which has the effect of improving the stability and reliability of the network communication system α_1132.For example, if the system controller α_1126 shuts down due to some unforeseen event, or if all information stored in the memory unit 1232 is destroyed due to a head crash or the like, the system controller β_1128 or server n_1116-n automatically takes over as an emergency response, allowing the system α_1132 to continue processing stably without causing any stress to the user. Furthermore, for example, a user can operate the system controller β_1128 from a remote location to collect information from the network communication system α_1132 or control the network communication system α_1132, thereby improving user convenience. Furthermore, in this case, the system α_1132 may include a mixture of devices 1250-1 and 1250-4 incorporating a device controller 1240 and a memory unit 1242, devices 1250-2 and 1250-3 not incorporating a device controller 1240 and a memory unit 1242, and composite modules, such as a sensor / communication module 1460 and a drive / communication module 1470 (described later), for example.

[0168] A supplementary explanation will be given regarding the above-mentioned "mixed form." As shown in FIG. 5, the composite module 1295 (or unit 1290) arranged in the network system α_1132 often has a storage module (battery) 1554. Therefore, even if a power outage occurs in the system α_1132, many of the composite modules 1295 (or units 1290) continue to operate without being affected. Furthermore, in the embodiment system of FIG. 9, the router (gateway) 1300 that relays information communication inside and outside the system α_1132 has a built-in battery, so it is not affected by a power outage in the network system α_1132. Therefore, if a means is set up to back up the management / control within the network system α_1132 in the event of an unforeseen event such as a power outage or failure, information communication within the system α_1132 can continue without interruption without being affected by unforeseen events such as a power outage or failure.

[0169] As already explained in Section 1.1, "the only system controller α_1126 manages / controls / operates / collects information on information communications within the network system α_1132," under normal circumstances, the system controller α_1126 manages / controls / operates / collects information on information communications within the network system α_1132. However, in the event of an unforeseen event such as a power outage or failure, the system controller β_1128 temporarily manages / controls / operates / collects information on information communications within the network system α_1132. Under normal circumstances, the system controller β_1128 may be treated as a single unit 1290 belonging to the network system α_1132.

[0170] As already explained in Section 1.1 using Figures 1 and 2, system controller α_1126, which manages / controls / operates / collects information on information communications within network system α_1132, communicates information within the network system with each unit 1290 within network system α_1132, and also communicates information outside the system with server n_1116-n (cloud or cloud server) located outside network system α_1132. When system controller β_1128 temporarily replaces system controller α_1126 in the event of an unforeseen event such as a power outage or failure, it is desirable for information communication between each unit 1290 and server n_1116-n to be performed using the same communication information format as before the temporary replacement. This is because using the same communication information format allows for smooth and seamless temporary replacement processing.

[0171] As will be described later in Section 2.1 using FIG. 10A, the communication information in the communication middleware layer APL02 between the system controller α_1126 and the combined module 1295 can use the C-format. On the other hand, the communication information in the communication middleware layer APL06 between the system controller α_1126 and the server n_1116-n (cloud or cloud server) can use the A-format, E-format, W-format, etc. Therefore, when the system controller β_1128 performs proxy processing on behalf of the system controller α_1126, it is desirable to perform similar information communication. That is, the communication information in the communication middleware layer APL02 between the system controller β_1128 and the combined module 1295 uses the C-format, and the communication information with the server n_1116-n (cloud or cloud server) uses the A-format, E-format, W-format, etc.

[0172] The features of the client system resulting from the combination of the contents described later in Section 2.1 using Figures 10A and 17A with the system of this embodiment described above are summarized below. That is, this client system (system α_1132) can be connected to an external cloud (server n_1116-1 in Figure 1) (via system controller α_1126 in Figure 10A or router (gateway) 1300 or system controller β_1128 in Figure 17A), and further, this client system (system α_1132) has a first system controller α_1126 that acquires and manages information from unit 1290 (or combined module 1295) that has the function of communicating information acquired or created independently, and a second system controller β_1128 different from the first system controller α_1126 that acquires and manages the information from unit 1290 (or combined module 1295), and In this electronic equipment system, the first system controller α_1126 divides and manages multiple units 1290 (or composite modules 1295) into sections 1142 (Figure 1) and holds information about the section to which each unit belongs (the address table of Figure 23 or the time-series information tracking table of Figure 28, which will be described later in Section 4.3), and is characterized in that communication between the second system controller β_1128 and the multiple units 1290 (or composite modules 1295) uses a first data format (C-format of Figure 17A), and communication between the second system controller β_1128 and the cloud (server n_1116-1 of Figure 1) uses a second data format (A / E / W-format of Figure 17B).

[0173] As already explained, under normal circumstances, system controller β_1134 may be treated as a single unit 1290 belonging to network system α_1132 managed / controlled / operated / information-collected by system controller α_1126. Furthermore, in this embodiment system, information communication between different units 1290 within the same network system 1132 is possible via (through) network system α_1132. As described above, when communicating information between system controller α_1126 and unit 1290, the C-format can be used for communication information in the communication middleware layer APL02. Therefore, when communicating information between system controller α_1126 and system controller β_1128, using the C-format for communication information in the communication middleware layer APL02 has the effect of facilitating management / control / operation / information-collection of system controller α_1126.

[0174] On the other hand, even when the system controller β_1134 normally communicates information with the server n_1116-n (cloud or cloud server), it is desirable to use the A-format, E-format, or W-format for communication information in the communication middleware layer APL06. This has the effect of enabling smooth and seamless temporary processing of the management / control / operation / information gathering of the network system α_1132 when the system controller α_1126 becomes unavailable due to a power outage or malfunction.

[0175] This can be expressed in other words as follows: This client system (system α_1132) can be connected to an external cloud (server n_1116-1 in FIG. 1) (via system controller α_1126 in FIG. 10A or router (gateway) 1300 or system controller β_1128 in FIG. 17A), and further has a first system controller α_1126 that acquires and manages information from unit 1290 (or combination module 1295) that has the function of communicating information that it has acquired or created independently, and a second system controller α_1126 that acquires and manages the information from unit 1290 (or combination module 1295). The system is characterized in that it is equipped with a second system controller β_1128 different from the first system controller α_1126 which acquires and manages the plurality of units 1290, and the second system controller β_1128 communicates with the plurality of units 1290 via the first system controller α_1126 using a first data format (such as C-format), and uses a second data format (such as A / E / W-format in FIG. 17B) for communication between the second system controller β_1128 and the cloud (server n_1116-n in FIG. 1).

[0176] The paraphrases used up to now have mostly been in consideration of cooperative processing or alternative processing between the system controller α_1126 and the system controller β_1128. However, this is not limited to this, and the characteristics of the single embodiment system in Figure 9, in which the system controller α_1126 does not exist from the beginning, can also be described as follows. That is, this client system (system α_1132) can be connected to an external cloud (server n_1116-1 in FIG. 1) (via system controller α_1126 in FIG. 10A or router (gateway) 1300 or system controller β_1128 in FIG. 17A), and further comprises a unit 1290 (or a combination module 1295) having the function of communicating information acquired or created independently, a system controller β_1128 that acquires and manages the information from the unit 1290 (device 1250 in FIG. 9), and a gateway 1300 having the function of communicating between the unit 1290 (device 1250 in FIG. 9) and the system controller β_1128, and the system controller β_1128 is a system controller that manages a plurality of units. An electronic equipment system that divides and manages 1290 (equipment 1250 in Figure 9) into sections 1_1142-1 and 2_1142-2 and holds information (the address table in Figure 23 or the time series information tracking table in Figure 28, which will be described later in Section 4.3) regarding the sections 1_1142-1 and 2_1142-2 to which each unit 1290 (equipment 1250 in Figure 9) belongs, and is characterized in that a first data format (such as C-format) is used for communication between the system controller β_1128 and the multiple units 1290 (equipment 1250 in Figure 9), and a second data format (A / E / W-format in Figure 17B) is used for communication between the system controller β_1128 and the cloud (server n_1116-n in Figure 1).

[0177] Section 1.9: Example of Composite Module Use in a Local Network System. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 8A or FIG. 9, the basic communication partners of the system controller α_1126 in FIG. 8A or the server n_1116-n in FIG. 9 are the devices 1250-1 to 1250-4. Traditionally, basic functions were predetermined for each device, and the network communication information (communication protocol or exchange information 1810 in the communication middleware layer APL, described in Chapter 2) compatible with each device's basic functions was predefined by a standard. However, as devices evolve and diversify over time, it becomes difficult to quickly adapt the standard to the constantly changing functionality of each device. For example, the basic function of a television is to receive broadcast signals and display the content to the user. However, today's high-end Japanese televisions not only have these basic functions, but also incorporate network-based data communication and recording functions. Although not widely used today, naked-eye 3DTV (3-Dimensional Television) also incorporates a function to detect the viewer's location. Furthermore, in the future, it is possible that televisions will have built-in light sensors (to optimally control the brightness of the display screen). If the communication information format (exchange information 1810) or communication protocol between devices 1250-1 to 1250-4 were made versatile in consideration of the diversification and expandability of each device, this would have the adverse effect of increasing the price of devices 1250-1 to 1250-4 that incorporate high-performance device controllers 1240-1 to 1240-2 for decoding the communication information. In other words, it would be difficult for device 1250-2 or device 1250-3 in Fig. 8A to decode complex communication information that is versatile, and a built-in device controller 1240 would be required to decode the information and perform various controls within the device in accordance with the decoding results.

[0178] As a countermeasure, in FIG. 8B, sensor / communication modules 1460-1 to 1460-5 or drive / communication modules 1470-1 to 1470-2 belonging to combination module 1295 can be installed inside devices 1450-1 to 1450-4 or independently outside the devices.

[0179] For convenience of explanation, all of the devices 1450-1 to 1450-4 in FIG. 8B are configured to incorporate the sensor / communication modules 1460-1 to 1460-4 and the drive / communication modules 1470-1 to 1470-2 that belong to the combination module 1295. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the embodiment shown in FIG. 3A(c) may also be adopted. That is, for example, the combination module 1295 (sensor / communication module 1460 or drive / communication module 1470) may be additionally incorporated into the devices 1250-1 to 1250-4 shown in FIGS. 8A and 9. In this case, information and communication related to the basic functions of each device (for example, the function of "receiving broadcast waves and displaying the content to the user" in the previous example) is handled within the devices 1250-1 to 1250-4 shown in FIGS. 8A and 9. Information and communication related to new functions that have been newly developed and diversified and added is directly handled by the newly incorporated combination modules 1295, 1460, and 1470. The entire functionality of the highly diversified / evolved device 1250 is managed / understood and controlled in an integrated manner within the system controller α_1126. This creates a new effect of facilitating expandability (expandability of built-in sensors / drive types) when adding new functions to existing devices. Furthermore, because the functions of each of the combination modules 1295, 1460, and 1470 are very limited and simplified, another effect is created in that the communication information exchanged between the combination modules 1295, 1460, and 1470 and the outside world can be significantly simplified. This significant simplification of the communication information exchanged with the outside world eliminates the need for built-in high-performance device controllers 1240-1 to 1240-2 for decoding / controlling complex communication information, facilitating the reduction in cost and size of the combination modules 1295, 1460, and 1470.

[0180] 8B, devices 1450-1 and 1450-2 are placed in section 2_1142-2, and devices 1450-3 to 1450-4 are placed in section m_1142-m. However, the installation locations of devices 1450-1 to 1450-4 do not necessarily have to be fixed, and an end user may carry any of specific devices 1450-1 to 1450-4 and move it to another section.

[0181] Similarly, in the embodiment system of Figure 8B, the sensor modules and drive modules are individually integrated with the communication modules within the smart meter 1124 and within section 1_1142-1 (corresponding to the entire interior of a vehicle, for example). As a result, as shown in Figure 8B within the smart meter 1124, an emission monitor / communication module 1406 and an inflow monitor / communication module 1408 are configured, and each is individually network-connected to the system controller α_1126 and server n_1116-n. Similarly, section 1_1142-1 is configured with an emission monitor / communication module 1416, an inflow monitor / communication module 1418, an emission control / communication module 1412, and an inflow control / communication module 1414, each of which is individually network-connected to the system controller α_1126 (processor 1230 therein) via the communication module 1202-3. Here, the release amount monitor / communication module 1406, the inflow amount monitor / communication module 1408, the release amount monitor / communication module 1416, and the inflow amount monitor / communication module 1418 correspond to the sensor / communication module 1460. Furthermore, the release amount control / communication module 1412 and the inflow amount control / communication module 1414 correspond to the drive / communication module 1470. In this case, the system controller α_1126 collectively collects (and stores in the memory unit 1232) all detection signals and measurement information obtained from the sensor / communication modules 1460-1 to 5, the release amount monitor / communication modules 1406, 1416, and the inflow amount monitor / communication modules 1408, 1418 in the system α_1132. Furthermore, the system controller α_1126 collectively controls (issues commands to) all drive / communication modules 1470-1 to 2, the release amount control / communication module 1412, and the inflow amount control / communication module 1414 in the system α_1132. As a result, a single system controller α_1126 can efficiently and comprehensively manage and control all devices 1450-1 to 1450-5 within the system α_1132, and provide high-quality services to end users.

[0182] Furthermore, the embodiment system example shown in FIG. 8B has the advantage that the devices 1450-1 to 1450-5 can be manufactured very inexpensively. In other words, by mass-producing the versatile standard combination modules 1460 and 1470 in large quantities, the combination modules 1460 and 1470 can be manufactured significantly more inexpensively. Furthermore, no new interface units are required to connect the combination modules 1295, 1460, and 1470, and the combination modules can be incorporated into the corresponding devices 1450-1 to 1450-5 simply through physical placement. Furthermore, if the drive / communication modules 1470-1 to 1470-2 can be supplied at low cost, the number of drive / communication modules 1470-1 to 1470-2 incorporated into the devices 1450-1 to 1450-5 can be increased compared to the example shown in FIG. 8B. Furthermore, the combination modules 1295, 1460, and 1470 can be incorporated into the devices 1450-1 to 1450-5 not only by screw fastening but also by temporary fixation using double-sided tape or adhesive tape, for example, by the end user. 8B, device 1450-1 and device 1450-3 each have one built-in sensor / communication module 1460-4 to 1460-5, and device 1450-2 has a plurality of built-in sensor / communication modules 1460-2 to 1460-3. However, by using the method described above, an end user can easily reattach a specific sensor / communication module 1460-2 to 1460-5 to another device 1450.

[0183] 8B, the sensor / communication module 1460-5 is not built into the device 1450, but is instead installed independently at any location within the specific section 1142 (or within the domain 1122). As a method for installing such a sensor / communication module 1460-5 (or combination module 1295, 1460, 1470) independently, for example, the user may fix the sensor / communication module 1460 (or combination module 1295, 1460, 1470) to a wall, roof, or floor using a fixing member such as tape, adhesive, or thumbtacks, or may mix the module with paint and paint it onto the wall, roof, or floor. Furthermore, although not shown, the drive / communication module 1470 (for example, in the form of a remote control for controlling an air conditioner, television, or lighting equipment) may be installed independently at any location within the specific section 1142 (or within the domain 1122).

[0184] As another example of the system of this embodiment, the combination modules 1295, 1460, and 1470 may be made movable with the user, and the position change history of the combination modules 1295, 1460, and 1470 may be measured to collect user behavior history information. Furthermore, the drive / communication module 1470 (not shown) may be made movable with the user, and state changes within the specific section 1142 (or within the domain 1122) may be controlled (e.g., to control an air conditioner, television, or lighting equipment) from any location where the user is located. Here, the combination modules 1295, 1460, and 1470 may be temporarily fixed or attached with tape or adhesive to a portable item that the user regularly wears, such as glasses, a tie pin, shoes, or a wallet. Alternatively, the combination modules may be firmly fixed with screws or the like, or may be incorporated into the portable item.

[0185] Chapter 2: Overview of the hierarchical structure and data structure of communication informationChapter 1 explained the overall structure of the system of this embodiment using Figures 1 to 9. This Chapter 2 explains the characteristics and details of the data structure (communication protocol contents) of the communication information exchanged within this embodiment explained in Chapter 1.

[0186] Section 2.1 Hierarchical Structure of Network Communication-Related Functions in the Present Embodiment A major feature of the network communication used in the present embodiment is the hierarchical structure for each function, as shown in Figures 10A / B and 16 to 17B. Within this hierarchical structure, the physical layers PHY02 and PHY06, which correspond to the lowest-level physical functions shown in Figures 10A / B and 16 to 17B, define the physical communication media required for network communication. When using a wired Ethernet as a specific example of this physical communication media, cables and connectors with shapes and characteristics specified in the standard for the physical layer PHY06 are used. On the other hand, when using wireless as this physical communication media, the frequency, channel, modulation method, basic communication frame structure, and the like are conformed to the standard for the physical layers PHY02 and PHY06.

[0187] The media access layers MAC02 and MAC06, which correspond to the access function on the communication media located above the physical layers PHY02 and PHY06, specify the information required to correctly transmit communication information between nodes connected to the network (device 1250 in Fig. 8A or combination modules 1460 and 1470 in Fig. 8B).The top-level extended application layer EXL06 and communication middleware layers APL06 and APL02 specify the provision of various services using network communication (corresponding to various service provision functions using communication).

[0188] By providing a hierarchical structure corresponding to each function, it is possible to select and combine the optimal format for each layer depending on the characteristics and performance of the communication partner. As a result, the overall system of this embodiment can achieve low prices (for the combination modules 1460 and 1470 shown in FIG. 8B) while simultaneously achieving high functionality for communication information (with the device 1250 shown in FIG. 8A). Specific examples of this effect are described below. First, the physical layer PHY02 and media access layer MAC02 can adopt the Z-format (described in detail in Section 2.3) for short-range wireless, which is optimal for the "power saving" required for the combination modules 1460 and 1470. Furthermore, to optimize the "low cost" required for the combination modules 1460 and 1470, the communication middleware layer APL02 can adopt the C-format (described in detail in Section 2.5), which "simplifies communication information." On the other hand, in order to accommodate the high functionality required for communication between server n_1116-n and device 1250-1, the communication middleware layer APL06 may use A-format (details will be described later in Section 2.7), E-format (details will be described later in Section 2.6), or W-format, which enable simultaneous communication of multiple pieces of information, and may also use communication information from the extended application layer EXL06.

[0189] Furthermore, the following feature of this embodiment is that information specified in the Internet Protocol version 6 layer IPv6, which corresponds to Internet communication (internet protocol) functions, can be "commonly" communicated as an intermediate layer (a layer higher than the media access layers MAC02 and MAC06 and lower than the communication middleware layers APL02 and APL06) of communication information having the above-mentioned hierarchical structure. Here, "commonly communicable" means that communication information specified in the Internet Protocol version 6 layer IPv6 (details will be described later in Section 2.4) can be commonly communicated when communicating with all nodes (meaning communication targets corresponding to the source and destination of network communication, such as device 1250, server n_1116-n, wholesaler A_1102 in FIG. 8A, or combination modules 1460 and 1470 in FIG. 8B) connected to the network within all of the present embodiment systems shown in FIGS. 1 to 8B. This situation can be explained in another way as follows. That is, as shown in Figure 10A, the communication information used (sent) on the external network line 1788 (described later) and the internal network line 1782 (details of which will be described later) may include information defined by the same standard for the Internet Protocol version 6 layer IPv6. The Internet Protocol version 6 layer IPv6 defines the communication protocol on the Internet and manages addresses and communication routes on the Internet. Therefore, the standard defined by the Internet Protocol version 6 layer IPv6 allows each node (communication target) to be assigned its own unique IP address (Internet Protocol Address), regardless of the type of node, such as wholesaler A_1102, server n_1116-n, system controller α_1126, device 1250-1, or combination modules 1460 and 1470. In this way, when communicating between different systems within the same domain 2_1122-2 in this embodiment system (when communicating between system α_1132 and system β_1134 in Figure 1), using the above IP addresses has the effect of greatly simplifying the management of communication partners (details will be given later in Section 2.8).As a specific example of this effect, for example, from a business trip destination overseas (corresponding to the location of system β_1134 in Figure 1), it becomes possible to use a mobile device such as a smartphone or tablet (corresponding to system controller β_1128 in Figure 1) to collect necessary information from the sensor / communication module 1460 at home (corresponding to the location of system α_1132 in Figure 1) or to operate the drive / communication module 1470, greatly improving user convenience. In addition, at this time, the business trip destination (system β_1134) and the home (system α_1132) are protected within the same domain 2_1122-2, which cannot be intruded from outside, so sufficiently strong security protection is provided.

[0190] First, using the system model of the embodiment shown in Fig. 8B, a hierarchical structure (architecture) for each function related to network communication is shown in Fig. 10A. Incidentally, in Fig. 10A and Fig. 10B, because the system model of the embodiment shown in Fig. 8B is taken into consideration, combination modules 1460 and 1470 are shown as the rightmost network nodes. Furthermore, instead of the combination modules 1460 and 1470 as the rightmost network nodes arranged within the network line 1782 within the same system, the communication modules 1202-5 and 1202-6 (and sensor modules 1260-3 to 1260-5) within the devices 1250-2 and 1250-3 that do not incorporate the device controller 1240-1 shown in Fig. 8A may also correspond.

[0191] Here, the left side of Fig. 10A shows a hierarchical structure (architecture) for each function related to communication between server n_1116-n and system controller α_1126 in Fig. 8B, and the right side of Fig. 10A shows a hierarchical structure (architecture) for each function related to communication between system controller α_1126 and each combination module 1460, 1470 in Fig. 8B.

[0192] As shown in Fig. 1, in this embodiment of the system, server n_1116-n can be installed in a location physically outside the area where system α_1132, to which system controller α_1126 belongs, is located. Therefore, as shown on the left side of Fig. 10A, communication between server n_1116-n and system controller α_1126 utilizes an external system network line 1788. This external system network line 1788 may be an Internet line via a cable or wireless connection. However, it is not limited to this, and a network line used within a relatively small area, such as a LAN (Local Area Network), can also be used.

[0193] The physical communication media using the wired connection may be optical fiber cables. However, other physical media corresponding to the wired connection may also be used, such as electric cords, telephone wires, or power lines. The transmitted signals may be either analog or digital signals. Communication standards in the physical layer PHY06 vary not only depending on the physical form of the communication medium and the signal format transmitted therethrough, but also on the communication line management company and the country or region that manages or supervises communications. Therefore, in this embodiment, all communication standards in the physical layer PHY06 via actual lines are collectively referred to as the "L-format." On the other hand, when wireless communication is used in the physical layer PHY06 as the external network line 1788, long-distance wireless communication standards such as 2G (Second Generation), 3G (Third Generation), or WiMAX (World Wide Interoperability for Microwave Access) may be used. Furthermore, the system of this embodiment is not limited to this, and can use communication information conforming to any wireless communication standard, including medium-range wireless systems. All wireless communication standards, from long-range to medium-range wireless systems, are collectively referred to as "G-format" here.

[0194] In contrast, all of the combined modules 1460 and 1470 shown in FIG. 8B are commonly arranged within the system α_1132 managed by the system controller α_1126. The physical scope of this system α_1132 is limited to a relatively small area. Therefore, information communication between the system controller α_1126 and the combined modules 1460 and 1470 is performed using the intra-system network line 1782 shown in FIG. 10A. To distinguish it from the "G-format" and "L-format" communication standards used in the external network line 1788, the communication standard used in the physical layer PHY02 for information communicated within the intra-system network line 1782 is collectively referred to as "Z-format." In this embodiment, the intra-system network line 1782 may be either wireless or wired (or a combination of both).

[0195] On the other hand, the standards used for the media access layer MAC02 / 06 shown in Figure 10A are often considered and proposed by the same standards development organization as the physical layer PHY02 / 06. Therefore, in the media access layer MAC06 transmitted over the external network line 1788 between server n_1116-2 and system controller α_1126, either the "L-format" or the "G-format" can be used to match the physical layer PHY06. Similarly, in the media access layer MAC02 transmitted over the internal network line 1782 between system controller α_1126 and the combined modules 1460 and 1470, the "Z-format" can be used. However, this is not a limitation; for example, the physical layer PHY02 may use the Z-format, and the media access layer MAC02 may use the L-format or G-format. Alternatively, the physical layer PHY06 may use the L-format or G-format, and the media access layer MAC06 may use the Z-format.

[0196] Incidentally, the processing of information (mainly communication control processing) related to each function from the physical layer PHY06 to the Internet Protocol version 6 layer IPv6 described above is performed by communication modules 1768 and 1202-3 in server n_1116-n and system controller α_1126. Incidentally, the communication module 1660 in the composite modules 1460 and 1470, the internal structures of which are described in Figures 5 and 66, may be functionally divided into a communication control unit 1700 and an interface unit 1710, at least functionally. Then, in this communication control unit 1700, processing of information (mainly communication control processing) related to each function from the physical layer PHY02 to the Internet Protocol version 6 layer IPv6 is performed.

[0197] Until now, information related to each function from the physical layer PHY06 to the Internet Protocol version 6 layer IPv6 has mainly been related to communication control and has had little to do with, for example, the function, operation, or performance of device 1450. In contrast, the communication middleware layers APL02 and APL06 and the extended application layer EXL06 in FIG. 10A are related to the provision of various services using network communications. Processing of communication information related to the functions of the communication middleware layer APL06 and the extended application layer EXL06 (mainly processing related to the provision of services to users) is performed by processors 1738 and 1230 in server n_1116-n and system controller α_1126. In contrast, information related to the function of communication middleware layer APL02, which is communicated via network line 1782 within the same system, is processed in interface unit 1710 in communication module 1660 within combination modules 1460 and 1470. In this way, the combination modules 1460 and 1470 do not use expensive processors, and the system of this embodiment is characterized in that all communication information communicated via the network line 1782 within the same system can be processed within the communication module 1660. By eliminating the need to incorporate expensive processors in this way, the combination modules 1460 and 1470 can be provided at low cost.

[0198] A major feature of this embodiment of the system is that, among the information communicated via the external system network line 1788, unique information usable only by specific application software installed on both the server n_1116-n and the system controller α_1126 can be stored and communicated in the extended application layer EXL06. This enables differentiation between the application software installed on both the server n_1116-n and the system controller α_1126. As a result, competitive development between each company's application software is promoted, spurring advances in application software technology and improving user convenience. Furthermore, utilizing the unique information stored in the extended application layer EXL06 also has the effect of improving the quality of services provided by application software to users. As the performance and additional functions of the devices 1250-1 and 1250-2 shown in Figures 8A and 9 improve and develop in the future, it will be necessary to successively upgrade the standards for the A-, E-, and W-formats used in the communication middleware layer APL06 accordingly. However, upgrading the standard requires extremely cumbersome work, which creates the problem that it is difficult for these standard upgrades to keep up with the performance improvements and additional functions of the devices 1250-1 and 1250-2. By utilizing the extended application layer EXL06, application software vendors can easily respond to performance improvements and additional functions of the devices 1250-1 and 1250-2 without waiting for standard upgrades. Because the information stored and communicated in the extended application layer EXL06 can be freely configured by specific software vendors, the description format of the communication information here does not need to be specified in advance as a global standard.

[0199] In contrast, communication information related to the service provision functions of the communication middleware layers APL02 / APL06 may use information that conforms to a specified format, such as the A-, E-, W-, or C-format. When communication information related to the service provision functions of the communication middleware layers APL02 / APL06 conforms to a predetermined standard format in this way, it becomes easier to ensure mutual compatibility between the servers 1116 and the system controllers 1126 / 1128, and between the combination modules 1460 and 1470.

[0200] As shown in FIG. 25, both the server n_1116-n and the system controller α_1126 have a large-capacity memory unit 1232 (and database 1118-n) and can have a high-speed, powerful processor 1738 / 1230. Therefore, a wide variety of communication information corresponding to the provision of a wide variety of services can be set in the communication middleware layer APL06 transmitted between them. In contrast, it is difficult to incorporate a processor capable of supporting the provision of a wide variety of services in the combination modules 1460 and 1470. Therefore, in this embodiment system, in order to address the above situation, a format (e.g., C-format) different from the format (e.g., A-format, E-format, W-format) used in the communication middleware layer APL06 for information communication with the combination modules 1460 and 1470 may be used in the communication middleware layer APL02. In particular, by relatively simplifying the C-format (details will be described later in section 2.5) used in the communication middleware layer APL02, not only is the processing load in the combination modules 1460 and 1470 reduced, enabling lower prices, but the relative improvement in processing speed and reduction in processing time also produces the effect of reducing the consumption of the built-in power storage module (battery) 1554. However, the system of this embodiment is not limited to this, and the A-format, E-format, or W-format may also be used for information communication with the combination modules 1460 and 1470.

[0201] Here, the process of switching (conversion) between the information used in the communication middleware layer APL02, which is included in the communication information using the intra-system network line 1782, and the information used in the communication middleware layer APL06, which is included in the communication information using the external system network line 1788, is processed in the system controller α_1126. In the communication middleware layers APL02 and APL06 of this embodiment system, the communication information used in the intra-system network line 1782 and the communication information used in the external system network line 1788 do not necessarily have to be completely identical, and the communication information may be partially different between the two. This processing method will be described below. As already explained in Sections 1.1 and 1.7 and further shown in FIG. 8B, the system controller α_1126 manages and operates network communications within the network system α_1132. The information detected by all sensor / communication modules 1460 and all status information controlled (set) by the drive / communication module 1470, which are sequentially obtained in real time through the same intra-system network line 1782, are appropriately stored as management information 1744 in the memory unit 1232 of the system controller α_1126. Here, the management information 1744 may be stored in a table format as a management table. Furthermore, when a configuration shown in FIG. 8A and FIG. 8B is mixed, the system controller α_1126 also simultaneously stores information on all devices 1250 (detection information, current status information, etc.) as part of the management information 1744. The system controller α_1126 then extracts only specific information from the management information 1744 that is within the scope in which the user's personal information is protected, and communicates the information to the server n_1116-n via the intra-system network line 1788. The information communicated to the server n_1116-n is stored in a database 1118-n as management information 1748 (which may be in the form of a table) managed by the server n_1116.In this way, the system controller α_1126 converts (switches information) between the communication information used within the communication middleware layer APL02 and the communication information used within APL06, which not only protects user security but also simplifies processing on server n_1116-n by selecting and receiving the minimum necessary information in advance.

[0202] The client system, which combines the above description with the overall overview of the system of this embodiment already explained in Section 1.1, has the following features: That is, it is equipped with a system controller α_1126 that can connect to an external cloud (server n_1116-n in FIG. 1) and manages information, and units (units 1_1290-1 to 7_1290-7 in FIG. 2) that have the function of acquiring or creating and transmitting information to be provided to this system controller α_1126, and this system controller α_1126 divides the multiple units into sections to be managed (sections 1_1142-1 to m_1142-m in FIG. 1), and the section to which each unit belongs is In the electronic device system, information about the cloud is stored, and communication between the system controller and the plurality of units (a type of combination modules 1295, 1460, 1470) uses a first data format (corresponding to the C-format or Z-format in FIG. 10A), and communication between the system controller α_1126 and the cloud (server n_1116-n in FIG. 10A) uses a second data format (corresponding to the A / E / W-format or L / G format). In particular, the first data format and the second data format are different data formats.

[0203] As will be described later in Section 2.2, the first data format consists of a header (corresponding to the physical layer header PHYHD in Figure 11), first data (data from the MAC layer header MACHD to the TCP header TCPHD in Figure 11), and in addition to the first data, second data (communication middleware data APLDT).

[0204] Furthermore, when communication processing of communication information having the above-mentioned characteristics is performed via the system controller α_1126, the following characteristics are present: Namely, the system controller α_1126 converts communication information obtained from the unit (a type of combination module 1295, 1460, 1470) into the second data format (A / E / W-format or L / G format in FIG. 10A) and transmits it to the cloud (server n_1116-n), and also converts information communicated from the cloud (server n_1116-n) into the first data format (C-format or Z-format) and transmits it to the unit (a type of combination module 1295, 1460, 1470).

[0205] Here, the unit has a function of transmitting information to be provided to the system controller (performed by communication module 1660 shown in Fig. 4A), a function of detecting external environmental information (e.g., temperature, illuminance, etc.) as the information (performed by sensor module 1260 in Fig. 4B), or a state change function of changing the state of the unit itself, which is the basis for the information to be transmitted (performed by drive module 1670 in Fig. 4C). Therefore, the unit acquires or creates information in the first data format as part of the communication function.

[0206] For convenience of explanation, the communication module 1660, the sensor module 1260, and the drive module 1670 are shown as separate components in Figures 4A to 4C. However, this is not limiting and in this embodiment, they may share one another or some of their functions may overlap. In that case, the detection function or the state change function and the communication function within the unit are shared.

[0207] 7A is used within the communication module 1660, the functions of the communication module 1660 may be realized by a combination of all functional circuits without using the processor 1960 described in FIG. 7A. In this case, the unit will not have a CPU (Central Processing Unit) that processes the information.

[0208] Next, a comparison of the characteristics of the communication information used (transmitted) within the same communication middleware layer APL02, APL06 within the same system network line 1782 and the external system network line 1788 will be described using FIG. 10B . Communication information conforming to the A-format or E-format may be used for communication between the system controller α_1126 and server n_1116-n via the external system network line 1788. In this embodiment, the A-format includes any format that is "written in a broad text format as communication information related to the communication middleware layer APL." Meanwhile, as described in Section 2.6, the E-format includes any format that "stores a setting code in a predefined area" within the communication middleware data APLDT area (see Section 2.2). In particular, the A-format and E-format have the characteristic of "being able to communicate (transmit) multiple pieces of information (including multiple items) at once." However, the external system network circuit 1788 used for this information communication carries the risk of temporary network line congestion due to usage by other users. Therefore, if a method of very frequent repeated communication between the system controller α_1126 and the server n_1116-n is adopted, there is a risk that communication between the two companies will stagnate only during periods of abnormal network congestion. In contrast, as shown in this embodiment, by adopting a format that allows multiple pieces of information to be communicated at once, the frequency of communication between the two parties can be reduced, thereby reducing the risk of communication stagnation. However, the system of this embodiment is not limited to this, and communication information conforming to the C-format or W-format may also be used for communication between the system controller α_1126 and the server n_1116-n.

[0209] In the above-mentioned A-format or E-format, multiple tables in a predetermined template format are specified according to the type of exchange information 1810 communicated between the system controller α_1126 and the server n_1116-n. Information indicating which type of pre-set table to adopt as the template is included in the exchange information 1810 as exchange information type identification information 1840. By sharing the exchange information (table) 1810 communicated in this manner between the system controller α_1126 and the server n_1116-n, the efficiency of information processing between the two companies is improved. In other words, by installing application software including the processing routine for the above-mentioned exchange information (table) 1810 in both the system controller α_1126 and the server n_1116-n, it becomes possible to provide advanced services to users.

[0210] On the other hand, information indicating the purpose of use of exchange information (table) 1810 to be notified to the receiving party is included in the exchange information (table) 1810 as communication access control information 1830. For example, the communication access control information 1830 in the E-format has codes set therein corresponding to a "write request," "read request," "notification request," "write / read request," "write response," "notification," "read response," "notification response," and "write / read response" for the receiving party. Also, the communication access control information 1830 in the A-format allows for "write only (WRITE ONLY)" (meaning a status setting instruction to the receiving party or a notification of the sending party's status)," "read only (READ ONLY)" (meaning a response request regarding the receiving party's current status)," or "record / playback (READWRITE)" to be written in the exchange information (table) 1810 in XML (Extensible Markup Language).

[0211] Although not shown in FIG. 10B, the World Wide Web may be used as another method for communicating information via the external system network line 1788. This method corresponds to the W-format in FIG. 10A, and the server n_1116-n or the system controller α_1126 also functions as a Web server. In this case, the sender of the communication information (either the server n_1116-n or the system controller α_1126) specifies the recipient (the server n_1116-n or the opposite side of the system controller α_1126) using a Uniform Resource Location (URL) and automatically enters the communication information in a field specified by a form on the homepage. Once the information communication is complete, the receiver saves the received information (or its processing results) in management information 1744 or 1748 according to a program previously set up using PHP (a recursive abbreviation for Hypertext Preprocessor) or a Java applet. By providing multiple fields specified in form format on the same homepage, it becomes possible to create a situation in which "multiple pieces of information can be communicated (sent) at once," and the above-mentioned effects can also be achieved with the W-format. Therefore, the W-format in this embodiment system includes any format in which "the sender fills in a field specified in advance by the receiver to communicate information." Furthermore, without being limited to this, any format in which "tags specific to HTML or HTML5 are written" can also be classified as the W-format.

[0212] As described above, the frequency of information communication between server n_1116-n and system controller α_1126 via the external system network line 1788 is reduced. In contrast, the intra-system network line 1782 is managed and operated by the system controller α_1126, eliminating the risk of network line congestion and communication stagnation. To accommodate the lower cost and smaller size of the combination modules 1460 and 1470, the communication information in the communication middleware layer APL02 for the combination modules 1460 and 1470 is simplified. As a specific example, information communication can be performed in any of cases 1 to 3 shown in FIG. 10B. In case 1, for example, the system controller α_1126 issues a command (command issue) 1852 to the drive / communication module to change the setting state (state control), and the drive / communication module responds with the execution result of the command 1852. On the other hand, in case 2, the system controller α_1126 issues a response request 1872 for the purpose of collecting sense information (detection information) by the sensor / communication module 1460, and the sensor / communication module 1460 responds with the sense information (detection information) as a response 1874. In addition, if the sensor / communication module 1460 notifies the system controller α_1126 of the sense information (detection information) at any timing (or at a predetermined regular timing), it may perform a periodic / irregular report 1894 as in case 3.

[0213] In this embodiment, the information communication method is not limited to the above, and other communication methods may be used. For example, if a device 1250-1 incorporating a device controller 1240-1 and a memory unit 1242 is installed in the system α_1132 as shown in FIG. 8A, information communication between this device 1250-1 and the system controller α_1126 on the network line 1782 within the same system may use a communication middleware layer APL06 or an extended application layer EXL06 conforming to the A-format, E-format, or W-format, as shown in FIG. 16. In this case, as an example of an embodiment, application software that can utilize the extended application layer EXL06 may be pre-installed in the server n_1116-n. After obtaining user permission via the user I / F unit 1234 (shown in FIG. 8A), the system controller α_1126 may automatically install the application software in both the system controller α_1126 itself and the corresponding device 1250. At this time, the system controller α_1126 accesses the server n_1116-n and transfers the application software previously stored in the database 1118-n. By connecting the external system network circuit 1788 and the internal system network circuit 1782 via the system controller α_1126 in this way, and enabling automatic installation of application software up to the compatible device 1250, an environment in which the extended application layer EXL06 can be utilized can be automatically constructed without placing a burden on the user, thereby ensuring ease of compatibility and flexibility within the network system for the latest device 1250 with newly extended functions. However, the system of this embodiment is not limited to the above, and for example, communication information conforming to the C-format may be used for information communication in the communication middleware layer APL06 between the system controller α_1126 and the device 1250 shown in FIG. 16 .

[0214] In addition, when the devices 1250-1 and 1250-4 and server n_1116-n are directly connected via a router (gateway) 1300 as shown in Figure 9, the router (gateway) 1300 is placed between the device 1250 and server n_1116-n instead of the system controller α_1126 in Figure 16. In this case, the extended application layer EXL06 and the communication middleware layer APL06 use the same communication information both within the external system network circuit 1788 and within the same system network circuit 1782. Furthermore, in this case, since unique IP addresses are set for the device 1250 and server n_1116-n, direct information communication can be performed between the device 1250 and server n_1116-n using the sender IP address information SIPADRS and receiver IP address information DIPADRS set in the Internet Protocol version 6 layer (details will be described later in Section 2.4 using Figure 13). In this case, communication information in the communication middleware layer APL06 between the device 1250 and the server n_1116-n is primarily E-format or A-format compliant. However, this embodiment of the system is not limited to this, and C-format or W-format may also be used. By using the same communication information in both the external network circuit 1788 and the internal network circuit 1782, the relay processing load on the router (gateway) 1300 can be significantly reduced. However, different formats may be used in the physical layers PHY02 and PHY06 and the media access layers MAC02 and MAC06 (in the example of FIG. 16, the internal network circuit 1782 uses Z-format, while the external network circuit 1788 uses L-format or G-format). In this case, format conversion is performed within the router (gateway) 1300.

[0215] On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 1, when communicating information between system controllers α_1126 and β_1128, which belong to the same domain 2_1122-2 but different systems α_1132 and β_1134, a communication method similar to that between system controller α_1126 and server n_1116-n shown on the left side of FIG. 10A may be used. In this case, the same communication information as on the external system network line 1688 may be used in all layers from the physical layer PHY06 to the extended application layer EXL06. In this case, as described above, automatic installation of application software may also be performed on system controller β_1128. Therefore, in this case, communication information conforming to the E-format or A-format is mainly used for information communication in the communication middleware layer APL06. However, this is not limited to this in the present embodiment system, and C-format or W-format may also be used. In this case, the formats used by the physical layer PHY06 and media access layer MAC06 are: ○ When the distance between systems α_1132 and β_1134 is large, L-format or G-format can be used; ○ When the distance between systems α_1132 and β_1134 is small, Z-format can be used. While L-format and G-format enable information communication anywhere in the world, they take a relatively long time to communicate, while Z-format has a limited communication range but a relatively short communication time. Therefore, by switching the format used depending on the distance between the two, it is possible to take advantage of the advantages of both formats as appropriate.

[0216] As an application example of the present embodiment system, consider a case where Figures 1 and 8B are mixed. In this case, the system controller β_1128 (Figure 1) in a different system β_1134 may directly access the combination modules 1460 and 1470 in system α_1132. In this case, the communication method is such that the system controller β_1128 shown in Figure 1 is placed in place of the server n_1116-n in Figure 10A, and the external network line in Figure 10A is replaced with a network line within the same domain. Therefore, in this case, L-format, G-format, A-format, E-format, or W-format may be used as communication information within the network line 2082 within the same domain. Furthermore, this embodiment system is not limited to this, and for example, Z-format or C-format may be used. As described above, the format may be automatically switched between Z-format and L / G-format depending on the distance between the combination module (in system α_1132) and the system controller β_1128. The detailed method of using the Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) in this case will be described in detail later in Section 2.8.

[0217] Section 2.2: Relationship between the Hierarchical Structure of Communication-Related Functions and Communication Information on Network Lines. The relationship between the functional hierarchical structure shown in Figures 10A and 16-17B and the specific communication information content communicated within an actual network line is shown in Figure 11. Whether the network communication medium is wired or wireless, communication information is transmitted intermittently in chunks over these physical communication media. These chunks correspond to the physical layer frame PPDU shown in Figure 11(f). In the case of a single channel (single correspondent), other communication information cannot be transmitted over the network communication medium while the chunk (physical layer frame PPDU) is being transmitted. Therefore, if the size of the chunk (physical layer frame PPDU) is too large, the network communication medium will be occupied for a long time, potentially disrupting other communications. To solve this problem, the system of this embodiment sets the data size of one physical layer frame PPDU to 127 bytes or less. This effectively reduces the adverse effect of one physical layer frame PPDU communication disrupting other information communications within the network system. 11(a), one physical layer frame PPDU is composed of the following components in transmission order from the sender to the receiver (first in order or first in order of when the information was sent): physical layer header PHYHD, MAC layer header MACHD, IPv6 header IPv6HD, TCP header TCPHD, communication middleware data APLDT, extended data EXDT, and error check CRC. On the other hand, when this data arrangement is viewed from the perspective of Figure 11(f), it can also be said that "the physical layer header PHYHD is placed at the beginning of the physical layer frame PPDU, followed by the physical layer data or physical layer payload PSDU, and within this physical layer data / payload PSDU, the MAC layer header MACHD, IPv6 header IPv6HD, TCP header TCPHD, communication middleware data APLDT, extended data EXDT, and error check CRC are stored in that order."

[0218] The physical layer PHY02 and PHY06 shown in Figures 10A and 16 to 17B process the entire physical layer frame PPDU. Here, the physical layers PHY02 and PHY06 represent an abstract concept of "functions that handle physical communication media." In contrast, the actual processing corresponding to each function from the physical layers PHY02 and PHY06 to the Internet Protocol version 6 layer IPv6 is performed within the communication modules 1768 and 1202-3 and the communication control unit 1700 (Figure 10A). In Section 2.2, we will explain in detail the information transfer procedure for each layer to make it easier to explain the relationship between the functions of each layer and the communication information communicated over the network line. However, this is not limiting; communication information may be created by omitting some of the information transfer for each layer. For example, at the time of transmission, inside the communication modules 1768, 1202-3 or the communication control unit 1700 (Figure 10A), the information (data structure) shown in Figure 11(a) may be directly created from the communication middleware data APLDT and extended data EXDT (or only the communication middleware data APLDT) provided from the communication middleware layers APL02, APL06 (actually provided from the processors 1230, 1738 in Figure 10A or the interface unit in the communication module 1660), and transmitted (sent) from the network lines 1782, 1788. Also, during reception, only the necessary physical layer frame PPDU may be selected and extracted from the network lines 1782 and 1788 within the communication modules 1768 and 1202-3 or the communication control unit 1700 (Figure 10A), and the communication middleware data APLDT and extended data EXDT (or only the communication middleware data APLDT) may be extracted and passed to the communication middleware layers APL02 and APL06 (actually, the processors 1230 and 1738 in Figure 10A or the interface unit within the communication module 1660).

[0219] The detailed receiving function of the physical layers PHY02 and PHY06 is to identify the contents of the physical layer header PHYHD placed at the beginning of the received physical layer frame PPDU, and to pass the physical layer data or the entire physical layer payload PSDU placed immediately after it to the media access layers MAC02 and MAC06. Therefore, from the perspective of the media access layers MAC02 and MAC06, this physical layer data or the entire physical layer payload PSDU corresponds to a MAC layer frame MPDU. Meanwhile, the detailed transmitting function of the physical layers PHY02 and PHY06 is to store the MAC layer frame MPDU received from the media access layers MAC02 and MAC06 in the physical layer data or physical layer payload PSDU, and to transmit the physical layer frame PPDU constructed by adding the physical layer header PHYHD to the beginning via network lines 1782 and 1788.

[0220] As shown in Figure 11(e), the MAC layer frame MPDU consists of a MAC layer header MACHD, a MAC layer data / payload MSDU, and a CRC (Corrective Check Code). When receiving, the media access layers MAC02 and MAC06 use the communication information stored in the MAC layer header MACHD in the MAC layer frame MPDU passed from the physical layers PHY02 and PHY06 to control access to the communication medium. Specifically, the corresponding device 1250, composite module 1460, 1470, or system controller α_1126 extracts only the relevant MAC layer data / payload MSDU and passes it to the Internet Protocol version 6 layer IPv6. When transmitting, the information passed from the Internet Protocol version 6 layer IPv6 is stored in the MAC layer data / payload MSDU, and a MAC layer frame MPDU with the MAC layer header MACHD added is constructed and passed to the MAC layer frame MPDU.

[0221] The error check CRC (Fig. 11(e)) added to the end of the MAC layer frame MPDU can be used to check for data errors in the MAC layer frame MPDU (or to extract the location of a data error). Specifically, a CRC (Cyclic Redundancy Checksum) code is used as the error check CRC in this embodiment. This code is calculated as the binary remainder (remainder) obtained when the MAC layer header MACHD, which is represented in binary (a series of "1"s and "0"s) within the MAC layer frame MPDU, and the entire MAC layer data / payload MSDU are divided by a predetermined code. During transmission, the error check CRC calculated using the above method is added to the end of the MAC layer frame MPDU. During reception, the remainder obtained when the obtained MAC layer header MACHD and the entire MAC layer data / payload MSDU are divided by the code is compared with the error check CRC obtained during reception. If the two values ​​match, it is considered that there is no error. If there is an error, the location of the error can be extracted by performing an inverse operation on the error check CRC obtained during reception. Here, the error correction capability (i.e., the size of the error correctable area within the entire data to be error corrected, including this error check CRC (here, the entire MAC layer frame MPDU)) is determined by the data size of the error check CRC. Therefore, when the data size of the error check CRC is fixed, the relative error correction capability increases as the data size of the entire data to be error corrected, including this error check CRC (MAC layer frame MPDU), becomes smaller, and therefore the data reliability of the MAC layer frame MPDU (when error correction is taken into consideration) improves.

[0222] Taking the above situation into consideration, this embodiment is characterized by placing the error check CRC at the very end of the MAC layer frame, as shown in Figure 11(e). As will be explained in Section 2.3 using Figure 12A, the physical layer header PHYHD contains a large amount of relatively robust information. In other words, even if a few error bits are mixed into the physical layer header PHYHD, automatic correction can be performed by some means. In contrast, the data accuracy required for the information in the MAC layer frame MPDU, which is handled by the media access layers MAC02, MAC06, and above, is very high. Therefore, by removing the relatively robust physical layer header PHYHD and adding an error correction function to the entire MAC layer frame to improve the relative error correction capability, the reliability of the entire communication information (physical layer frame PPDU) can be relatively improved.

[0223] Next, as shown in Figure 11(d), an IPv6 header IPv6HD is placed at the beginning, followed immediately by information consisting of the IPv6 data / payload IPv6DU, which is stored in the MAC layer data / payload MSDU. At the Internet Protocol version 6 layer IPv6, when sending, a set of the TCP header TCPHD, communication middleware data APLDT, and extended data EXDT is stored in the IPv6 data / payload IPv6DU, and the IPv6 header IPv6HD is added before passing it to the media access layer MAC02, MAC06. At reception, the IPv6 header IPv6HD is extracted from the MAC layer data / payload MSDU passed from the media access layer MAC02, MAC06, and processed independently, after which the communication middleware data APLDT and extended data EXDT (or only the communication middleware data APLDT) are finally passed to the communication middleware layer APL02, APL06.

[0224] 11(b) are processed in the communication middleware layers APL02 and APL06. The various service provision functions using network communications handled by the communication middleware layers APL02 and APL06 are realized by various processes performed by the processors 1230, 1738, and 2030, device controller 1240, or interface units in the communication module 1660 shown in FIG. 10A and FIG. 16 to FIG. 17B.

[0225] Section 2.3 Data Structure of Z Format in Physical Layer and Media Access Layer Figure 12A shows a specific example of the data structure in the physical header PHYHD and the MAC layer header MACHD based on the Z-format (see Figures 10A and 16) that can be used in the physical layer PHY02 and media access layer MAC02 corresponding to the network circuit 1782 within the same system. The Z-format described below is merely an example used in the system of this embodiment, and other formats corresponding to the network circuit 1782 within the same system may also be used. Furthermore, the information communicated on the network circuit 1782 within the same system is not limited to the hierarchical structures such as the physical layer PHY02 and media access layer MAC02 described above, and information that does not have a hierarchical structure or information corresponding to a different hierarchical structure may also be used.

[0226] First, the data structure in Figure 12A(c) is a direct transcription of the contents of Figure 11(a). As shown in Figure 12A(b), the physical layer header PHYHD consists of a synchronization header SYNC, which takes up the first five bytes, followed immediately by a one-byte physical layer data / payload length information LPSDU. Therefore, the data size of this physical layer header PHYHD is 6 bytes (5 + 1). The physical layer data / payload length information LPSDU represents the data size of the physical layer data / payload PSDU in Figure 11(f) and is set in bytes. As explained at the beginning of Section 2.2, the maximum data size of the entire physical layer frame PPDU is set to 127 bytes. Therefore, a value of 121 bytes (127 - 6) or less is set in this physical layer data / payload length information LPSDU.

[0227] Next, as shown in Figure 12A(a), the synchronization header SYNC is composed of a 5-byte preamble PRM placed at the beginning, followed by a 1-byte physical layer frame start information SFD. This preamble PRM is set to [00000000h] (where "h" represents a hexadecimal value). Because direct sequence spread spectrum (DSSP) is used for signal modulation, a synchronization signal is obtained from the preamble PRM portion, which is all "0". The physical layer frame start information SFD field is set to [A7h]. Converting the hexadecimal value [A7h] to binary notation results in "10100111".

[0228] This section describes how the communication information in the physical layer header PHYHD is used by the communication control unit 1700 or communication modules 1768 and 1202-3 in the communication module 1660 in FIG. 10A, or the communication modules 1202-4 and 2002 in FIGS. 16 to 17B. The communication information in the physical layer header PHYHD is primarily used for chip and bit synchronization on the receiving side. Specifically, the communication module includes a built-in oscillator (PLL circuit: Phase Lock Loop Circuit) capable of automatically synchronizing frequency and phase. This oscillator (PLL circuit) automatically synchronizes frequency and phase to the preamble PRM (chip synchronization). Next, the position of the physical layer frame start information SFD is detected using a technique such as pattern matching. (1) It is then recognized that the physical layer PHY02 uses the Z-format, and the start bit position of the MAC layer header MACHD is detected from a series of binary 1s and 0s (bit synchronization).

[0229] As shown in Figure 12A(d), the MAC layer header MACHD is composed of areas that store the MAC layer frame control information MACNTL, MAC layer sequence number MASQNM, and address information MADRS in the order of transmission from the sending side to the receiving side (order from the beginning or the earliest timing of sending information).

[0230] The area of ​​the first MAC layer frame control information MACNTL contains two bytes of information for controlling the entire MAC layer frame MPDU (Figure 11(f)). The first three bits of the MAC layer frame control information MACNTL contain detailed information indicating the type of MAC layer frame MPDU. Specific types include identification information such as "beacon," "data," "ACK (Acknowledgement)," and "command frame type." The next bit contains information on whether security is enabled. The next bit contains information on whether pending data is enabled, and the bit immediately following contains information on whether the Acknowledgement message request is enabled.

[0231] The next bit stores information indicating whether the corresponding information communication is limited to communication within a PAN (Private Area Network) or communication across multiple PANs. As already explained using FIG. 1 or FIG. 8A, in this embodiment system, one PAN may correspond to one system α_1132 or one section 1142. Therefore, the method of setting the above information may be changed depending on which one is used. However, when the Z-format is used for information communication within the same intra-domain network line 2082, information corresponding to "communication across multiple PANs" may be stored in this information area. This is because, as shown in FIG. 1, this embodiment system allows a situation in which the distance between system controller α_1126 and system controller β_1128 within the same domain 2_1122-2 is large (extending beyond a single PAN). Therefore, in this case, information corresponding to "communication across multiple PANs" is stored in the above storage area. On the other hand, when the portable system controller β_1128 is moved closer to the system controller α_1126 (when it is moved within the same PAN), information corresponding to "communication within the PAN" is stored in the storage area.

[0232] The two bits immediately following and the last two bits of the MAC layer frame control information MACNTL (2 bytes) store address mode information for the receiving and transmitting sides. Here, the Z-format may specify the IEEE extended addresses DEXADRS and SEXADRS, or a shortened address. As shown in FIG. 12A(e), the system of this embodiment is characterized in that both the receiving and transmitting sides use the IEEE extended addresses DEXADRS and SEXADRS as the address mode information. In this system of this embodiment, network communication is possible not only via the system controller α_1126 and the communication modules 1202-3 to 1202-6 built into the devices 1250-1 to 1250-3 as shown in FIG. 8A, but also via composite modules such as the sensor / communication modules 1460-1 to 1460-5 and the drive / communication modules 1470-1 and 1470-2 as shown in FIG. 8B. Therefore, in this embodiment system, the IEEE extended addresses DEXADRS and SEXADRS are used in this address mode to facilitate identification at the media access layer MAC02 level of communication modules 1202-3 to 1202-4 or composite modules 1460-1 to 1460-5, 1470-1, 1470-2 (details will be described later using Figure 12B(e)). This has the effect of (1) enabling fast switching of the communication middleware layer APL02 on the receiving side (C-format or other format), and (2) making it easier to detect any errors that may occur on the transmitting side (recognizing whether it is communication modules 1202-3 to 1202-4 or composite modules 1460-1 to 1460-5, 1470-1, 1470-2).

[0233] Next, we will explain the information storage area for the MAC layer sequence number MASQNM, which has a data size of 1 byte and is shown in Figure 12A(d). As mentioned above, in this embodiment, the data size of the entire physical layer frame PPDU is set to 127 bytes or less. Therefore, if the combined data size of the communication middleware data APLDT and extended data EXDT (see Figure 11(b)) becomes large, one physical layer frame PPDU alone will not be sufficient to communicate (transmit) this information. This risk is particularly high when the A-format or E-format is used for the communication middleware layer APL06. To address this issue, this embodiment enables the communication middleware data APLDT and extended data EXDT to be divided into 256 (2 to the power of 8) physical layer frame PPDUs for transmission (communication). Specifically, the communication middleware data APLDT and extended data EXDT are divided into multiple pieces and sequentially transmitted (communicated) over the network line. In this case, the physical layer header PHYHD and IPv6 header IPv6HD (and TCP header TCP) shown in Figure 11(a) all contain the same information. Then, in accordance with the transmission (communication) order on the network line, a value (incremented value) starting from "0" is stored in the area of ​​the MAC layer sequence number MASQNM. As a result, the division and transmission order of the communication middleware data APLDT and extension data EXDT is determined, which has the effect of enabling stable information communication even if the reception order of the physical layer frame PPDU is changed due to a network problem.

[0234] The data structure shown in (c) of FIG. 12B is identical to that shown in (e) of FIG. 12A, and therefore the address information MADRS in the MAC header MACHD will be described using FIG. 12B. In the system of this embodiment shown in FIG. 1, one system α_1132 may be formed by a single PAN (Private Area Network), or may be formed by a combination of multiple PANs. Furthermore, each section 1142-1 to 1142-m in the same system α_1132 may be formed by one or more PANs. When one system α_1132 is thus composed of multiple PANs, the system controller α_1126 must manage the multiple PANs. Information communication across different PANs is performed within the same system α_1132. To accommodate this situation, the system controller α_1126 assigns PAN-specific identification information to each PAN, and, as shown in (c) of FIG. 12B, an area for storing PAN-specific identification information DPANID and SPANID for PANs including the receiving and transmitting nodes is set up in the address information MADRS storage area.

[0235] The IEEE extended addresses DEXADRS and SEXADRS on both the receiving and transmitting sides are configured with a 1-byte extended IEEE extended address EXEXADRS and an 8-byte IEEE 802.15.4-compliant per-chip setting address ADRSIEEE for storing various pieces of information. Here, the IEEE 802.15.4-compliant per-chip setting address ADRSIEEE refers to a unique number assigned in advance to each combination module, such as all communication modules 1202-3 to 1202-6, sensor / communication modules 1460-1 to 1460-5, and drive / communication modules 1470-1 and 1470-2, that conform to the IEEE 802.15.4 standard worldwide. This unique number is unique on a global level among different communication modules and combination modules. While this unique number is assigned before shipping the communication modules 1202-3 to 1202-6 and combination modules, it is not limited to this and a unique number may be obtained by directly applying to the IEEE. When this unique number is issued by IEEE or a designated official organization, the issuing organization obtains information, particularly regarding the composite module, such as its individual performance and functions, and the type of communication information (category and template type used for information communication) when communicating in the corresponding C-format. Therefore, not only can the information in this IEEE802.15.4-compliant per-chip setting address ADRSIEEE tell you the individual functions and performance of the target composite module, but it can also officially predict the type of communication information using C-format, which has the effect of enabling fast and easy advance preparation for corresponding processing in the communications middleware layer APL02.

[0236] Next, an example of the data structure in the expanded IEEE extension address EXEXADRS (Expanded IEEE Extension Address) in the system of this embodiment is shown in Figure 12B (e). The first bit therein is an area in which module structure information MST can be stored. When this bit is [0], it represents the communication modules 1202-3 to 1202-6 built into the system controller α_1126 or the devices 1250-1 to 1250-3. On the other hand, when this bit is [1], it indicates that the corresponding node has a composite module structure. Furthermore, the information stored in the next one-bit area represents composite module structure information CMST. When this bit is [0], it indicates that the corresponding node is a sensor / communication module, and when this bit is [1], it indicates that the corresponding node is a drive / communication module.

[0237] The sense information transmitted from the sensor / communication module ranges from binary light level (whether the light is ON or OFF) or multi-value light level (corresponding to illuminance) to a wide variety of information such as human presence and temperature. As explained in section 1.5 using Figs. 6A to 6D, the information for controlling the drive / communication module also ranges from binary ON / OFF or multi-value, or remote control information for devices. For this reason, the system of this embodiment provides an area in which information identifying the type of the sensor / communication module 1460 or drive / communication module 1470 corresponding to the node can be recorded as 6-bit composite module type identification information CMTID. While the type-identifying information CNTID is set for each of the composite modules 1460 and 1470, the A-format does not provide a method for identifying the type of device 1250.

[0238]

[0239]

[0240]

[0241]

[0242]

[0243]

[0244]

[0245]

[0246]

[0247]

[0248]

[0249]

[0250]

[0251]

[0252]

[0253]

[0254]

[0255]

[0256]

[0257] The E-format uses the number attribute in Element (see the explanation in Section 2.7 using Figure 15B), and the E-format uses the exchange information type identification information EPC (see the explanation in Section 2.6 using Figure 15A(f)). Therefore, this composite module type identification information CMTID may be used as the exchange information type identification information 1840 shown in Figure 10B. As with the A-format and E-format, using this composite module type identification information CMTID has the effect of making it easier to interpret the semantics of the data stored in the multi-value / binary transmission data section CTMDT, CT2DT (described later in Section 2.5 using Figure 14(d)) compliant with C-format. Furthermore, comparing this module structure information MST, composite module structure information CMST, and composite module type identification information CMTID with the target node function predicted from the IEEE802.15.4-compliant per-chip address ADRSIEEE also has the effect of improving the accuracy and reliability of reading the address information MADRS. In other words, if the sender accidentally records different information in the storage areas for the module structure information MST, composite module structure information CMST, and composite module type identification information CMTID, or if the receiver accidentally shifts the bits of the playback information (misplay) during playback, the error can be easily detected by the above comparison. (In this case, the receiver notifies the sender. As an example, the communication access control information 1830 in Figure 14(d) is set to

[0000] , and the multi-value transmission data field CTMDT and the binary transmission data field CT2DT are set to

[0011] . Details will be described in Section 2.5.) Section 2.4: Data Structure of the Internet Protocol Version 6 Layer This section explains the data structure of communication information compatible with the Internet Protocol Version 6 layer IPv6, using Figure 13. A key feature here is the inclusion of areas for storing the sender's and receiver's IP address information SIPADRS and DIPADRS, each of which is 16 bytes as shown in Figure 13(b). This IP address is set separately for each and every communication module and combination module in the world, and the IP addresses set for each and every communication module and combination module in the world will never overlap with each other.Therefore, by enabling communication of information including the IPv6 header IPv6HD (Figure 13(a)) within this embodiment system, information communication between a specific communication module or a specific combined module can be achieved from anywhere in the world as long as it is within the same domain 2_1122-2 (Figure 1). The first 8-byte area of ​​the IPv6 header IPv6HD, as shown in Figure 13(b), stores IP packet-related information IPPKT. As shown in Figure 13(c), this area contains areas for storing the header information SIPHD, IPv6 data / payload length information LIPv6DU, header type identification information NXHD immediately following the IPv6 header, and remaining number of traversable nodes information HPLMT, which are arranged in the above order. This IPv6 data / payload length information LIPv6DU indicates the data size of the IPv6 data / payload IPv6DU shown in Figure 11(d), and the area for storing this information is 2 bytes in size. Next, we will explain the header type identification information NXHD immediately following the IPv6 header. As shown in Figure 11(a), various headers are stored sequentially within one physical layer frame PPDU. The header type identification information NXHD immediately following the IPv6 header specifies the header type that follows immediately after the IPv6 header IPv6HD. Therefore, in the example shown in FIG. 11(a), "TCP header TCPHD" is specified as the header type identification information NXHD immediately following the IPv6 header. The header type identification information NXHD immediately following this IPv6 header allows the specification of a communication path setting method on the communication network (Internet). In this embodiment, the information stored in the physical layer frame PPDU is not limited to that shown in FIG. 11(a), and other information may be stored. For example, as another application example, another type of header information may be placed immediately after the IPv6 header IPv6HD. As a specific example, UDP (User Datagram Protocol) may be used instead of TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) as shown in FIG. 13, and a UDP header may be placed immediately after the IPv6 header IPv6HD. As another application example, communication middleware data APLDT may be placed / stored directly immediately after the IPv6 header IPv6HD.For example, when the E-format is used as this communication middleware data APLDT, as will be described later in Section 2.6 using Figure 15A(b), information for the E-format header E-HD is placed / stored at the beginning of this communication middleware data APLDT. Therefore, in this case, information identifying the "E-format header E-HD" is specified by the header type identification information NXHD that immediately follows the IPv6 header. In information communication between server n_1116-n and system controller α_1126 using the external system network line 1788 shown in Figure 10A, or between system controller α_1126 and system controller β_1128 using the network line 2082 within the same domain, information is rarely communicated directly between the two as shown in Figure 10A, and in many cases, information is communicated via multiple relay points (relay nodes) along the external system network line 1788 or the network line 2082 within the same domain. The maximum number of relay points (relay nodes) allowed along the communication path between the transmitting node and the receiving node is indicated by the remaining passable node number information HPLMT in Figure 13(c) as an integer, including zero. For example, when information is communicated between the two nodes, the value of the remaining passable node number information HPLMT is first set within the transmitting node. Next, each time this communication information passes through (is relayed by) a relay point (relay node) along the communication path, the value of the remaining passable node number information HPLMT is decremented by "1" (i.e., after passing through a relay point (relay node), the value of the remaining passable node number information HPLMT after passing is updated to the value obtained by subtracting "1" from the value of the remaining passable node number information HPLMT before passing). Then, when the value of the remaining passable node number information HPLMT reaches "0", information communication on the network is discontinued (discarded). This remaining passable node count information HPLMT is written in one byte, so a maximum of 256 (2 to the power of 8) relay points (relay nodes) can be passed through. However, the more relay points (relay nodes) there are, the longer the communication time (time required for information transmission) from the sender to the receiver. On the other hand, when transmitting urgent information such as an alarm notification, it is necessary to shorten the communication time.Considering the information transfer time at these relay points (relay nodes), the number of relay points (relay nodes) needs to be set to 100 or less, preferably 10 or less. Therefore, in the information communication using the external network line 1788 or the intra-domain network line 2082 in this embodiment, a feature is that the setting value of the remaining passable node number information HPLMT on the transmitting side is set to 100 or less, preferably 10 or less. Naturally, the value of the remaining passable node number information HPLMT reset (updated) in the relay points (relay nodes) passed through on the external network line 1788 or the intra-domain network line 2082 applied to this embodiment system is also 100 or less, preferably 10 or less. In this way, when the value of the remaining passable node number information HPLMT becomes small, the routers arranged at the relay points (relay nodes) on the external network line 1788 or the intra-domain network line 2082 automatically search for the shortest route to reach the receiving node, preventing the information communication from being interrupted midway. As a result, the time required for communication between server n_1116-n and system controller α_1126 or between system controller α_1126 and system controller β_1128 can be shortened, enabling rapid communication of urgent information such as alarm notifications. Meanwhile, in this embodiment, information communication modes using the intra-system network line 1782 include information communication between the system controller α_1126 and combination modules 1460 and 1470 shown in FIG. 10A and information communication between the system controller α_1126 and device 1260 shown in FIG. 16. When multiple sections 1142 constitute a single system as shown in FIG. 1 and, for example, different PANs (Personal Area Networks) are used for each section 1142, network communication across multiple PANs becomes necessary. In this case, information transfer processing at a relay point (relay node) becomes necessary each time communication information crosses adjacent different PANs. Therefore, in the system of this embodiment, even in information communication using the network line 1782 within the same system, it is necessary to define the upper limit of the number of relay points (relay nodes) that relay between the sending node and the receiving node.As shown in FIG. 5, the combined module used in this embodiment of the system receives power from a built-in power storage module (battery) 1554. Each time communication information is transferred as a relay point (relay node), the power stored in the power storage module (battery) 1554 is consumed. Therefore, in information communication using the intra-system network line 1782, it is necessary to reduce the number of communication information transfers at relay points (relay nodes) as much as possible. Considering the relationship between the amount of power consumed per communication information transfer and the amount of power stored in the power storage module (battery) 1554, it is appropriate to set the number of intermediate relay points (relay nodes) to 30 or less, preferably 10 or less. Therefore, when information communication is performed on the intra-system network line 1782 in this embodiment of the system, a major feature is that the value of the remaining passable node number information HPLMT is set to 30 or less, preferably 10 or less, in the transmitting node. This prevents unnecessary waste of power stored in the power storage module 1554 built into the composite module, and has the effect of maintaining stable network communication within the present embodiment system over a long period of time. As shown in Figure 13(d), the area of ​​the header information SIPHD in the IPv6 header IPv6HD is composed of areas for storing version information IPVRS, communication class information IPCLS, and communication type label information IPLBL, and these are arranged in the above order from the beginning. Here, the area for storing the version information IPVRS is composed of 4 bits, and stores the value "6" ("0110" in binary notation) as the Internet Protocol version number. Then, the communication type label information IPLBL is stored in a 2.5-byte area set immediately before the area for storing the aforementioned IPv6 data / payload length information LIPv6DU. Incidentally, in Section 2.3, we explained a method for dividing the communication middleware data APLDT and extension data EXDT (Figure 11(b)) when their combined data size becomes large and distributing (storing) them in multiple physical layer frames PPDU for communication. In this case, a method has been described in which sequentially incremented values ​​are stored in the area of ​​the MAC layer sequence number MASQNM in the MAC layer header MACHD so that the transmission order of a plurality of physical layer frames PPDU can be known.In parallel with this, in the system of this embodiment, the above-mentioned communication type label information IPLBL is used to identify the entirety of the same communication middleware data APLDT (and extended data EXDT) when it is stored in a distributed manner in multiple different IPv6 data / payload IPv6DUs (see Figure 11(d)). The contents of this communication type label information IPLBL are initially set in the sending node (before network communication begins). Therefore, when a set (series) of communication information contents of communication middleware data APLDT (and extended data EXDT) related to the provision of the same service is communicated by distributing (storing) it in a plurality of IPv6 data / payload IPv6DUs, the same label information is commonly stored in the storage areas of all the corresponding communication type label information IPLBL and communicated. In this embodiment, the system enables information communication between server n_1116-n and system controller α_1126 using the external system network line 1788 shown in Fig. 10A, information communication between system controller α_1126 and device 1250 using the internal system network line 1782 shown in Fig. 16, or information communication between system controller α_1126 and system controller β_1128 using the internal domain network line 2082. By changing the content of the "communication type label information IPLBL" for each communication middleware data APLDT (and extension data EXDT) related to the provision of different services, the effect is achieved that communication middleware data APLDT (and extension data EXDT) related to the provision of multiple different services can be simultaneously communicated between the two. As a result, information communication regarding the provision of multiple different services can be performed simultaneously between server n_1116-n and system controller α_1126 (or between system controller α_1126 and device 1250, or between system controller α_1126 and system controller β_1128), making it possible to simultaneously provide a wide variety of services to users.Furthermore, by combining this "communication type label information IPLBL" with the information of the MAC layer sequence number MASQNM in the MAC layer header MACHD mentioned above, another effect is achieved in that the accuracy of confirming the reliability of communication information when received is further improved.As another application example, the same information stored in common in the "communication type label information IPLBL" for communication middleware data APLDT (and extended data EXDT) related to the provision of the same service may be used as the "encryption key." Incidentally, the communication class information IPCLS shown in Figure 13(d) is used to indicate the communication class during network communication. In particular, this communication class information IPCLS is intended to be used primarily in layers above the Internet Protocol version 6 layer IPv6 in Figure 10A (i.e., communication middleware layers APL02 and APL06 and extended application layer EXL06). We have already explained the extended IEEE extended address EXEXADRS using Figure 12B(d)(e) in Section 2.3. As application examples of this embodiment system, the following may be performed: ○ The storage area for the extended IEEE extended address EXEXADRS within the IEEE extended addresses DEXADRS and SEXADRS on the receiving and transmitting sides may be abolished; ○ The storage areas for the IEEE extended addresses DEXADRS and SEXADRS on the receiving and transmitting sides may each store only the information of the IEEE802.15.4-compliant per-chip set address ADRSIEEE (i.e., the IEEE extended addresses DEXADRS and SEXADRS on the receiving and transmitting sides may each be made to match the IEEE802.15.4-compliant per-chip set address ADRSIEEE); ○ The information of the IEEE802.15.4-compliant per-chip set address ADRSIEEE may be stored in the storage area for the above communication class information IPCLS (i.e., the above communication class information IPCLS may be made to match the IEEE802.15.4-compliant per-chip set address ADRSIEEE). As already explained in section 2.2 using Fig. 10A, the Internet Protocol version 6 layer IPv6 functions are performed by the communication modules 1768, 1202-3 or the communication control unit 1700 in the communication module 1660. The service providing functions corresponding to the communication middleware layers APL02, APL06 and the extended application layer EXL06 are performed by the processors 1738, 1230 or the interface unit 1710 in the communication module 1660.11 is processed in the communication control unit 1700 in the communication module 1768, 1202-3 or the communication module 1660. Similarly, the communication middleware data APLDT (and extended data EXDT) is processed in the interface unit 1710 in the processor 1738, 1230 or the communication module 1660. When a physical layer frame PPDU is received, the communication class information IPCLS is first processed in the communication module 1768, 1202-3 or the communication control unit 1700 in the communication module 1660, and then the communication middleware data APLDT (and extended data EXDT) is handed over to the processor 1738, 1230 or the interface unit 1710 in the communication module 1660. Therefore, by storing the extended IEEE extension address EXEXADRS described in Figure 12B (d) (e) in the IPv6 header IPv6HD (in the communication class information IPCLS storage area), it is possible to prepare the combined module in advance within the processor 1738, 1230 or communication module 1660 before receiving the communication middleware data APLDT (and extended data EXDT). This has the effect of improving the processing speed of the system controller α_1126 for communication information sent from the combined module. Section 2.5 C-Format Data Structure in the Communication Middleware Layer The "C-Format" used in this embodiment system is primarily intended for use within the communication middleware layer APL02, which communicates information to the combined modules 1460, 1470 over the same system network line 1782 described in Section 2.1 using Figure 10A. Furthermore, as explained at the end of Section 2.1, this C-format may also be used for information communication between the system controller β_1128 in a different system β_1134 and the communication modules 1460, 1470 in the system α_1132. It may also be used for information communication with the device 1250. Here, this C-format does not specify the extended application layer EXL06 (see FIG. 10A), and is used only within the communication middleware layer APL02.A key feature of this format is the simplification of the C-format data structure to minimize the processing load on the communication modules 1460 and 1470. As a specific method for simplifying the data structure, the data structure is designed to minimize information duplication within the area from the physical layer header PHYHD to the TCP header TCPHD in Figure 11(a). (The details and their effects will be described later.) As a specific example, instead of storing size information for the communication middleware data APLDT within the communication middleware data APLDT, the IPv6 data / payload length information LIPv6DU within the IPv6 header IPv6HD is used. Here, this IPv6 data / payload length information LIPv6DU indicates the data size of the IPv6 data / payload IPv6DU in Figure 11(d). Since the data size of the TCP header TCPHD is predetermined, the data size of the communication middleware data APLDT is automatically determined from this IPv6 data / payload length information LIPv6DU, as shown in Figures 14(c) and 14(d). The basic data size of the communication middleware data APLDT in the C-format is specified as 1 byte. However, depending on the content of the information communicated between the combination modules 1460 and 1470, the data size of the communication middleware data APLDT may be expanded beyond 1 byte by adding extended transmission data CEDT to the end, as shown in FIG. 14(d). As already explained in Section 2.1 using FIG. 10B, in the A-format or E-format, exchange information (table) 1810 used for information communication includes exchange access control information 1830. Furthermore, in the C-format, this exchange access control information 1830 can be stored in a "3-bit format." In particular, describing it in 3 bits (= describing 8 types of control information) has the effect of enabling identification of various exchange access control information 1830. As a specific control method, when issuing a command 1852 as described in Case 1 of FIG. 10B, a reset instruction of

[0111] is set as the exchange access control information 1830.When a result report (status) 1854 is returned, a response reply or report notification of

[0010] or an acknowledgement notification of

[0001] is set as the exchange access control information 1830. In this embodiment, the system can externally set a threshold (a reference level when converting to a binary signal) when an analog signal detected by a sensor unit in the sensor / communication module 1460 is converted into binary information for information communication. When setting this threshold, a threshold level setting instruction of

[0110] is set as the exchange access control information 1830 in response to the instruction (command issuance) 1852 in case 1 of FIG. 10B. Meanwhile, a response (data) request of

[0011] is set as the exchange access control information 1830 in response to the response request 1872 in case 2 of FIG. 10B. In the response 1874, a response reply / report notification of

[0010] is set as the exchange access control information 1830. 10B, a response reply / report notification of

[0010] is set as the exchange access control information 1830. If an abnormality is detected in the combination modules 1460 and 1470,

[0000] is set as the exchange access control information 1830 as the above-mentioned non-periodic report to issue an alarm notification. Furthermore, when the combination modules 1460 and 1470 independently make periodic reports, the system controller α_1126 can set a time interval (interval) for the periodic reports. In this case,

[0101] is set as the exchange access control information 1830 to issue an instruction regarding the report interval. For example, consider a case where the smart meter 1124 in Fig. 8A reports the amount of electricity used (public consumption item) to the system controller α_1126, server n_1116-n, or wholesaler A_1102 at the specified time interval. In this case, there are two methods: reporting the instantaneous value of the amount of electricity used (public consumption item) at a given time interval, or reporting the integrated value for each specified period. To accommodate this situation, the system of this embodiment sets the exchange access control information 1830 to

[0100] to instruct the data accumulation interval.If the transmission data storage area immediately following the storage area for the exchange access control information 1830 is set to

[0000] , the composite module reports instantaneous usage (the amount of public consumption, such as electricity) at the specified time interval. As shown in FIG. 14(d), the storage area for the 4-bit multi-valued transmission data section CTMDT and the 1-bit binary transmission data section CT2DT, located immediately following the storage area for the exchange access control information 1830, transmits binary or multi-valued transmission data. This system is characterized by the fact that it does not have a special information storage area indicating whether the transmission data is binary or multi-valued, but rather distinguishes between binary and multi-valued data based on the transmission data. In other words, if the transmission data is binary, the values ​​of the 4-bit multi-valued transmission data section CTMDT are all set to "0" (i.e.,

[0000] ). To indicate an ON or OK state, the binary transmission data section CT2DT is set to [1]. Furthermore, to indicate an OFF state or an NG (No) state, [0] is set in this binary transmission data section CT2DT. Meanwhile, a transmission data setting method will be described below when an abnormality occurs in the combination modules 1460, 1470 and an alarm is sent to the system controller α_1126 (

[0000] is set in this exchange access control information 1830). In this case,

[0000] is set in the multi-value transmission data section CTMDT. Furthermore, if the abnormality in the combination modules 1460, 1470 is a sensor detection abnormality or a drive system abnormality in the drive unit (uncontrollable / difficult to control), [1] is set in this binary transmission data section CT2DT. Incidentally, as shown in FIG. 5, a power storage module (battery) 1554 is built into the sensor / communication module 1460 or drive / communication module, and there is always a risk of the stored power running out (running out of power). Therefore, when the remaining power in this storage module (battery) 1554 becomes low, the binary transmission data section CT2DT is set to [0] to notify the system controller α_1126 of the decrease in battery power. On the other hand, when communicating information using multi-values ​​as transmission data, the multi-values ​​are expressed by a 5-bit signal combining the multi-value transmission data section CTMDT and the binary transmission data section CT2DT.For example, when storing multi-value information ranging from 0% to 100% as transmission data, the 0% to 100% value is converted into a value divided into 30 parts and expressed as values ​​ranging from

[0010] (corresponding to 0%) to

[11111] (corresponding to 100%). However, this embodiment system is not limited to this method. Multi-value information may be expressed in other ways, such as by combining the multi-value transmission data section CTMDT and the binary transmission data section CT2DT. Furthermore, for communication of highly accurate sensing information or highly accurate setting of thresholds or control values, such as temperature or humidity detection or changes in the illuminance of lighting equipment, where a value divided into 30 parts is insufficient to express, an area for storing extended transmission data CEDT can be added immediately after the area for storing the binary transmission data section CT2DT to increase the accuracy of the multi-value information representation. The number of bits used to represent the multi-value in this case is indicated by the IPv6 data / payload length information LIPv6DU in the IPv6 header IPv6HD, as described above. In this way, by not having a specific binary / multiple-valued identifier and instead using the content of the transmitted data to distinguish between binary and multiple-valued, the data size of the communication middleware data APLDT can be reduced. As a result, communication congestion on the network line 1782 within the same system is alleviated, processing within the combination modules 1460 and 1470 (particularly within the interface unit 1710 shown in FIG. 10A) is simplified, and the combination modules 1460 and 1470 can be reduced in price. Furthermore, information indicating the meaning of the transmitted data expressed in multiple-valued form does not have an area to be stored in the communication middleware data APLDT conforming to the C-format. Instead, the system according to this embodiment is characterized in that it utilizes information from the IEEE802.15.4-compliant per-chip setting address ADRSIEEE shown in FIG. 12B(d) as information indicating the meaning of the transmitted data expressed in multiple-valued form. As already explained in Section 2.3, the issuing authority of this IEEE802.15.4-compliant per-chip set address ADRSIEEE knows the functions and performance of the combined modules 1460 and 1470 corresponding to the address. By publishing this information on the Internet, the meaning of the transmitted data corresponding to the combined module corresponding to this IEEE802.15.4-compliant per-chip set address ADRSIEEE can be understood.Furthermore, as explained in Section 2.3 using Figure 12B(e) and Section 2.4 using Figure 13(d), the composite module type identification information CMTID can be stored in the IEEE extended addresses DEXADRS and SEXADRS on the receiving and transmitting sides in the MAC layer header MACHD, or in the communication class information IPCLS in the IPv6 header IPv6HD. Therefore, by combining the aforementioned IEEE 802.15.4-compliant per-chip setting address ADRSIEEE with this composite module type identification information CMTID, it is possible to accurately understand the meaning and interpretation method of the transmission data CTMDT, CT2DT, and CEDT (e.g., expressed as multi-values) communicated between the composite modules 1460 and 1470. Since the composite module type identification information CMTID can be used to understand the meaning and interpretation of the transmission data CTMDT, CT2DT, and CEDT, the composite module type identification information CMTID is related to the exchange information type identification information 1840 (see Figure 10B) corresponding to each composite module 1460 and 1470. That is, the above composite module type identification information CMTID is in the A-format, which will be described later in section 2.7.

[0258]

[0259]

[0260]

[0261]

[0262]

[0263]

[0264]

[0265]

[0266]

[0267]

[0268]

[0269]

[0270]

[0271]

[0272]

[0273] It can be used for the same purpose as the number attribute in Element (see Figure 15B(b)). Meanwhile, this exchange information type identification information 1840 corresponds to the exchange information type identification information EPC in the E-format (see the explanation in Section 2.6 using Figure 15A(f)). In this way, in both the E-format and the A-format, the exchange information type identification information 1840 in Figure 10B is included in the communication middleware data APLDT. Compared to the E-format and A-format described above, the C-format has a major feature in that it can use information in the MAC layer header MACHD (composite module type identification information CMTID in Figure 12B(e)) or information in the IPv6 header IPv6HD (information in the communication class information in Figure 13(d) based on the explanation in Section 2.4) as information related to the exchange information type identification information 1840 in Figure 10B. As already explained in Section 2.2, upon reception, communication information is processed in order from the lower layers in Figure 10A. Therefore, if the functional level of the media access layer MAC02, which is located at a relatively lower layer, or the functional level of the Internet Protocol version 6 layer IPv6, can identify not only whether the target node is a sensor / communication module 1460 or a drive / communication module 1470, but also the type of combined module, the interface unit 1710 can prepare for C-format before the communication middleware data APLDT is passed from the communication control unit 1700 in the communication module 1660 (shown in FIG. 10A) to the interface unit 1710. This allows for faster communication information processing on the receiving side. Furthermore, as described above, the C-format allows for the shared use of information specified in other layers, thereby minimizing the data size of the communication middleware data APLDT. This alleviates communication congestion (congestion) on the network line 1782 within the same system, simplifies processing within the combined modules 1460 and 1470 (particularly within the interface unit 1710 shown in FIG. 10A), and reduces the cost of the combined modules 1460 and 1470. Next, a specific data example of the communication middleware data APLDT in the C-format according to the method described above will be shown.For example, when the system controller α_1126 issues a "stop operation" command (command issue) 1852 (FIG. 10B) to the drive / communication module 1470, the communication access control information 1830 is set to "

[0111] reset instruction", the multi-value transmission data section CTMDT is set to "

[0000] binary data designation", and the binary transmission data section CT2DT is set to "[0]OFF designation". Furthermore, when the sensor / communication module 1460 notifies (reports) to the system controller α_1126 that the current usage of a public consumption product is 50%, the communication access control information 1830 is set to "

[0010] report notification", and the 5-bit area combining the multi-value transmission data section CTMDT and the binary transmission data section CT2DT is set to "

[10001] 50%". Another specific data example is shown below. As described later in Section 4.3, while large adults with thick fingers can achieve stable user input even with low touchpad or capacitive button sensitivity, children or women with thin fingers may not respond unless the sensitivity of the touchpad or capacitive buttons is increased. To address this issue, the following example shows how the system controller α_1126 sets sensitivity for the sensor / communication module 1460 corresponding to the touchpad or capacitive buttons after estimating / determining the user's status (finger thickness) according to Section 4.3. In this case, the communication access control information 1830 is set to "

[0110] Threshold level setting instruction." Consider the case where the sensitivity of the touchpad or capacitive buttons is increased from 25% to 73%. In this case,

[11000] , corresponding to 73%, is specified in the 5-bit area combining the multi-value transmission data section CTMDT and the binary transmission data section CT2DT. In the above embodiment, the timing for communicating binary information such as ON / OFF and the timing for communicating multi-value information such as status settings are separated, and whether the communication information is binary or multi-value is determined by whether the information set in the multi-value transmission data section CTMDT is

[0000] . However, this is not limiting, and in other embodiments, binary data such as ON / OFF and multi-value data such as status settings may be communicated together at the same time. In this case, a binary value may be set in 1 bit in the binary transmission data section CT2DT, and a multi-value may be set using 4 bits in the multi-value transmission data section CTMDT.In this way, by simultaneously communicating binary data and multi-valued data such as status settings, such as "starting an operation and simultaneously specifying a status setting value (e.g., a set temperature)," the frequency of information communication between the system controller α_1126 and the combination modules 1460 and 1470 is reduced, resulting in the effect of alleviating communication congestion within the network line 1782 (Figure 10A) within the same system. As already explained, the combination of the IEEE802.15.4-compliant per-chip address ADRSIEEE and the combination module type identification information CMTID can improve communication accuracy and stability. If an error occurs within the system controller α_1126 and the function of the communication partner combination module 1460 or 1470 is mistaken, the error can be detected by comparing the information between the two. If an error is detected within the system controller α_1126 on the combination module 1460 or 1470 side, the system of this embodiment supports a function that allows the combination modules 1460 and 1470 to notify the system controller α_1126 of the error. In this case, "0000 alarm notification" is set in the communication access control information 1830 of FIG. 14(d). Then, 0011 is set in the next 5-bit area combining the multi-value transmission data section CTMDT and the binary transmission data section CT2DT to notify a target misrecognition notification. In this way, in this embodiment system, by supporting the function of notifying errors occurring in the system controller α_1126 from the combination modules 1460, 1470 or the device 1250, the stability and reliability of information communication on the network line 1782 within the same system are improved. Section 2.6 Data Structure of the E-Format in the Communication Middleware Layer As explained in Section 2.1 using FIG. 16, the "E-format" used in this embodiment system is primarily intended for use in the communication middleware layer APL06, which communicates information with the device 1250 and server n_1116-n. Furthermore, without being limited to this, it may be used for information communication between different system controllers α_1126 and β_1128, or for information communication with combination modules 1460 and 1470.As already explained in Section 2.1 using FIG. 10B, in the E-format, information communication is basically performed by exchanging exchange information (table) 1810 between a transmitting node and a receiving node. Therefore, this exchange information (table) 1810 (or a part of it) is stored in the IPv6 data / payload IPv6DU as part of the communication middleware data APLDT shown in FIG. 11(a). As will be described later in Section 2.7, the A-format is characterized by being written in a broadly defined text format. In contrast, the E-format is characterized by storing corresponding information in a predetermined area using a setting code. Therefore, the E-format is defined as a format in which a setting code is stored in a predetermined area within the area of ​​the communication middleware data APLDT. Therefore, in this embodiment system, the E-format includes any format in which setting codes are sequentially stored in a predetermined area. At the beginning of the communication middleware layer data APLDT based on the E-format, an E-format header E-HD shown in FIG. 15A(b) is stored in a 2-byte area. The value of this E-format header E-HD is set to [1081h] ("h" indicates a hexadecimal value, or [0001000010000001] in binary). The next 2-byte area stores the TID, which is the identifier for associating the request transmission with the response reception. This TID is a parameter used by the request sender to associate the request previously sent with the response received when the request is received. (The sequence of response 1874 to request 1872 corresponds to the sequence shown in Case 2 of Figure 10B.) The code stored in this area can be arbitrarily specified by the request sender. The next time the node receiving the request sends a response, it stores the same code as the code set by the previous request sender in this area.Then, based on the degree of coincidence of the identification information TID for associating this request transmission with the response reception, it is determined whether the received information indicates a response to the previous reply request.The E-format data E-DT stored in the next area shown in Figure 15A(b) corresponds to the exchange information 1810 described in Section 2.1 using Figure 10B.As shown in Figure 15A(c), this E-format data E-DT consists of 3-byte sending device identification information SEOJ, 3-byte receiving device identification information DEOJ, 1-byte communication access control information ESV, and control / processing related information CM1, and they are arranged in the above-mentioned order.Here, the 1-byte communication access control information ESV corresponds to the communication access control information 1830 described in Section 2.1 using Figure 10B. 15A(d), both the transmitting device identification information SEOJ and the receiving device identification information DEOJ are composed of a 1-byte device type group code DTGC, a 1-byte device type code DTC, and a 1-byte same-type device identification code DIDC, arranged in the order described above. This device type group code DTGC indicates a device type group, such as a sensor-related device group, an air conditioning-related device group, a housing / facility-related device group, or a cooking / housework-related device group, to which the target device belongs. The next device type code DTC indicates the device type, such as a television or air conditioner. However, when multiple different devices 1250 of the same device type are installed in the same system α_1132 (for example, when multiple air conditioners are installed in a single home), the same-type device identification code DIDC is set to identify each device 1250. Incidentally, if we consider an air conditioner as an example of device 1250, there are setting states for multiple items such as "set temperature," "set air volume," "set air direction," and "set timer time (auto on / auto off)," and it is possible to change the settings for multiple items simultaneously (state change control). Therefore, in the exchange information (table) 1810 shown in Fig. 10B, even for a single device, "states for multiple items" or "simultaneous setting change instructions for multiple items (state change control information)" are defined, and this information can be described in the form of a list.Therefore, in the control / processing related information of FIG. 15A(c), as shown in FIG. 15A(e), state change control corresponding to simultaneous collection of state information and setting change for multiple items is possible. The number of state information items to be collected simultaneously or the number of items for which state change control (setting change) is performed simultaneously is described in one byte as the control / processing number NCM. Then, the control / processing information CM-1 to n, from the first to the nth time, are arranged in the above-mentioned order for the number of items set in the control / processing number NCM. Then, as shown in FIG. 15A(f), each control / processing information CM-1 to n is composed of one byte of exchange information type identification information EPC, one byte of individual exchange information data size PDC, and individual exchange information EDT, and are arranged in the above-mentioned order. Then, the "state information to be collected," "state information to be responded," or "state change (setting change) control information" to be stored for each item corresponding to each device 1250 is stored as the individual exchange information EDT. Furthermore, data size information for each individual exchange information EDT is stored as the data size PDC of the individual exchange information. The item contents representing the status and the item contents subject to status change control (setting change) differ depending on the type of corresponding device 1250 (i.e., the content of the device type code DTC described above). Therefore, in the E-format, the information items whose status should be collected and the information expression format, or the items whose status should be changed (setting change) and the expression format of the control information, are determined in advance for each type of corresponding device 1250 (contents of the device type code DTC), and templates and item codes (template codes) corresponding to the expression format for each item are prepared in advance. The item codes set for each type of corresponding device 1250 (contents of the device type code DTC) are stored as the exchangeable information type identification information EPC described above. This exchangeable information type identification information EPC corresponds to the exchangeable information type identification information 1840 shown in FIG. 10B. Here, the information in the E-format data E-DT corresponding to the exchangeable information (table) 1810 will be described using an example of changing the settings (status change control) of a home air conditioner controlled by the system controller α_1126. The instruction (command issuance) for changing settings (state change control) in E-format corresponds to the "write request" explained in Section 2.1.Therefore, the communication access control information ESV (1830) in Figure 15A(c) is set to [60h] (= no response required) or [61h] (= response required). (For reference, the setting codes of the communication access control information ESV (1830) correspond to [62h] for a "read request," [73h] for a "notification," and [72h] for a "read response.") The device type group code DTGC for a home air conditioner is [01h], which indicates an air conditioning-related device group. The device type code DTC is [30h]. Here, the same model-specific device identification code DIDC when assigned to the first air conditioner in system α_1132 is [01h]. Therefore, when the system controller α_1126 issues a state change control command 1852 (corresponding to case 1 in Figure 10B) to this home air conditioner, the receiving device identification information in Figure 15A(c) is [013001h]. When the system controller α_1126 controls the corresponding air conditioner to change it to an operating state, the exchange information type identification information EPC is [80h], the individual exchange information data size is [01h] (=1 byte), and the individual exchange information EDT is [30h]. Therefore, the initial control / processing information CM-1, which combines this information, can be expressed as [800130h]. Next, when the set temperature is changed to 26°C as the nth control / processing, the exchange information type identification information EPC is [B3h], the individual exchange information data size is [01h] (=1 byte), and the individual exchange information EDT is [1Ah], which means 26°C. Therefore, the nth control / processing information CM-n, which combines this information, can be expressed as [B3011A]. Section 2.7 Data Structure of A-Format in the Communication Middleware Layer As explained in Section 2.1 using Figure 16, the "A-Format" used in the system of this embodiment is primarily intended for use in the communication middleware layer APL06, which communicates information with the device 1250 and server n_1116-n. However, it is not limited to this, and may also be used for information communication between different system controllers α_1126, β_1128, and for information communication with the combination modules 1460, 1470.As already explained in Section 2.1 using Figure 10B, in the A-format, information communication is basically performed between the sending node and the receiving node through the exchange process of exchange information (table) 1810. Therefore, this exchange information (table) 1810 (or a part of it) is stored in the IPv6 data / payload IPv6DU as part of the communication middleware data APLDT shown in Figure 11(a). In the A-format, as shown in an example in Figure 15B, the communication middleware data APLDT may be written in XML (Extensible Markup Language) format. In this specification, a text-based method of describing content, such as the XML or HTML (Hypertext Markup Language), is referred to as a "broad text format." For example, HTML always contains tags within its description. However, the "broad text format" referred to here does not necessarily require the above tag description; any text format description in the broad sense is included in the "broad text format." Therefore, for example, programs such as Java applets, JavaScript, and C language programs are also included in the broad text format. In this way, by describing the communication middleware data APLDT in a broad text format, there is an effect of ensuring the versatility and extensibility of the communication middleware data APLDT. Therefore, the A-format in the system of this embodiment is defined as "a format described in a broad text format as communication information related to the communication middleware layer APL." All formats described in the broad text format are included in this A-format. The exchange information (table) 1810 configured in the table format of Figure 10B is " in Figure 15B(b)." Element area”( from The range up to may be equivalent.

[0274] In addition, in A-format, the above <tdl>Element may be set (where <tdl>means transferring data language.) Also, as shown in FIG. 15B(b), <tdl>The creation date of the table may be described using the date attribute as attribute information of the element. In the description in Figure 15B(b), the creation date of the table is "December 25, 2014."

[0275] As shown in Figure 15B(b),< / tdl> < / tdl> < / tdl> The parent element of the Element is the Root Element. The number attribute or name attribute in Element corresponds to the exchange information type identification information 1840 shown in FIG. 10B. In the communication middleware data APLDT described in A-format, there is no place to expressly indicate information corresponding to the device type group code DTGC or the device type code DTC, as in the E-format described in Section 2.6. Instead, table templates that predefine the information items and information expression formats for collecting the status of the device 1250, or the items and expression formats for controlling the status change (setting change) of the device 1250, are set in detail for each corresponding device type. A table number and its table name are then specified for each table template that is set in detail for each device type. As an example, as shown in FIG. 15B(b) as "number="02", the number attribute may be used to directly specify the template number of the corresponding table. Therefore, the above number attribute or name attribute can be set to the corresponding

[0276]

[0277] By describing the information in the Element, it is possible to automatically create a description in the communication middleware data APLDT that matches the table template. Furthermore, in this embodiment, other descriptions may be associated with the exchange information type identification information 1840, which can be used to select a standard template to be used in the information exchange table. Similarly to the method of associating a table template corresponding to the type of device 1250 by specifying a numerical value in the number attribute, the composite module type identification information CMTID shown in FIG. 12B(e) may be used to call a standard information exchange template corresponding to the type of combination module 1460 or 1470 (see Section 2.5 for details). Incidentally, as an example of communication information description in the communication middleware data APLDT conforming to the A-format, FIG. 15B(b) shows a description example in which the amount of power usage periodically accumulated in the smart meter 1124 of FIG. 1 is notified to the service provider B_1112-2 (server n_1116-n therein) that provides the power supply service in the form of an "accumulated current value (Ampere)." 1, the smart meter 1124 is also connected to the system controller α_1126 and the wholesaler A1102 via a network line, and so may transmit the above communication information to the system controller α_1126 and the wholesaler A1102. Meanwhile, since the voltage value supplied to the smart meter 1124 is predetermined depending on the location where it is installed (i.e., corresponding to a general household, building, or factory), the smart meter 1124 notifies the integrated current value instead of the integrated power consumption. Furthermore, information written in a "broad text format" may be used for information communication with any device 1250 or any combination module 1460, 1470, not limited to the description example in FIG. 15B(b). As an example of notifying the integrated current value shown in FIG. 15B(b), in the A-format, a standard table (table template) with "table number 2" and table template name "Device Nameplate Table" may be used as the template. In the A-format, "Table" may also be abbreviated to "TBL." Therefore,

[0278] <packedrecord>The number attribute within the element also uses the same words as above and is written as "name="E_ELECTRIC_DEVICE_RCD"".

[0279] As already explained in Section 2.1 using Figure 10B, both this A-format and the E-format explained in Section 2.6 include communication access control information 1830 in the exchange information (table) 1810. And this communication access control information 1830 is< / packedrecord> "number="02"" is written as the number attribute in the Element, and "name="DEVICE_NAMEPLATE_TBL" is written as the name attribute. As already explained in Section 1.7, there are types of smart meters 1124 that notify the usage status of various types of public consumption goods, such as not only "electricity usage" but also "gas usage", "tap water usage", and "sewage discharge amount". On the other hand, in the description example of Fig. 15B(b), "type="E_ELECTRIC_DEVICE_RCD"" is written as the type attribute, meaning "measures electricity usage". Incidentally, the above-mentioned "RCD" is the Record As already explained in Section 2.2, (a part of) the communication middleware layer data APDLT described in Fig. 15B(b) is packed in the MAC layer data / payload MSDU and communicated. Therefore, the expression "packedRecord" is used to mean "(a part of) the communication middleware layer data APDLT is packed, recorded in the physical layer frame PPDU, and communicated." Therefore, <set>The accessibility attribute in the Element corresponds to the accessibility attribute. This accessibility attribute allows the receiving node to request one of READWRITE, READONLY, or WRITEONLY. Here, READ means an instruction to read the status of the receiving node (e.g., device 1250 or combination module 1460 or 1470) and return the read information (or notify sense information), and corresponds to a "read request" in the E-format. WRITE means an instruction to return information or change the status setting to the receiving node, and corresponds to a "notification," "read response," or "write request" in the E-format. READWRITE is used to instruct the receiving node to follow the sequence of response request (request) 1872 / response 1874 in Case 2 of FIG. 10B. Furthermore, in this embodiment, other descriptive statements may be associated with the communication access control information 1830. In the example of Figure 15B(b), information on the "accumulated current value (Ampere)" measured by the smart meter 1124 is notified to the receiving node (e.g., server n_1116-n, controller α_1126, or wholesaler A1102), so accessibility="WRITEONLY" is specified.

[0280] 15B(b) indicates "individual items such as information to be sensed, status information to be detected, or status information to be controlled (changed settings)." Therefore, the information content (< / set> Within an Element or as described below <element>It is set and described within the Element.

[0281] Among the pre-defined table templates with table number 2, the table template specified with type="E_ELECTRIC_DEVICE_RCD" is: <packedrecord>Individual items specified in Element include "E_KH" (periodically integrated power amount), "E_KT" (test pulse output amount), "E_INPUT_SCALAR" (specifies the unit of communication information and indicates the fraction to which the value input from the sensor is compressed), "E_ELEMENT" (smart meter local number), "E_VOLTS" (instantaneous voltage value / voltage fluctuations in the power transmission system can be monitored in real time), and "E_AMPS" (periodically integrated current value). In the description example shown in Figure 15B(b), only "E_KH" and "E_AMPS" are specified. <element>It is specified using Element.

[0282] First, specify "E_KH" in the name attribute. <element>The Element declares that "this communication information notifies the amount of power accumulated periodically." <element name="E_KH">You can understand what "E_KH" means just by looking at the information above. However, in order to understand the contents of the exchange information (table) 1810 without referring to the standard, <description>Element is set. A-format can be written in a broad text format in this way, and one of its features is that it has the "function to allow supplementary explanations using broad text." This makes it possible to understand the description content without referring to the specifications, which has the effect of making it easier for the receiving node to understand the exchange information (table) 1810.

[0283] An example of A-format is: <set>Numerical values ​​are set using Element. However, it is not limited to this and other methods of description may be used to set numerical values. <set>Before using the element, "E_KH" was specified in the name attribute. <element>Define the type of "E_AMPS_RCD" within the element (<element name="E_AMPS" type="E_AMPS_RCD"), and specify that "the item of 'periodically integrated current value' is packed and notified within the MAC layer data / payload MSDU as a packedRecord". Then, using the same name of "E_AMPS_RCD", <set>Defines an Element .

[0284] The "periodic integrated current value" measured by the smart meter 1124 is <enum>It is set in the value attribute in the element (enum means Electrical numerator). (Here, the smart meter 1124 automatically substitutes the measured value for $$$$ in value="$$$$".) Also, the variable name "E_AMPS" that represents the value set here is set as follows: <enumerator>It is specified in the name attribute of the Element.

[0285] By the way, as a "supplementary explanation function" in A-format, <description>We have explained the Element above, but it is not limited to the above, and you can also provide supplementary explanations using the label attribute or text attribute.

[0286] Section 2.8: Address Table Used in the System of This Embodiment and Examples of Its UseFrom the explanations in Sections 2.3 to 2.7 above, it can be seen that different addresses are set for the same module at different levels. For example, Figure 23 shows an example of the data structure in an address table that lists the various addresses that can be set for the sensor module 1260-1 and drive module 1270-1 in Figure 8A, or the drive / communication module 1470-2 and sensor / communication module 1460-5 in Figure 8B.In addition to the methods described in Section 2.8, this address table may also be used in the manner described in Section 4.2.

[0287] In FIG. 23, the various addresses that are duplicated and set in the drive / communication module 1470-2 and the sensor / communication module 1460-5 in FIG. 8B are listed together in the same vertical column. The various addresses that are duplicated and set in the sensor module 1260-1 and the drive module 1270-1 built into the device 1250-1 in FIG. 8A are also listed together in the same vertical column. The IEEE extension address EXADRS included in one of the address items in the address table in FIG. 23 is assigned to the communication module chip 1202-4 (see Section 2.3). Therefore, the IEEE extension address EXADRS corresponding to the sensor module 1260-1 and the drive module 1270-1 in FIG. 23 is set to an address related to the communication module chip 1202-4 built into the same device 1250-1.

[0288] Among the address items listed in the address table in Figure 23, the IEEE extended address EXADRS is set individually in the media access layer MAC02, as explained in Section 2.3. Next, the IP address IPADRS (sender IP address information SIPADRS / receiver IP address information DIPADRS) is set individually in the Internet Protocol version 6 layer IPv6, as explained in Section 2.4. Meanwhile, in the communication middleware layer APL06, the same-type device type code DIDC is set in accordance with the E-format explained in Section 2.6.

[0289] The system of this embodiment is characterized in that the list shown in Fig. 23, which adds section information in which each module is currently located to the above list, is stored in the memory unit 1232 of the system controller β_1134 or the system controller α_1126. This results in (1) efficient and accurate service provision, (2) easy format conversion within the system controller β_1134 or the system controller α_1126, and (3) easy detection of errors that occur within the transmitting node or nodes along the communication path, thereby improving the reliability of information communication.

[0290] As explained in Chapter 4, in the system of this embodiment, services can be provided for each of sections 1_1142-1 to m_1142-m. Therefore, when controlling the states (changing the setting states) of multiple devices 1250 or multiple drive / communication modules 1470 in units of the same section 114...

Claims

1. a first system controller and a second system controller disposed in the first local network and the second local network, respectively; a server located on a wide area network; The first local network, the second local network and the wide area network The server, the first system controller, and the second system controller are connected via a network. A situation management system using an electronic unit that can communicate with a controller, The first system controller and the second system controller Each local area network has multiple sections, It manages the electronic units in each section. The server, the first system controller, and the second system controller Each of them has a memory section, and each of the memory sections has a memory for specifying the electronic unit to communicate with. It contains shared address information for The address information includes at least the IP address of the sender, the IP address of the receiver, identification information of the section in which the receiving electronic unit is located, including the receiving electronic unit; The device type code of the device and the device identification code within the same type are included. The first system controller and / or the second system controller means for collecting sensor information and / or current setting status information from each electronic unit registered in the address information; means for estimating / determining a state within a system in which said electronic unit resides based on said collected information and / or current setting state information; A status management system using an electronic unit, comprising: a means for making inquiries and confirmations to users in the system via an I / F unit based on the estimation / determination of the status within the system.

2. 2. A situation management system using an electronic unit as described in claim 1, wherein the electronic unit includes, as its types, a sensor module having a sensor, a drive module having a drive means, a sensor / drive module in which a sensor and a drive means are integrated, and a drive / communication module in which a drive means and a communication means are integrated.

3. 2. The situation management system using electronic units according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of electronic units includes one that can be moved from under the control of the first system controller to under the control of the second system controller.

4. a first system controller and a second system controller disposed in the first local network and the second local network, respectively; a server located on a wide area network; The first local network, the second local network and the wide area network The server, the first system controller, and the second system controller are connected via a network. A situation management method using an electronic unit capable of communicating with a controller, The first system controller and the second system controller Each local area network has multiple sections, It manages the electronic units in each section. The server, the first system controller, and the second system controller Each of them has a memory section, and each of the memory sections has a memory for specifying the electronic unit to communicate with. It contains shared address information for The address information includes at least the IP address of the sender, the IP address of the receiver, identification information of the section in which the receiving electronic unit is located, including the receiving electronic unit; The device type code of the device and the device identification code within the same type are included. The first system controller and / or the second system controller Collecting sensor information and / or current setting status information from each electronic unit registered in the address information; Inferring / determining a state within a system in which the electronic unit resides based on the collected information and / or current configuration state information; A status management method using an electronic unit, which makes inquiries and confirmations to users in the system via an I / F unit based on estimation / determination of the status within the system.

5. a first system controller and a second system controller disposed in the first local network and the second local network, respectively; a server located on a wide area network; The first local network, the second local network and the wide area network The server, the first system controller, and the second system controller are connected via a network. A service providing system using an electronic unit capable of communicating with a controller, The first system controller and the second system controller Each local area network has multiple sections, It manages the electronic units in each section. The server, the first system controller, and the second system controller Each of them has a memory section, and each of the memory sections has a memory for specifying the electronic unit to communicate with. It contains shared address information for The address information includes at least the IP address of the sender, the IP address of the receiver, identification information of the section in which the receiving electronic unit is located, including the receiving electronic unit; The device type code of the device and the device identification code within the same type are included. The first system controller and / or the second system controller means for collecting sensor information and / or current setting status information from each electronic unit registered in the address information; means for estimating / determining a state within a system in which said electronic unit resides based on said collected information and / or current setting state information; A service providing system using an electronic unit, comprising: means for providing a service of inquiry confirmation to a user in the system via an I / F unit based on estimation / determination of a state within the system.

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