Communication processing device, gateway device, and communication system

Abstract

[Problem] To realize communication between communication devices belonging to networks having different address systems from each other, while maximally reducing a load on a user. [Solution] An information processing device according to the present embodiment includes: an address reception unit that receives an address of a second communication device from a gateway device capable of communicating with the second communication device in a second network of a second address system; a first communication unit that receives a message of a first communication protocol from a first communication device in a first network of a first address system; a corresponding data generation unit that generates corresponding data by associating the address of the second communication device with a first address allocated to the first communication unit; and a communication protocol processing unit that, when a destination address of the message of the first communication protocol matches the first address, uses the corresponding data as a basis to generate a message of a second communication protocol that requests transferring the message of the first communication protocol to the second communication device.

Description

Communications processing device, gateway device, and communications system

[0001] The present invention relates to a communication processing device, a gateway device, and a communication system.

[0002] Industrial controllers are used to automatically control industrial processes, machines, manufacturing equipment, etc. in factories. Terminals equipped with software for controlling the industrial controller, such as setting and issuing operational instructions to the industrial controller, are located on the same local area network as the industrial controller. Therefore, in order to control the industrial controller, workers must travel to the location of the terminal, which is inconvenient.

[0003] Recently, there has been a demand for increased convenience by deploying the software on a cloud server and enabling remote control of industrial controllers via the server from any location. However, when deploying software on a cloud server, the cloud is a different network from the industrial controller, and the address systems and communication protocols are different, so the two cannot communicate with each other as is. Adding new functions to both the server software and the industrial controller to enable communication between the two is time-consuming. While adding a device with the function to convert the differences in address systems and communication protocols is one possible approach, the manual input of information required by the user to set up the function increases the user's workload and reduces convenience.

[0004] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 11-112577

[0005] The embodiments of the present invention provide a communications processing device, a gateway device, and a communications system that realize communications between communications devices that belong to networks with different address systems while minimizing the load on users.

[0006] The information processing device of this embodiment includes: an address receiving unit that receives second address information indicating an address of a second communication device from a gateway device that can communicate with a second communication device in a second network of a second address system; a first communication unit that receives a message of a first communication protocol from a first communication device in a first network of a first address system and is assigned a first address in the first address system; a correspondence data generating unit that generates correspondence data by associating the address of the second communication device included in the second address information with the first address; an address specifying unit that, when a destination address of the message of the first communication protocol matches the first address, specifies the address of the second communication device that corresponds to the first address based on the correspondence data; a communication protocol processing unit that generates a message of a second communication protocol that includes in its payload first address information indicating the address of the second communication device and the message of the first communication protocol, and that requests that the message of the first communication protocol be transferred to the second communication device; and a second communication unit that transmits the message of the second communication protocol to the gateway device.

[0007] 1 is a block diagram of an example of a communication system according to the present embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a conversion table. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing examples of system configuration files on the cloud side and the local side. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a GUI screen for inputting cloud and local setting information. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a sequence according to the present embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing another example of a sequence according to the present embodiment. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing yet another example of a sequence according to the present embodiment. FIG. 8 is a block diagram of a communication system according to Modification 1. FIG. 9 is a block diagram of a communication system according to Modification 2. FIG. 10 is a block diagram of an example of a communication system according to Modification 3. FIG. 11 is a block diagram of an example of a communication system according to Modification 4. FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of an address correspondence table.

[0008] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0009] First Embodiment Fig. 1 is a block diagram of a communication system 1 according to this embodiment. First, an overview of the communication system 1 will be described below using Fig. 1.

[0010] 1, a cloud network N1, which is a first network on the cloud side, and a local network N2, which is a second network located in a facility such as a factory, are connected via a wide area network N3 such as the Internet. The cloud network N1 is a network configured in the cloud.

[0011] A communication source device 101 is connected to the cloud network N1 as a server equipped with software for controlling operation settings or operation instructions for an industrial controller (communication destination device). The communication source device 101 is a first communication device arranged in the cloud network N1. Communication destination devices 201 and 202, which are industrial controllers for automatically controlling industrial processes, machines, manufacturing equipment, etc. in a factory, are connected to the local network N2. The communication destination devices 201 and 202 are second communication devices arranged in the local network N2.

[0012] In order to control the communication destination device 201 or 202, the communication source device 101 transmits a message of a first communication protocol (hereinafter, a control message of the first communication protocol) including control data for the communication destination device 201 or 202. Examples of control include operation settings or operation instructions for the communication destination devices 201 and 202. Examples of the first communication protocol include FTP, SOAP, XML, a vendor protocol, or a proprietary protocol. Examples of the first communication protocol are a protocol at a layer higher than a transport layer communication protocol (e.g., UDP / IP or TCP / IP). In order to control the communication destination device 201 or 202 by transmitting a control message of the first communication protocol, it is necessary to deliver the control message of the first communication protocol to the communication destination device 201 or 202.

[0013] The cloud network N1 uses IP addresses in a first address system, while the local network N2 uses IP addresses in a second address system that is independent of the first address system. Both the cloud network N1 and the local network N2 use IP addresses. Normally, devices belonging to local networks with different address systems cannot communicate directly via the wide area network N3.

[0014] In this embodiment, a mechanism for forwarding control messages of the first communication protocol is introduced between a communication processing device 100 provided on the cloud network N1 side and a gateway device 200 provided on the local network N2 side. The communication source device 101 acquires the IP address of the communication destination device 201 or 202 to be controlled from the gateway device 200 in advance. When the communication source device 101 transmits a control message of the first communication protocol addressed to the acquired IP address, the communication processing device 100 and the gateway device 200 forward the control message to the communication destination device 201 or 202 using the mechanism described above. This enables transmission of the control message of the first communication protocol from the communication source device 101 to the communication destination devices 201 and 202. This enables forwarding of the control message of the first communication protocol without adding new functions to the communication source device 101 and the communication destination devices 201 and 202. Furthermore, because the communication processing device 100 acquires the IP addresses of the communication destination devices 201 and 202 from the gateway device 200, users do not need to manually set the IP addresses of the communication destination devices 201 and 202.

[0015] Having described the outline of this embodiment above, the communication system 1 shown in FIG. 1 will now be described in detail.

[0016] [Overall Configuration of Cloud Network N1] In Fig. 1 , a communication processing device 100 is connected to a communication source device 101 in a cloud network N1. The communication processing device 100 is also connected to a gateway device 200 in a wide area network N3. The cloud network N1 is a wired or wireless network. The wired or wireless network may be Ethernet (registered trademark), Wi-Fi (registered trademark), or the like. The cloud network N1 may also be a network provided in a facility such as a data center.

[0017] [Communication Source Device 101] The communication source device 101 is a communication device such as a server connected to the cloud network N1. The communication source device 101 may be remotely operable from a user terminal 301 via the wide area network N3. The communication source device 101 is equipped with software for controlling (for example, setting operations and instructing operations) the communication destination devices 201 and 202. The communication source device 101 is a device that controls the communication destination devices 201 and 202 or both of them. The communication source device 101 is assigned an IP address (local IP address) based on an address system (first address system) in the cloud network N1.

[0018] The communication source device 101 generates a message (control message) of the first communication protocol including data for controlling the communication destination device 201 or 202, and generates a packet by adding an IP header or the like to the control message. The trigger for generating the control message may be any timing, such as timing instructed by a user, timing when a predetermined event occurs (for example, timing when a specific time arrives), or timing when a response message is received from the communication destination device 201 or 202. The communication source device 101 sets the destination IP address of the generated packet to the local IP address of one of multiple conversion function units (110 or 120) in the communication processing device 100 that performs processing corresponding to the communication destination device (201 or 202) to be controlled. The communication source device 101 outputs the generated packet to the cloud network N1.

[0019] [Communications Processing Device 100] The communications processing device 100 includes a conversion function unit 110, a conversion function unit 120, an address receiving unit 160, a system configuration file input unit 161, a function setting unit 180, and a system configuration file 181. The combination of the function setting unit 180 and the system configuration file 181 corresponds to a correspondence data generation unit 190 that generates correspondence data according to this embodiment. The communications processing device 100 is configured as a computer device including circuits such as a processor or CPU, a storage device such as a memory or a hard disk, a communication circuit, etc. This device may be configured as a single computer device, or as a system including multiple interconnected computer devices. The functions of the communications processing device 100 may be realized by causing the CPU to execute a program.

[0020] The conversion function unit 110 includes an IP address identification unit 111 (address identification unit), a communication protocol processing unit 112, an internal communication unit 113 (first communication unit), and an external communication unit 114 (second communication unit). The internal communication unit 113 communicates with the cloud network N1, and the external communication unit 114 communicates with the wide area network N3. The conversion function unit 110 or the internal communication unit 113 is assigned 192.168.1.111 as a local IP address for the cloud network N1. The conversion function unit 110 or the external communication unit 114 is assigned 10.0.0.10 as a global IP address for the wide area network N3.

[0021] The conversion function unit 120 includes an IP address identification unit 121 (address identification unit), a communication protocol processing unit 122, an internal communication unit 123 (first communication unit), and an external communication unit 124 (second communication unit). The internal communication unit 123 communicates with the cloud network N1, and the external communication unit 124 communicates with the wide area network N3. The conversion function unit 120 or the internal communication unit 123 is assigned 192.168.1.112 as a local IP address for the cloud network N1. The conversion function unit 120 or the external communication unit 124 is assigned 10.0.0.10 as a global IP address for the wide area network N3, the same as the conversion function unit 110. The same global IP address may be assigned to a communication interface shared by the conversion function unit 110 and the conversion function unit 120. Note that a configuration in which the global IP addresses of the conversion function unit 110 and the conversion function unit 120 are different is also possible.

[0022] The communication protocol processing unit 112 of the conversion function unit 110 and the communication protocol processing unit 122 of the conversion function unit 120 have the function of processing a second communication protocol. Examples of the second communication protocol include HTTPS or HTTP. The second communication protocol is a communication protocol different from the first communication protocol and may be either higher or lower than the first communication protocol in the hierarchical structure of communication protocols. In this embodiment, the second communication protocol is mainly assumed to be HTTPS. HTTPS is assumed to be a higher-level protocol than the first communication protocol. The conversion function units 110 and 120 may have the function of an HTTPS server as the second communication protocol.

[0023] When the internal communication unit 113 of the conversion function unit 110 receives a control message of the first communication protocol addressed to the local IP address of the conversion function unit 110 from the communication source device 101, the internal communication unit 113 stores the source IP address of the control message in the internal memory of the conversion function unit 110. More specifically, when the internal communication unit 113 receives a packet including a control message of the first communication protocol, the internal communication unit 113 stores the IP address (local IP address) included in the source address field of the packet in the internal memory of the conversion function unit 110. The conversion function unit 110 then performs message conversion processing (or simply conversion processing) using the IP address identification unit 111 and the communication protocol processing unit 112. The conversion processing involves wrapping data including a control message of the first communication protocol, etc., in the second communication protocol to generate a message of the second communication protocol (transfer request message) requesting the transfer of the control message of the first communication protocol.

[0024] The IP address identification unit 111 has a conversion table, which is correspondence data that associates the local IP address of the conversion function unit 110 with the local IP address of the communication destination device 201. This correspondence data (conversion table) is generated by a correspondence data generation unit 190 (function setting unit 180, system configuration file input unit 161), which will be described later, and is set in the IP address identification unit 111 or the conversion function unit 110.

[0025] FIG. 2A shows an example of a conversion table in the IP address identification unit 111.

[0026] When the destination IP address of a packet received from the communication source device 101 matches the local IP address of the conversion function unit 110, the IP address identification unit 111 identifies the corresponding local IP address of the communication destination device 201 from the conversion table of Figure 2 (A).

[0027] The communication protocol processing unit 112 generates a payload that includes address information (first address information) indicating the local IP address (192.168.0.10) of the communication destination device 201 identified by the IP address identification unit 111 and the control message of the first communication protocol that was included in the received packet. The communication protocol processing unit 112 generates a transfer request message of the second communication protocol by adding a header such as an IP header and a header of the second communication protocol to the beginning of the generated payload. After that, various necessary headers and the like are added to create a packet.

[0028] The source IP address in the IP header of the transfer request message of the second communication protocol is the global IP address (10.0.0.10) of the conversion function unit 110. The destination IP address is the global IP address of the gateway device 200, more specifically, the global IP address (133.113.107.110) of the conversion function unit 210 in the gateway device 200.

[0029] The external communication unit 114 of the conversion function unit 110 outputs the generated packet to the wide area network N3, thereby transmitting a transfer request message in the second communication protocol to the gateway device 200 via the wide area network N3.

[0030] The conversion function unit 120 has the same functions as the conversion function unit 110, except that the communication destination device that is the target of the conversion process is the communication destination device 202. The conversion function unit 120 performs message conversion processing when the internal communication unit 123 receives from the communication source device 101 a packet addressed to the local IP address of the conversion function unit 120, i.e., a packet including a control message of the first communication protocol that includes control data for the communication destination device 202. The conversion function unit 120 stores the source IP address of the packet received from the communication source device 101 in an internal memory.

[0031] The IP address identification unit 121 of the conversion function unit 120 has a conversion table which is correspondence data that associates the local IP address of the conversion function unit 120 itself with the local IP address of the communication destination device 202 .

[0032] FIG. 2B shows an example of a conversion table in the IP address identification unit 121.

[0033] When the destination IP address of a packet received from the communication source device 101 matches the local IP address of the conversion function unit 120, the IP address identification unit 121 identifies the corresponding local IP address of the communication destination device 202 from the conversion table of Figure 2 (B).

[0034] The communication protocol processing unit 122 generates a payload that includes address information (first address information) indicating the local IP address (192.168.0.11) of the communication destination device 202 identified by the IP address identification unit 121 and the control message of the first communication protocol that was included in the received packet. The communication protocol processing unit 122 generates a transfer request message of the second communication protocol by adding a header such as an IP header and a header of the second communication protocol to the beginning of the generated payload. After that, various necessary headers and the like are added to create a packet.

[0035] The source IP address of the IP header is the global IP address (10.0.0.10) of the conversion function unit 120 , and the destination IP address is the global IP address (133.113.107.110) of the conversion function unit 220 in the gateway device 200 .

[0036] The external communication unit 124 of the conversion function unit 120 outputs the generated packet to the wide area network N3, thereby transmitting a transfer request message in the second communication protocol to the gateway device 200 via the wide area network N3.

[0037] The address receiving unit 160 receives address information (second address information) indicating the local IP addresses of the communication destination device 201, the communication destination device 202, or both of them in the local network N2 from the address sending unit 260 of the gateway device 200 via the wide area network N3. The global IP address of the address receiving unit 160 is the same as that of the conversion function units 110 and 120. However, the global IP address of the address receiving unit 160 may be another value.

[0038] The system configuration file input unit 161 inputs the local IP addresses of the communication destination device 201, the communication destination device 202, or both of them, indicated in the address information received by the address receiving unit 160 into the system configuration file 181. Specifically, the system configuration file input unit 161 inputs the local IP addresses of the communication destination device 201, the communication destination device 202, or both of them, indicated in the address information received by the address receiving unit 160 into the "local IP address of the communication destination device" field (see FIG. 3A, described later), which is one of the items in the system configuration file 181.

[0039] The system configuration file 181 is a file or table that stores information necessary for setting the conversion function units 110 and 120. The system configuration file 181 is stored in a storage unit such as a memory or an SSD. This storage unit may be provided within the communications processing device 100, or may be provided on an external network accessible from the communications processing device 100.

[0040] 3A shows an example of the system configuration file 181. The system configuration file 181 includes the port number of the application of the communication source device 101, the global IP address of the cloud-side conversion function unit (conversion function units 110 and 120), the local IP addresses of the communication destination devices 201 and 202, and the local IP addresses of the cloud-side conversion function unit (conversion function units 110 and 120). The local IP addresses of the communication destination devices 201 and 202 in the system configuration file 181 are set by the system configuration file input unit 161. The port number and global IP address are set by the function setting unit 180 based on input data from the user terminal 301. The local IP addresses of the cloud-side conversion function unit are set sequentially from the initial address (initial local IP address) in accordance with the number of local IP addresses of the communication destination devices (details will be described later). The function setting unit 180 presents an input GUI (Graphical User Interface) screen to the user terminal 301 for creating and updating the system configuration file 181. The pairs of the local IP addresses of the communication destination devices 201 and 202 and the local IP addresses of the cloud-side conversion function units corresponding to these IP addresses correspond to correspondence data that associates the IP addresses of the communication destination devices with the IP addresses of the cloud-side conversion function units. The global IP address of the function setting unit 180 is the same as that of the conversion function units 110 and 120. However, the global IP address of the function setting unit 180 may be another value.

[0041] 4A shows an example of an input GUI (Graphical User Interface) screen for creating and updating the system configuration file 181. From this screen, the user can input a port number, a global IP address of the cloud-side conversion function unit, and an initial local IP address of the cloud-side conversion function unit as cloud setting information, and then perform an upload operation to provide the input information to the function setting unit 180.

[0042] The function setting unit 180 receives data input from the user terminal 301 and sets a port number and a global IP address in the system configuration file 181. The function setting unit 180 also sets the local IP address of the cloud-side conversion function unit corresponding to the communication destination device so as to correspond to the local IP address of the communication destination device set by the system configuration file input unit 161. At this time, the value of the local IP address to be set is a consecutive number starting from the initial local IP address according to the number of local IP addresses of the communication destination device. Note that setting IP addresses as consecutive numbers is an example of address allocation, and other methods may be used, such as allocating IP addresses in a predetermined order or randomly from a predetermined group of IP addresses.

[0043] The function setting unit 180 uses the system configuration file 181 set in this manner to configure the conversion function units 110 and 120 (setting the local IP address and global IP address of the conversion function unit, port number, corresponding data, etc.), thereby enabling the conversion function units 110 and 120 to perform the operations described above.

[0044] If some or all of the IP addresses indicated by the address information received by the address receiving unit 160 already exist in the system configuration file 181, the system configuration file input unit 161 may omit inputting the existing IP addresses into the system configuration file 181. Only IP addresses that do not exist in the system configuration file 181 may be input.

[0045] [Gateway Device 200] The gateway device 200 is connected to the communications processing device 100 in the wide area network N3. The gateway device 200 is connected to the communication destination devices 201 and 202 in the local network N2. The gateway device 200 acquires the IP addresses (local IP addresses) of the communication destination devices 201 and 202 and transmits address information indicating the acquired local IP addresses to the communications processing device 100. This eliminates the need for the user to manually input the local IP addresses of the communication destination devices, allowing the communications processing device 100 to easily generate the correspondence data or system configuration file 181. The gateway device 200 also receives a transfer request message of the second communication protocol transmitted from the communications processing device 100, more specifically, a packet containing the transfer request message of the second communication protocol. The gateway device 200 determines a communication destination device to which a control message of the first communication protocol is to be transferred, based on address information included in the payload of the transfer request message of the second communication protocol. The gateway device 200 transfers (transmits) the control message of the first communication protocol to the determined communication destination device. The gateway device 200 will be described in further detail below.

[0046] The gateway device 200 has a conversion function unit 210, an address acquisition unit 250, an address transmission unit 260, a function setting unit 280, and a system configuration file 281. The conversion function unit 210 includes a communication protocol processing unit 212, an internal communication unit 213 (third communication unit), and an external communication unit 214 (fourth communication unit). The internal communication unit 213 communicates on the local network N2 side, and the external communication unit 214 communicates on the wide area network N3 side. The conversion function unit 210 or the external communication unit 214 is assigned a global IP address (133.113.107.110) on the wide area network N3 side. The function setting unit 280 and the address transmission unit 260 are also assigned a global IP address of the same value. However, the global IP addresses of the function setting unit 280 and the address transmission unit 260 may have other values. The conversion function unit 210 or the internal communication unit 213 is assigned a local IP address (192.168.0.100) on the local network N2 side. The conversion function unit 210 has a function of processing a second communication protocol. The conversion function unit 210 may have an HTTPS client function as the second communication protocol.

[0047] The communication protocol processing unit 212 has a function of processing the second communication protocol. It receives a transfer request message of the second communication protocol addressed to the global IP address of the gateway device 200, more specifically, a packet including the transfer request message of the second communication protocol. Upon receiving the packet, the communication protocol processing unit 212 processes the header of the transfer request message of the second communication protocol included in the packet to obtain the payload. Then, it reads address information and a control message of the first communication protocol from the obtained payload.

[0048] The communication protocol processing unit 212 generates an IP header etc. addressed to the IP address indicated by the address information (the local IP address of the communication destination device 201 or 202), and generates a packet by adding the generated IP header etc. to a control message of the first communication protocol. The source address of the IP header is the local IP address (192.168.0.100) of the gateway device 200. The internal communication unit 213 of the conversion function unit 210 outputs the generated packet to the local network N2. As a result, the control message of the first communication protocol is sent to the communication destination device (201 or 202) assigned the IP address indicated by the address information. The output packet is received by the communication destination device (201 or 202).

[0049] The function setting unit 280 configures the conversion function unit 210 (such as by setting a port number) based on a system configuration file 281. The system configuration file 281 is a file or table that stores information necessary for configuring the conversion function unit 210. The system configuration file 281 is stored in a storage unit such as a memory or SSD. This storage unit may be provided within the gateway device 200 or on an external network accessible from the gateway device 200. Details of the system configuration file 281 will be described later. The function setting unit 280 presents an input GUI screen for creating and updating the system configuration file 281 to the user terminal 301. The user can provide the data entered by the user to the function setting unit 280 by inputting necessary information on the input GUI screen and performing an upload operation. The function setting unit 280 creates or updates the system configuration file 281 based on data input from the user terminal 301. In this way, the system configuration file 281 can be created and updated based on input data from the user terminal 301. In addition, the user terminal 301 that provides input data for setting the system configuration file 281 and the user terminal 301 that provides input data for setting the system configuration file 181 in the communication processing device 100 may be the same, or may be different user terminals connected to the wide area network N3.

[0050] The address acquisition unit 250 acquires the IP addresses (local IP addresses) of the communication destination devices 201 and 202. The local IP addresses are acquired autonomously or automatically. The address acquisition unit 250 uses the first communication protocol used in the local network N2 to send a communication request to one or more local IP addresses determined by a predetermined method. If the address acquisition unit 250 receives a communication response, it determines that a communication destination device having the local IP address exists in the local network N2, and acquires the local IP address as the local IP address of the communication destination device existing in the local network N2. One predetermined method is to target the range of all IP addresses that can be set in the local network N2.

[0051] Alternatively, a predetermined method may be used in which the range of IP addresses (address search range) from which a communication request is issued is specified as a range narrower than the range of all IP addresses. In this case, the address acquisition unit 250 transmits communication requests sequentially to each IP address within this range based on information indicating the address search range (address range information). The address acquisition unit 250 determines the communication device from which a response is returned as the communication destination device connected to the local network N2, and acquires the IP address included in the response as the local IP address of the communication destination device. The address search range may be specified by the user from the user terminal 301, or may be predetermined.

[0052] The address search range may be specified as a range of MAC addresses. In this case, the address acquisition unit 250 sends a communication request to each MAC address in the range, and if a communication response is received, determines that a communication destination device with that MAC address exists on the local network N2. In this case, the IP address included in the response is acquired as the local IP address of the communication destination device on the local network N2.

[0053] The address sending unit 260 sends a message including address information (second address information) indicating the local IP addresses (192.168.0.10, 192.168.0.11) of the communication destination devices 201 and 202 acquired by the address acquiring unit 250 to the communication processing device 100 via the wide area network N3.

[0054] 3B shows an example of the system configuration file 281. The function setting unit 280 generates or updates the system configuration file 281 based on user input from the user terminal 301. The "URI of destination cloud" is the URI of the communications processing device 100 when the communications processing device 100 is an HTTPS server. The port number is a port number for an application waiting for a communication destination device (communication destination devices 201 and 202 in this example).

[0055] 4B shows an example of an input GUI (Graphical User Interface) screen for creating or updating the system configuration file 281 and for specifying an address search range when the address acquisition unit 250 uses the address search range. From this screen, the user can input the URI of the destination cloud, a port number (a port number for an application waiting for communication from the communication destination device), and the address search range as local setting information, and perform an upload operation to provide the input information to the function setting unit 280.

[0056] The function setting unit 280 receives data input from the user terminal 301, sets the URI and port number of the destination cloud in the system configuration file 281, and sets an address search range for the address acquisition unit 250. The function setting unit 180 sets the conversion function unit 210 based on the set system configuration file 281, enabling the conversion function unit 210 to perform the above-mentioned operations.

[0057] The gateway device 200 is configured as a computer device including circuits such as a processor or CPU, storage devices such as memory or hard disks, communication circuits, etc. This device may be configured as a single computer device, or as a system consisting of multiple interconnected computer devices. The functions of the gateway device 200 may be realized by causing the CPU to execute a program.

[0058] [Communication destination devices 201, 202] The communication destination devices 201, 202 are communication devices such as industrial controllers that are connected to the local network N2 and are controlled by the communication source device 101. The communication destination devices 201, 202 are assigned IP addresses (local IP addresses) based on the address system (second address system) of the local network N2. The communication destination device 201 is assigned a local IP address of 192.168.0.10. The communication destination device 202 is assigned a local IP address of 192.168.0.11. The local network N2 is a wired or wireless local network. The wired or wireless local network may be Ethernet (registered trademark), Wi-Fi (registered trademark), or the like.

[0059] The communication destination device 201 receives a control message of the first communication protocol addressed to itself, more specifically, a packet addressed to itself including the control message of the first communication protocol, from the gateway device 200. The communication destination device 201 acquires the control message of the first communication protocol included in the received packet and operates in accordance with the control data included in the acquired control message. Similarly, the communication destination device 202 receives a control message of the first communication protocol addressed to itself, more specifically, a packet addressed to itself including the control message of the first communication protocol. The communication destination device 202 acquires the control message of the first communication protocol included in the received packet and operates in accordance with the control data included in the acquired control message.

[0060] 5 is a diagram showing the sequence between each device when a control message of the first communication protocol is transmitted from the communication source device 101 to the communication destination device 202, together with the structure of a packet transmitted in each sequence. Note that the packet structure is shown only schematically to the extent necessary for explaining this embodiment, and may actually include headers of other communication protocols (e.g., TCP or UDP header, MAC header, PHY header, etc.) that are not shown.

[0061] The communication source device 101 generates a message (control message) of the first communication protocol including control data for the communication destination device 202, and generates a packet P1 by adding an IP header and the like to the control message. The destination IP address of the packet P1 ("DST" in FIG. 5) is the local IP address of the conversion function unit 120 that performs processing corresponding to the communication destination device 202 to be controlled. The source IP address of the packet P1 ("SRC" in FIG. 5) is the local IP address of the communication source device 101. The communication source device 101 outputs the generated packet P1 to the cloud network N1 (S101).

[0062] The conversion function unit 120 of the communication processing device 100 receives a packet P1 from the communication source device 101. Because the destination IP address of the packet P1 matches the local IP address of the conversion function unit 120, the IP address identification unit 121 of the conversion function unit 120 acquires the local IP address of the communication destination device 202 corresponding to the destination IP address of the received packet P1 based on the conversion table (see FIG. 2B ). The communication protocol processing unit 122 generates a payload including address information indicating the acquired local IP address of the communication destination device 202 and a control message of the first communication protocol included in the received packet. The communication protocol processing unit 122 adds an IP header and the like to the payload. The source IP address of the IP header ("SRC" in FIG. 5 ) is the global IP address of the conversion function unit 120, and the destination IP address ("DST" in FIG. 5 ) is the global IP address of the conversion function unit 210 in the gateway device 200. The communication protocol processing unit 122 also generates a header of the second communication protocol (HTTPS header). The conversion function unit 120 adds a header to the payload to generate a transfer request message (HTTPS message) of the second communication protocol and packet P2. The conversion function unit 120 outputs the generated packet P2 to the wide area network N3 (S102). The conversion function unit 120 stores the source IP address of packet P1 received from the communication source device 101 in its internal memory.

[0063] The gateway device 200 receives a packet P2 transmitted from the conversion function unit 120 of the communication processing device 100. The communication protocol processing unit 212 in the conversion function unit 210 of the gateway device 200 acquires address information of the communication destination device 202 and a control message of the first communication protocol from the payload of the transfer request message of the second communication protocol included in the received packet P2. The communication protocol processing unit 212 generates an IP header and the like addressed to the IP address indicated by the address information (the local IP address of the communication destination device 202), and adds the generated IP header and the like to the control message of the first communication protocol to generate a packet P3. The source of the IP header is the local IP address of the gateway device 200. The conversion function unit 210 outputs the generated packet to the local network N2 (S103). The output packet is received by the communication destination device 202.

[0064] The communication destination device 202 receives a packet P3 whose destination IP address is the local IP address of the device from the gateway device 200. The communication destination device 202 acquires a control message of the first communication protocol included in the received packet P3, and operates in accordance with the control data included in the acquired control message.

[0065] The above explanation has shown a case where a control message of the first communication protocol is transmitted from the communication source device 101 to the communication destination device 202. Below, an operation will be described in which the communication destination device 202, which has received the control message, transmits a message of the first communication protocol (response message) including response data as a control result for the communication source device 101.

[0066] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a sequence between devices when a response message in the first communication protocol is transmitted from the communication destination device 202 to the communication source device 101, together with a schematic structure of a packet transmitted in this sequence.

[0067] The communication destination device 202 generates a packet P4 by adding an IP header addressed to the gateway device 200 to the response message of the first communication protocol, and outputs the generated packet P4 to the local network N2 (S111). The source IP address of the packet P4 is the local IP address of the communication destination device 202, and the destination address is the local IP address of the gateway device 200 (conversion function unit 210).

[0068] The communication protocol processing unit 212 in the conversion function unit 210 of the gateway device 200 acquires a source IP address from the IP header of the received packet P4 and also acquires a response message of the first communication protocol from the packet P4. The communication protocol processing unit 212 generates a payload including address information indicating the acquired source IP address (the local IP address of the communication destination device 202) and a response message of the first communication protocol. The communication protocol processing unit 212 generates an IP header, etc., with the global IP address of the gateway device 200 as the source IP address and the global IP address of the communication processing device 100 as the destination IP address. The conversion function unit 210 adds the generated IP header, etc. to the payload. The communication protocol processing unit 212 also adds a header of the second communication protocol to the payload. This generates a transfer request message of the second communication protocol and packet P5. The transfer request message is a message requesting that the response message be transferred to the communication source device 101, which is the sender of the control message. The conversion function unit 210 outputs the generated packet P5 to the wide area network N3 (S112). As a result, a transfer request message in the second communication protocol is sent to the communication processing device 100 via the wide area network N3.

[0069] The communication protocol processing unit 122 of the conversion function unit 120 of the communication processing device 100 processes the header of the transfer request message of the second communication protocol included in the received packet P5 and obtains address information of the communication destination device 202 and a response message of the first communication protocol from the payload. Because the address information indicates the local IP address of the communication destination device 202 corresponding to the conversion function unit 120, the local IP address of the communication source device 101 stored in internal memory is read. The conversion function unit 120 generates an IP header and the like that uses the read local IP address as the destination IP address and its own local IP address as the source IP address. The conversion function unit 120 adds the IP header and the like to the response message of the first communication protocol to generate packet P6 and outputs packet P6 to the cloud network N1 (S113). The output packet P6 is received by the communication source device 101. Packet P5 from the gateway device 200 is also received by the conversion function unit 110, but since the above address information does not indicate the local IP address of the communication destination device 201 corresponding to the conversion function unit 110, the conversion function unit 110 discards packet P5.

[0070] Upon receiving packet P6, the communication source device 101 reads the response message of the first communication protocol included in packet P6. From the source IP address of packet P6, the communication source device 101 can determine whether the response message is from the communication destination device 201 or 202. If the source IP address is the local IP address of the conversion function unit 120, it can be determined that the response message is from the communication destination device 202. If the source IP address is the local IP address of the conversion function unit 110, it can be determined that the response message is from the communication destination device 201. The communication source device 101 operates based on the response data included in the response message. For example, if the response data indicates that the control was executed correctly, the communication source device 101 performs processing to send control data to be executed next. Alternatively, if the response data indicates that an error was detected in the control, the communication source device 101 may perform processing such as reporting the error to the user.

[0071] 6 has been described as an example in which a control message in the first communication protocol is transmitted from the communication source device 101 to the communication destination device 202, and a response message in the first communication protocol is transmitted from the communication destination device 202 to the communication source device 101. The same operations as above are performed when a control message in the first communication protocol is transmitted from the communication source device 101 to the communication destination device 201, and a response message in the first communication protocol is transmitted from the communication destination device 201 to the communication source device 101. However, in this case, the conversion function unit 110 is used as the conversion function unit instead of the conversion function unit 120.

[0072] FIG. 7 is a sequence diagram of an example of the flow of operations up to the configuration of the conversion function unit 210 (local side conversion function unit) of the gateway device 200 and the conversion function unit 110 or 120 (cloud side conversion function unit) of the communication processing device 100.

[0073] In the user terminal 301, the user inputs cloud setting information (see FIG. 4A) and local setting information (see FIG. 4B) on an input GUI screen (S201). Note that the input GUI screens for these pieces of information may be separate screens or a common screen.

[0074] The function setting unit 280 of the gateway device 200 acquires local setting information from the user terminal 301, and sets the URI and port number of the destination cloud included in the acquired local setting information (see FIG. 3B) in the system configuration file 281 (S202). The function setting unit 280 of the gateway device 200 references the set system configuration file 281 and sets the URI and port number of the destination cloud in the conversion function unit 210 of the gateway device 200 as information necessary for operation (S203).

[0075] The address acquisition unit 250 of the gateway device 200 acquires the address search range included in the local setting information and checks whether a communication device (second communication device) having these IP addresses exists on the local network N2, targeting the IP addresses included in the address search range. The address acquisition unit 250 identifies all IP addresses of communication destination devices existing on the local network N2 (S204). The address transmission unit 260 of the gateway device 200 transmits address information indicating the identified IP addresses (local IP addresses) to the communication processing device 100, more specifically, to the address reception unit 160 of the communication processing device 100, via the wide area network N3 (S205).

[0076] The address receiving unit 160 of the communications processing device 100 receives address information from the gateway device 200 (S206). The system configuration file input unit 161 sets the local IP addresses of the communication destination devices (here, communication destination devices 201 and 202) present on the local network N2 in the system configuration file 181 based on the address information (S207). The function setting unit 180 of the communications processing device 100 sets a port number (the port number of the application of the communication source device 101) and a global IP address (shared by multiple conversion function units) in the system configuration file 181 based on the cloud setting information from the user terminal 301 (S208). Furthermore, for each of the set local IP addresses of the communication destination devices, the function setting unit 180 sets the local IP addresses of the corresponding function conversion units (S208). The local IP address values ​​of the function conversion units are set consecutively from the value of the initial local IP address included in the cloud setting information. The function setting unit 180 refers to the system configuration file 181 and sets up the operation of the conversion function units (here, the conversion function units 110 and 120) on the cloud side (S209).

[0077] 8 is a sequence diagram showing in detail the operation of transmitting address information including a list of local IP addresses acquired by address acquisition unit 250 from address transmission unit 260 in gateway device 200 to address reception unit 160 in communications processing device 100. Address transmission unit 260 of gateway device 200 uses address information including the acquired list of local IP addresses of communication destination devices as a payload, and transmits packet P7 obtained by adding an IP header, etc. and an HTTPS header to the payload to communications processing device 100. The source IP address (SRC) of the IP header is the global IP address of gateway device 200 or address transmission unit 260, and the destination IP address (DST) is the global IP address of communications processing device 100 or address reception unit 160.

[0078] In this embodiment, there are two communication destination devices in the local network N2, but there may be one, or three or more communication destination devices. Since a conversion function unit is provided for each communication destination device, the number of conversion function units may be added or deleted as appropriate depending on the number of communication destination devices.

[0079] As described above, according to this embodiment, the local IP addresses of the communication destination devices (201, 202) in the local network N2 are obtained from the gateway device 200 and set in the system configuration file 181, and the local IP addresses of the communication destination devices corresponding to the conversion function unit are set in the conversion function unit (110 or 120) on the cloud side based on this system configuration file 181. There is no need for the user to look up the local IP addresses of the communication destination devices 201, 202 and set them in the system configuration file 181. Therefore, the local IP addresses of the communication destination devices 201, 202 can be easily set in the system configuration file 181 while reducing the burden on the user.

[0080] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, when the gateway device 200 obtains the local IP address of the communication destination device in the local network N2, it only needs to target IP addresses within the address search range, thereby reducing the time required compared to when the entire address range is targeted.

[0081] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, when the communication source device 101 transmits a control message in the first communication protocol to the conversion function unit (110 or 120), the control message in the first communication protocol is forwarded to the communication destination device (201 or 202) corresponding to the conversion function unit (110 or 120). Furthermore, when the communication destination device (201 or 202) transmits a response message in the first communication protocol to the conversion function unit 210 of the gateway device 200, the response message is forwarded to the communication source device 101. Therefore, communication using the first communication protocol becomes possible between the communication source device and the communication destination device without adding new functions to the existing communication source device and the existing communication destination device.

[0082] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, the IP address added to the control message of the first communication protocol for transmission in the local network N2 can be a local IP address in the local network N2, so there is no need for the gateway device 200 to identify a local IP address in the cloud network N1. Therefore, the gateway device 200 does not need to know the conversion table. This simplifies the configuration of the gateway device 200.

[0083] (Variation 1) Fig. 9 is a block diagram of a communication system 1A according to Variation 1. A MAC address list 261 is added to the gateway device 200. The MAC address list 261 is stored in a storage unit such as a memory or an SSD. The storage unit may be provided within the gateway device 200, or may be provided in an external network accessible from the gateway device 200. The storage unit may be an internal memory of the address sending unit 260. The MAC address list 261 stores one or more MAC addresses of communication destination devices that may notify the wide area network N3 of the local IP addresses of the communication destination devices.

[0084] The address acquisition unit 250 acquires pairs of MAC addresses and IP addresses (local IP addresses) of communication destination devices connected to the local network N2 from all communication destination devices connected to the local network N2, for example by sending a broadcast packet. The address acquisition unit 250 compares the acquired MAC addresses of the communication destination devices with the MAC address list 261, identifies the MAC addresses of the communication destination devices that match, and transmits only the local IP addresses that are paired with the identified MAC addresses to the communications processing device 100.

[0085] According to this modified example, by not notifying the communication processing device 100 of the IP address of a communication destination device whose MAC address is not included in the MAC address list 261, it is possible to prevent an illegally connected communication destination device from becoming a target of control for the communication source device 101.

[0086] (Variation 2) The block diagram of the communication system of Variation 2 is the same as that of Variation 1, Fig. 9, but the contents of MAC address list 261 are different. In Variation 1, MAC address list 261 stored one or more MAC addresses of communication destination devices whose local IP addresses may be notified to communications processing device 100, but in Variation 2, MAC address list 261 stores MAC addresses of communication destination devices whose local IP addresses are prohibited from being notified to communications processing device 100. Address sending unit 260 checks the MAC address of the communication destination device acquired by address acquisition unit 250 against MAC address list 261, and does not send to communications processing device 100 any local IP address that is paired with the MAC address of a communication destination device that does not match.

[0087] According to this modified example, by not notifying the communication processing device 100 of the IP address of the communication destination device whose MAC address is included in the MAC address list 261, it is possible to prevent an illegally connected communication destination device from becoming a target of control for the communication source device 101.

[0088] 10 is a block diagram of a communication system 1B according to Modification 3. The gateway device 200 includes an address acquisition execution instruction unit 251 and a device change determination unit 252.

[0089] The address acquisition execution instruction unit 251 causes the address acquisition unit 250 to perform an address acquisition operation based on an address acquisition instruction from the device change determination unit 252 , and sends the local IP address acquired by the address acquisition unit 250 to the device change determination unit 252 .

[0090] The device change determination unit 252 instructs the address acquisition execution instruction unit 251 to acquire an address, and obtains the IP address (local IP address) acquired by the address acquisition unit 250 from the address acquisition execution instruction unit 251. The device change determination unit 252 compares the IP address acquired in the N+1th address acquisition instruction with the IP address acquired in the Nth address acquisition instruction, and determines whether a newly added IP address is present among the IP addresses acquired in the Nth address acquisition instruction. If a newly added IP address is present, it determines that a communication destination device having the newly added IP address (local IP address) has been added to the local network N2. Note that N is a natural number. The operation of acquiring an IP address in the Nth address acquisition instruction corresponds to the operation of acquiring an address at a first timing, and the operation of acquiring an address in the N+1th address acquisition instruction corresponds to the operation of acquiring an IP address at a second timing.

[0091] The comparison is not limited to the Nth and N+1th times. For example, the IP address acquired in the N+1th address acquisition instruction may be compared with the IP address acquired in the N+2nd address acquisition instruction. In this case, the operation of acquiring an IP address in the N+1th address acquisition instruction corresponds to the operation of acquiring an address at a first timing, and the operation of acquiring an address in the N+2nd address acquisition instruction corresponds to the operation of acquiring an IP address at a second timing.

[0092] If the device change determination unit 252 determines that a newly added communication destination device exists, the address transmission unit 260 transmits address information (second address information) indicating the local IP address of the added communication destination device to the communication processing device 100 via the wide area network N3. For example, if the local IP address of the newly added communication device is 192.168.0.12, the address transmission unit 260 transmits an HTTPS message including address information indicating the local IP address to the communication processing device 100 via the wide area network N3 (see FIG. 8 ). The system configuration file input unit 161 adds the local IP address of the communication destination device to the system configuration file 181 based on the address information, and the function setting unit 180 adds the local IP address to the cloud-side conversion function unit and sets the added information in the conversion function unit corresponding to the newly added communication destination device. That is, the conversion function unit corresponding to the newly added communication destination device is activated.

[0093] 11 shows an example of a communication system 1C in which a new communication destination device 203 is added to a local network N2, and a conversion function unit 130 corresponding to the communication destination device 203 is added or started in the communication processing device 100. The local IP address of the communication destination device 203 is 192.168.0.12. The local IP address of the conversion function unit 130 is 192.168.1.113. The conversion function unit 130 includes an IP address identification unit 131, a communication protocol processing unit 132, an internal communication unit 133, and an external communication unit 134, and performs the same operations as the conversion function units 110 and 120 except that the corresponding communication destination device is different.

[0094] Although the above describes a case where a new communication destination device is added to the local network N2, if a communication destination device is deleted from the local network N2, address information indicating the IP address (local IP address) of the deleted communication destination device may be transmitted to the communication processing device 100. The system configuration file input unit 161 of the communication processing device 100 deletes the local IP address from the "local IP address of communication destination device" in the system configuration file 181. The function setting unit 180 also deletes the local IP address of the conversion function unit on the cloud side that corresponds to the local IP address of the deleted communication destination device. If at least one of the global IP address and the port number is set independently for each communication destination device, the information corresponding to the local IP address of the deleted communication destination device is also deleted.

[0095] According to this modified example, it is only necessary to notify the communication processing device of the IP addresses of communication destination devices that have been newly added to or deleted from the local network N2, thereby reducing the amount of communication traffic and the amount of computational processing by the communication processing device 100 compared to notifying the IP addresses of all communication destination devices present in the local network N2 each time.

[0096] 12 is a block diagram of a communication system 1D according to Modification 4. The communication processing device 100 includes an address-associated display control unit 163.

[0097] The address correspondence display control unit 163 transmits an address correspondence table 164, which is correspondence data associating the local IP addresses of the conversion function units 110 and 120 provided in the communication processing device 100 with the local IP addresses of the communication destination devices 201 and 202, to the user terminal 301, and controls display of the address correspondence table 164 on the user terminal 301. The address correspondence table 164 may be generated by the address correspondence display control unit 163 or the function setting unit 180 by associating the "local IP address of the communication destination device" and the "local IP address of the cloud-side conversion function unit" included in the system configuration file 181. Alternatively, when the system configuration file 181 is generated or updated, the function setting unit 180 may simultaneously generate or update the address correspondence table 164 and store the address correspondence table 164 in a storage unit. This storage unit may be provided within the communication processing device 100 or may be provided on an external network accessible from the communication processing device 100.

[0098] 13 shows an example of the address correspondence table 164. The local IP address 192.68.1.111 of the conversion function unit 110 corresponds to the local IP address 192.168.0.10 of the communication destination device 201, and the local IP address 192.168.1.112 of the conversion function unit 120 corresponds to the local IP address 192.168.0.11 of the communication destination device 202. The address correspondence display control unit 163 displays this table on the user terminal 301 using a GUI screen. By viewing the GUI screen, the user can easily understand the correspondence between the local IP address of the cloud-side conversion function unit and the local IP address of the communication destination device. Based on the understood correspondence, the user may register the local IP address of the cloud-side conversion function unit in the communication source device 101 in association with the communication destination device associated with the conversion function unit.

[0099] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment and each embodiment as it is, and the components can be modified and embodied in practice without departing from the spirit of the invention. Furthermore, various inventions can be formed by appropriately combining multiple components disclosed in the above-described embodiments. For example, a configuration in which some components are omitted from all the components shown in the embodiments can also be considered. Furthermore, components described in different embodiments can be appropriately combined.

[0100] 1, 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D Communication system 100 Communication processing device 101, 102, 103 Communication source device 110 Conversion function unit 111 IP address identification unit 112 Communication protocol processing unit 113 Internal communication unit 114 External communication unit 120, 130 Conversion function unit 121 IP address identification unit 122 Communication protocol processing unit 123 Internal communication unit 124 External communication unit 180 Function setting unit 181 System configuration file 190 Correspondence data generation unit 200 Gateway device 201 Communication destination device 202 Communication destination device 203 Communication destination device 210 Conversion function unit 212 Communication protocol processing unit 213 Internal communication unit 214 External communication unit 251 Address acquisition execution instruction unit 252 Device change determination unit 260 Address transmission unit 280 Function setting unit 281 System configuration file 301 User terminal N1 Cloud network N2 Local network N3 Wide area network P1, P2, P3, P4, P5, P6, P7 Packets

Claims

1. A communications processing device comprising: an address receiving unit that receives second address information indicating an address of a second communications device from a gateway device that is capable of communicating with the second communications device in a second network of a second address system; a first communications unit that receives a message of a first communications protocol from a first communications device in a first network of a first address system and is assigned a first address in the first address system; a correspondence data generating unit that generates correspondence data by associating the address of the second communications device indicated in the second address information with the first address; an address specifying unit that, when a destination address of the message of the first communications protocol matches the first address, specifies the address of the second communications device that corresponds to the first address based on the correspondence data; a communications protocol processing unit that generates a second communications protocol message that includes in its payload the first address information indicating the address of the second communications device and the message of the first communications protocol, and that requests that the message of the first communications protocol be forwarded to the second communications device; and a second communications unit that transmits the message of the second communications protocol to the gateway device.

2. A communications processing device as described in claim 1, comprising a plurality of the first communication units, wherein the second address information includes addresses of a plurality of the second communication devices in the second network, and wherein the correspondence data generation unit determines a plurality of the first addresses to be assigned to the plurality of first communication units, the number of which is equal to the number of addresses of the second communication devices indicated in the second address information, and generates the correspondence data that corresponds the plurality of the first addresses with the addresses of the plurality of the second communication devices by associating the determined plurality of first addresses with the addresses of the plurality of the second communication devices.

3. The communication processing device according to claim 2, wherein the correspondence data generating unit determines the plurality of first addresses in consecutive order from an initial address.

4. The communication processing device according to claim 2, further comprising a corresponding data display control unit that transmits the corresponding data to a user terminal and causes the corresponding data to be displayed on the user terminal.

5. A gateway device comprising: a third communication unit capable of communicating with a second communication device connected to a second network of a second address system; an address acquisition unit that acquires the address of the second communication device in the second address system; an address transmission unit that transmits second address information indicating the address of the second communication device acquired by the address acquisition unit to a communication processing device that is capable of communicating with a first communication device on a first network of a first address system; and a fourth communication unit that receives from the communication processing device a second communication protocol message that includes in its payload first address information indicating the address of the second communication device and a message of a first communication protocol, and that requests that the message of the first communication protocol be forwarded to the second communication device, wherein the third communication unit transmits the message of the first communication protocol included in the message of the second communication protocol to the second communication device indicated by the address of the first address information included in the message of the second communication protocol.

6. The gateway device according to claim 5, wherein the address acquisition unit checks whether a communication device having each address included in the range indicated by the address range information is connected to the second network, and acquires only the address of a communication device that is confirmed to be connected to the second network as the address of the second communication device.

7. The gateway device described in claim 6, wherein the address range information indicates a range of MAC addresses, and the address acquisition unit checks whether a communication device having each MAC address included in the range is connected to the second network, and acquires the IP address of a communication device that is confirmed to be connected to the second network as the address of the second communication device.

8. The gateway device according to claim 5, wherein the address acquisition unit acquires a MAC address of a communication device connected to the second network, and acquires an IP address of the communication device as the address of the second communication device only if the MAC address is included in a MAC address list.

9. The gateway device according to claim 5, wherein the address acquisition unit performs an operation of acquiring the address of the second communication device connected to the second network at a first timing, the address transmission unit transmits the second address information indicating the address of the second communication device acquired in accordance with the first timing to the communication processing device, the address acquisition unit performs an operation of acquiring the address of the second communication device connected to the second network at a second timing after the first timing, detects addresses of the second communication device acquired in accordance with the second timing that are not included in the addresses acquired in accordance with the first timing, and the address transmission unit transmits the second address information indicating only the detected addresses to the communication processing device.

10. A communication system comprising a communication processing device connected to a first network of a first address system and a gateway device connected to a second network of a second address system, wherein the gateway device comprises: a third communication unit capable of communicating with a second communication device connected to the second network; an address acquisition unit that acquires an address of the second communication device in the second address system; and an address transmission unit that transmits second address information indicating the address of the second communication device acquired by the address acquisition unit to the communication processing device, wherein the communication processing device comprises: an address reception unit that receives the second address information from the gateway device; a first communication unit that receives a message of a first communication protocol from a first communication device in the first network and is assigned a first address in the first address system; a correspondence data generation unit that generates correspondence data by associating the first address assigned to the first communication unit with the address of the second communication device indicated in the second address information; and an address identification unit that, when a destination address of a message of the first communication protocol matches the first address, identifies the address of the second communication device that corresponds to the first address based on the correspondence data. a communication protocol processing unit that generates a second communication protocol message, the second communication protocol message including in its payload first address information indicating the address of the identified second communication device and the message of the first communication protocol, and requesting that the message of the first communication protocol be transferred to the second communication device; and a second communication unit that transmits the message of the second communication protocol to the gateway device, wherein the gateway device comprises a fourth communication unit that receives the message of the second communication protocol from the communication processing device, and the third communication unit of the gateway device transmits the message of the first communication protocol included in the message of the second communication protocol to the second communication device that is identified based on the first address information included in the message of the second communication protocol.

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