JP3640664B2 - Home terminal device and communication system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a home terminal device that transmits and receives packet data connected to a router connected to an external network via a home network, and a communication system using the home terminal device.

  In recent years, broadband networks with large communication capacities such as ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line) and optical fiber networks, and always accessible access networks are rapidly spreading to ordinary homes. In addition, many home networks that organically combine home appliances in the home are being standardized, and in the future, users will be able to operate mobile terminals that can be connected to the Internet on the go, and send control information to the home via the Internet and the home network. It is expected that remote control of these home appliances will be possible by transmitting to other home appliances.

  Conventionally, when connecting to a home network from a network outside the home, a plurality of home Internet terminals to which a local address is assigned to a router connected to the Internet network are connected via the home network. The provider (ISP) is connected to the Internet network via a communication line, and the Internet service provider (ISP) gives a global address to the router.

  When a control request is made from an external server device to a home Internet terminal using a global address, conventionally, a method of setting a static IP masquerade in a router (see, for example, Patent Document 1) and an Internet terminal perform polling. A method (for example, see Patent Document 2) is used.

  In static IP masquerade, the router registers the global address and local address in advance in the translation table in advance, so that when a packet is received with a specific port number as the destination port number, the destination address is set. The packet data is relayed to the Internet terminal by converting to the local address of the Internet terminal. Therefore, in static IP masquerade, it is possible to start a session not only from the local side but also from the global side.

  Also, in the Internet terminal polling method, the router receives a local packet addressed to the server device from the Internet terminal, converts the source address contained in the packet to the global address of the router, and sets the source port number to the router. Is converted to a usable port number and transmitted to the server device. At this time, the information of the combination of the local address of the Internet terminal, the global address of the router, the transmission source port number of the Internet terminal, and the transmission source port number of the router is held in the conversion table for a predetermined time. Next, when the router receives the response global packet including the control content for the Internet terminal from the server device, the router refers to the conversion table and sets the destination address and destination port number included in the response global packet to the local address of the Internet terminal and By converting the destination port number of the Internet terminal, the local destination is specified and relayed to the Internet terminal side.

  FIG. 13 is a sequence diagram showing a flow of packet data for terminal operation in a home by a conventional polling method.

  The communication system includes a server device 1301 that transmits a remote control request from a user outside the home to a terminal device in the home, a router 1302 that converts global and local addresses and relays packet data between the home network and the home network, And an Internet terminal 1303 that controls home appliances and the like according to the control request.

  A local packet 1304 is transmitted to the server device 1301 side to confirm whether or not there is a control request from the Internet terminal 1303. If there is a control request from the user of the mobile terminal device on the server device 1301 side, a reply is sent. Is sent to the Internet terminal 1303 side with transmission destination information such as control information, control target terminal ID, transmission source information, and global address of the router. Control can be performed by the Internet terminal receiving the response local packet 1307 including the control request. Note that connectionless UDP (User Datagram Protocol) is used as the communication protocol.

In communication using UDP, the correspondence relationship between local and global is recorded in the router for a certain period. Therefore, when the router 1302 receives the control request 1306 during the recorded period, the correspondence table is displayed. By referring to the local address to be controlled, the control request 1307 can be transmitted to the Internet terminal 1303 side.
JP 2000-341337 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 08-204704

  However, when the static IP masquerade of the router is used, a general user has to set up a specialized router such as assigning a port number used by the router to a terminal device in the home fixedly. I need it. In addition, the remote operation is based on the premise that a reliable and safe transaction is performed between the service provider side and the user side. If a malicious third party falsifies the remote control information, there is a possibility that there is a security risk such as malfunctioning home appliances.

  In addition, when a local packet is transmitted from the Internet terminal to the server device by a simple polling method, since there is a polling interval, the immediacy of the operation request to the home appliances in the house is lost. That is, as shown in FIG. 13, the correspondence relationship between the local address and the global address recorded in the router 1302 disappears after a certain period in order to save security, memory capacity of the router, etc. Even if the server apparatus 1301 transmits the control request packet 1308 later, local and global address translation cannot be performed in the router 1302, the control request cannot be transmitted, and it is necessary to wait for a confirmation request from the Internet terminal 1303. For this reason, there is a problem that it takes a certain period of time for a request from the portable terminal device to reach the home electrical appliance. In the worst case, the control information may disappear during the polling interval. In addition, the polling method has a drawback that the Internet terminal cannot receive the response global packet depending on the type of router and the connection environment to the Internet network.

  Furthermore, when the always-on connection such as ADSL is once disconnected, a global address different from the previous one is dynamically given to the router again from the Internet service provider at present. For this reason, after that, even if the user tries to access the control information from the mobile terminal device outside the home to the Internet terminal, there is also a problem that the global address assigned to the router in the server device is not known and communication is not established.

  The present invention solves the above-described problems, and uses a conventional router function to control a control request transmitted from a user outside the home to a home terminal device such as a home appliance without requiring a standby period. It is a first object of the present invention to provide an in-home terminal device that can be transmitted to other terminal devices.

  Also, to provide an in-home terminal device that allows a user to immediately remote control the in-home terminal device from a mobile terminal device outside the home without making complicated settings in the router or in-home terminal device at the time of purchase. Is the second purpose.

  Furthermore, even when a new global address is dynamically given to the router, it is possible to provide an in-home terminal device that enables communication with control information from the server device to the router and in-home terminal device. Third purpose.

  A home terminal device according to the present invention is a home terminal device that is connected via a home network to a router connected to an external network to which a server device is connected, and transmits and receives data. The router is connected to the router. A correspondence relationship between a given global address and a local address of the in-home terminal device is held for a predetermined period, and the in-home terminal device is configured to generate data to be transmitted to the server device, and through the router Communication means for transmitting / receiving data to / from the server device, and a determination means for detecting a holding period of the correspondence relationship in the router and determining a period equal to or less than the holding period as a data transmission interval. The means repeats the data according to the transmission interval and transmits the data to the router side, and the generation means is less in the header part. Also the local address of the home terminal device as the source address, the local port number of the home terminal device as the source port number, the address of the server device as the destination address, and the server device address as the destination port number. Data including a port number and including at least a reply interval of response data, which is a response from the server device, in the data portion is generated.

  In this way, even in an environment where the router is connected to an always-connected Internet network, a control request is transmitted from a global server device side to a home terminal device such as a home appliance installed in a local home, Remote operation in a home terminal device in real time from a mobile terminal device of a user outside the home is enabled.

  The present invention can be realized not only as a home terminal device as described above, but also as a communication system comprising this home terminal device, a router and a server device, a communication method comprising steps provided in this home terminal device, Needless to say, the communication method can be realized as a program that is realized by a computer or the like, or the program can be distributed via a recording medium such as a DVD or CD-ROM or a transmission medium such as a communication network.

  As described above, according to the present invention, even in a polling system in an environment where a router is connected to an always-on Internet network, a global server device can immediately enter a local home. A control request for an Internet terminal such as an installed home appliance is transmitted to enable remote operation in real time from a mobile terminal device of a user outside the home.

  Also, because the router uses a polling method, it is not necessary to set up a router that requires specialized knowledge, and a user who purchases a home terminal device such as a living station can connect to the router just by connecting to the router. It is possible to perform remote operation from the remote control, which can greatly improve the convenience for the user.

  Furthermore, even in the case where the connection is temporarily disconnected and another global address is dynamically assigned to the router in a constantly connected environment, a global packet is periodically transmitted from the home terminal device according to the present invention to the server device. Since the Internet terminal information is recorded, a new global address of the router can be acquired on the server device side, and a control request from the mobile terminal device can be transmitted.

  A communication system using an Internet terminal which is a home terminal device according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

Note that the home Internet terminal according to the present invention uses the characteristics of a router when connectionless UDP is used as a communication protocol, and a new function is not required for the router itself. This is because, in communication using UDP, since it is a connectionless type, it is not known whether there is a response from the communication partner, so the correspondence relationship between the local address and the global address is retained for a certain period when packet data is transmitted and received in the router. . On the other hand, in TCP, a conversion table is created when both connections for transmitting and receiving data are established, and the correspondence between the local address and the global address is deleted when the connection is disconnected. Therefore, the Internet terminal device in the home according to the present invention is a system that uses the property of the router in UDP.
(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an overall configuration of a communication system according to the first embodiment. The communication system according to the first embodiment is characterized in that control information from an external mobile terminal device 130 can be transmitted in real time to a home Internet terminal.

  This communication system includes a dedicated server device 200 for connecting a mobile terminal and a terminal device in a home network, an Internet network 120, and a mobile terminal device in which a user transmits and receives remote control information to and from the home terminal device. 130, a router 101 that relays packet data inside and outside the house, and an Internet terminal 110 are connected to each other via a wired or wireless communication line. Note that these networks are always connected by ADSL, optical fiber, or the like.

  In the local network 100, the exchange of packet data inside and outside the home is uniformly relayed using the router 101, and the router 101 and the home PC 102 are connected to each other using a LAN or the like. In addition, it is connected to a home appliance such as an air conditioner 103, a rice cooker 104, a DVD-video deck 105, etc. by wireless from an internet terminal 110 such as a “living station” connected to the router 101, and a communication protocol such as ECHONET. Communicating.

  The router 101 relays packet data transmitted and received between the external and internal networks, converts the IP address described in the IP header from global to local, and intentionally transmits packet data that matches the set conditions. It has a function to dispose of.

  In the external network, a mobile terminal device 130 such as a mobile phone that allows a user to transmit control information from the outside, and remote control of home appliances and the like in the home by receiving the transmitted control information and transmitting it to the home terminal device Is connected to a dedicated server 200.

  The flow of remote control information is shown by the dotted line shown in FIG. The control information transmitted from the user of the mobile terminal device 130 is transmitted to the dedicated server 200, and the global address of the router 101 in the home network is specified using the user ID, telephone number, password, and the like. Next, a global packet to which a global address, a terminal ID, etc. are assigned is transmitted from the server 200 to the terminal device 103 to be controlled.

  In the present invention, since local packets are periodically transmitted from the Internet terminal 110 in the home, when UDP is used as the communication protocol, the router 101 has the global address of the router 101 and the local address of the terminal device in the home. A correspondence table indicating the correspondence relationship can always be held, and control information can be transmitted from the global side to the local side in real time even in communication using a UDP packet.

  Note that the home appliances 103 and the like on the local network are connected to the Internet terminal 110 via radio, but the present invention is not limited to this, and it goes without saying that the control information can be directly transmitted and received by connecting to the local network.

  FIG. 2 shows an example of a functional block diagram of the terminal device 103 such as the home appliance connected to the server 200, the Internet terminal 110, and the Internet terminal according to the first embodiment.

  The server device 200 has a function of receiving control information from the mobile terminal device 130, constructing packet data in which transmission destination address information is added to the control information, and transmitting the packet data to the Internet terminal 110 of the target local network. A communication unit 201, an encryption processing unit 202, a response interval adjustment unit 203, a control request processing unit 204, a terminal information recording unit 205, and a packet generation unit 206 are included.

  The communication unit 201 acquires the response interval of the packet data received from the response interval adjustment unit 203, and transmits the response global packet created by the packet generation unit 206 in accordance with the response interval via the Internet network 120 to the target Internet terminal 110.

  The encryption processing unit 202 decrypts the global packet received from the router 101 and encrypts the response global packet transmitted to the router 101 side. For this encryption and decryption, DES, 3DES, AES, or the like is used.

  The response interval adjustment unit 203 reads the notification interval included in the global packet received from the router 101, calculates the time until the response global packet is returned, and passes the calculated response time to the communication unit 201.

  The control request processing unit 204 reads the control request transmitted from the mobile terminal device 130 and passes it to the packet generation unit 206.

  The terminal information recording unit 205 holds a table 205a in which a set of terminal ID, transmission source address, and transmission source port number transmitted from the Internet terminal 110 and included in the received global packet is recorded as terminal information.

  The packet generator 206 generates a response global packet for the global packet. Specifically, the destination address and the destination port number are identified by referring to the table 205a stored in the terminal information recording unit 205 using the terminal ID of the control target transmitted from the mobile terminal device 130, Transmission destination information and transmission source information are added to the header part, and a control request command including a control request is added to the data part to create a response global packet.

  The router 101 is a relay device that relays packet data on the network, and the home terminal 110 and the like are uniformly connected to the external network via the router.

  The router 101 is given a unique global address from the Internet service provider (ISP) 140, and the global packet transmitted from the router 101 reaches the router of the provider. Then, the data is transmitted to the destination server 200 using the network.

  The mobile terminal device 130 is a device that transmits and receives control information for a user outside the home to remotely control the home electrical appliance 103 and the like. As the control information, for example, “start rice cooker at 6 o'clock”, “7 It is also possible to receive information transmitted from the Internet terminal 110 side, for example, information transmitted from a reservation completion, a heat sensor, a human sensor, or the like.

  The user of the mobile terminal device 130 connects to a server device 200 dedicated for remote operation of the terminal device in the home and specifies the terminal device to be remotely operated and transmits control request information.

  Internet terminal 110 is a terminal device that can uniformly manage home appliances 103 and the like in the home, and is connected to each other using router 101 and a LAN. The communication protocol used on the home network is a secure protocol, and for example, a communication protocol such as ECHONET is used. The Internet terminal 110 is given a unique local address in the router 101.

  The Internet terminal 110 includes a communication unit 111, an encryption processing unit 112, a packet generation unit 113, a notification information recording unit 114, a notification interval adjustment unit 115, and a control unit 116.

  The communication unit 111 transmits and receives the local packet generated by the packet generation unit 113 and the response local packet from the server device 200. Further, the present invention is characterized in that local packets are periodically transmitted to the router 101 in accordance with a fixed notification interval acquired from the notification interval adjusting unit 115.

  The encryption processing unit 112 encrypts the local packet to be transmitted and decrypts the received response local packet. Note that DES or the like is used for encryption in the same manner as the encryption processing unit 202 of the server apparatus 200 described above.

  The packet generation unit 113 generates a local packet including a data portion to which data such as a destination portion and source address information, a header portion to which a port number is assigned, and a response interval indicating a response period in the server device 200 is provided. Generate.

  The notification information recording unit 114 holds a terminal ID for identifying the Internet terminal 110 and a password.

  The notification interval adjustment unit 115 refers to the holding time of the correspondence table in the router 101, specifies a notification interval that is an interval for periodically transmitting local packets to the router 101 side, and transmits the notification interval to the communication unit 111. To do.

  The control unit 116 receives a local packet including a control command designated by the user outside the home using the mobile terminal device 130 from the router 101, and transmits control information according to the control command included in the local packet to the target rice cooker 104 or the like. Transmit to home appliances to perform control processing.

  2 are, for example, an air conditioner 103, a rice cooker 104, a DVD-video deck 105, and the like, and are connected to the Internet terminal 110 in the first embodiment. This connection can also be directly connected to a wireless, power line or LAN network.

  The home appliance 103 and the like include a communication unit 103a and a device control unit 103b. The communication unit 103a is a processing unit that transmits and receives control information to and from the control unit 116 of the Internet terminal 110. In addition, the device control unit 103 b receives the control command from the Internet terminal 110 and controls the home appliance 103. This control command is a command such as “start rice cooker at 10:00”.

  Next, an operation procedure in which a user outside the home transmits a control request via the mobile terminal device 130 will be described. The communication unit 201 of the server device 200 receives the control request and is provided in the server device 200. The control request processing unit 204 generates a frame 2 including a command and data for controlling the home appliance 103 and the like in the control request command 809 of the data unit 802, and passes it to the encryption processing unit 202. The encryption processing unit 202 encrypts the frame 2, the packet generation unit 206 generates a response global packet, and the communication unit 201 transmits it to the router 101.

  Next, the communication unit 111 of the Internet terminal 110 receives the response local packet, and the encryption processing unit 112 decrypts the response local packet data unit 802 and passes it to the control unit 116. The control unit 116 acquires the control request command 809 included in the data portion 802 of the response local packet, and when the control request command 809 is a control request for the home appliance 103, the control unit 116 sets the home communication network. Then, a control command is transmitted to the home appliance 103.

  The device control unit 103b of the home appliance 103 receives the control command and controls the home appliance 103 according to the content of the control command.

  FIG. 3 is a sequence diagram of local packet transmission / reception of Internet terminal 110 according to the first embodiment. In the description of the first embodiment, the names of packet data will be described separately for each of the local packet 301, the global packet 302, the response global packet 303, and the response local packet 304 for each transmission process.

  The local packet 301 is packet data transmitted from the Internet terminal 110 to the router 101. From the main body unit including the transmission destination address, transmission destination port number, transmission source address, transmission source port number, and data in the header portion. Composed. The source address includes the local IP address of the Internet terminal 110, and the destination address includes the global IP address of the server device 200.

  The global packet 302 is packet data transmitted from the router 101 to the server apparatus 200. In the router 101, the transmission source address and the transmission source port number are converted into a global address unique to the router 101, and the transmission source address is changed to the router 101. The global IP address of the server apparatus 200 is included in the destination address.

  The response global packet 303 is packet data transmitted from the server apparatus 200 to the router 101 according to the response interval, and the global address and port number of the router 101 are described in the transmission destination address and transmission destination port number.

  The response local packet 304 is packet data in which the router 101 that has received the response global packet converts the destination address from the global address and port number of the router 101 to the local address and port number of the Internet terminal 110 by referring to the correspondence table. is there.

  When the Internet terminal 110 detects the interval at which the router 101 holds a correspondence table between local addresses and global addresses, the Internet terminal 110 periodically transmits local packets to the router 101 at every notification interval. It is characterized by doing.

  In UDP, the router 101 records global and local communication states in a correspondence table for a certain period. Normally, the correspondence between the local address and the global address of the local packet transmitted to the router 101 disappears when the retention period expires. In the present invention, the notification interval before the retention period expires from the Internet terminal 110 in the present invention. Packet data is transmitted every time. Therefore, the correspondence between the local and the global is always held in the router correspondence table. Note that the holding time of the correspondence relationship between the local address and the global address in the router 101 is a certain period (for example, 3 minutes) after the router 101 finally receives the local packet 301 or the response global packet 303.

  Therefore, the destination address and destination port number of the control request packet 305 including the control request from the server 200 that is always on the global side in the router can be converted from global to local, and can be relayed to the Internet terminal 110 for control purposes. .

  In addition, for example, when the user temporarily disconnects the power source of the router 101 and the always-on connection such as ADSL or optical fiber is once disconnected, the router 101 dynamically changes from the Internet service provider to the router 101 at present. A global address is given. For this reason, there is a problem that even when trying to access control information from the mobile terminal device 130 to the Internet terminal 110, the global address of the router 101 currently allocated cannot be obtained.

  However, the Internet terminal 110 according to the present invention periodically transmits packet data to which a terminal ID, a transmission source address, a transmission source port number, and the like are assigned to the server apparatus 200. A table 205a in which the current terminal ID, transmission destination address, and transmission destination port number are always recorded in the information recording unit 205.

  Therefore, the server apparatus 200 can always know the current global address of the router 101 by confirming the terminal ID of the Internet terminal 110 to be controlled, and once the connection is disconnected, the router 101 has another global address. Even in such a case, the control information from the portable terminal device is transmitted to the controlled Internet terminal 110 without performing any special setting work.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an operation procedure when the Internet terminal 110 according to the first embodiment periodically transmits a local packet to the router 101. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a data configuration of the local packet 500 generated in the Internet terminal 110 according to the first embodiment.

  The notification information recording unit 114 holds a terminal ID and password, and the packet generation unit 113 generates a frame (hereinafter referred to as frame 1) using the terminal ID and password acquired from the notification information recording unit 114. .

  FIG. 5 shows an example of the frame 1 included in the local packet 500. The frame 1 is information included in the data portion 502, and includes a terminal ID 507 for identifying the Internet terminal 110, a random value 508 that is a random number, a terminal ID 507, and a local ID. The digest value 509 output using a predetermined function with the port number 510, password, and random value 508 as inputs, the local port number 510 usable by the Internet terminal 110, and the Internet terminal 110 periodically transmit local packets. A notification interval 511 indicating an interval to be performed is included. An example of the predetermined function is MD5 that is a hash function.

  Next, the encryption processing unit 112 acquires the local packet 500 from the packet generation unit 113, encrypts the frame 1, and passes it to the communication unit 111 (S401). Examples of encryption include DES. The communication unit 111 uses the frame 1 as the data unit 502, adds a header unit 501 including a transmission destination address 503, a transmission destination port number 504, a transmission source address 505, and a transmission source port number 506. A process of transmitting the local packet 500 consisting of 502 to the router 101 side is performed.

  Here, the local packet 500 includes the address of the server apparatus 200 in the transmission destination address 503, the port number that can be used by the server apparatus 200 in the transmission destination port number 504, and the Internet terminal 110 in the transmission source address 505. The source port number 506 includes the same port number as the local port number 510, and the data portion 502 includes the encrypted frame 1.

  The communication unit 111 acquires the notification interval from the notification interval adjustment unit 115 and determines whether or not the notification interval is reached (S402). When the notification interval is reached (Y in S402), the local packet 500 is transmitted to the router 101 (S403), and when it is not the notification interval, the notification interval is acquired (N in S402). The Internet terminal 110 receives the response global packet after transmitting the local packet. Details of this reception process will be described later.

  FIG. 6 is a reference diagram of the correspondence table 600 held by the router 101 according to the first embodiment. In this correspondence table 600, the local address and port number on the local network side and the global address and port number on the external network side are described on a one-to-one basis.

  The conversion process in which the router 101 receives the local packet 500 from the Internet terminal 110, converts it into a global packet, and transmits it to the server device 200 will be described. When the router 101 receives the local packet, it effectively uses the global address. For the purpose of illustration, the source address 505 included in the local packet is converted into the global address of the router 101, the source port number 506 is converted into a port number that can be received by the router 101, and a global packet is generated. Send.

  Further, the router 101 records a combination of the local address and source port number of the Internet terminal 110 and the global address and port number of the router 101 in the correspondence table 600 as table information.

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an operation procedure when the server apparatus 200 according to the first embodiment receives a global packet from the router 101 and returns a response global packet to the router 101.

  First, the communication unit 201 of the server 200 receives the global global packet transmitted from the router 101 and passes it to the encryption processing unit 202.

  Next, the encryption processing unit 202 decrypts the data unit 502 included in the global packet and passes it to the terminal information recording unit 205 (S701). The terminal information recording unit 205 performs an authentication process on the received packet data. In this authentication process, the terminal information recording unit 205 includes a terminal ID 507, a random value 508, a digest value 509, which are included in the data unit 502. A value obtained by acquiring the local port number 510, searching for a password corresponding to the terminal ID 507, using the terminal ID 507, the local port number 510, the password, and the random value 508 as input and using the same function as the packet generation unit 113 And the digest value 509 are compared to perform authentication (S702).

  If the authentication fails (N in S702), the received global packet is discarded. On the other hand, if the authentication is successful (Y in S702), the terminal information recording unit 205 displays the terminal ID 507 included in the global packet. Then, a set of the transmission source address 505 and the transmission source port number 506 is acquired, and the table 205a is created and recorded as the terminal information (S703).

  Furthermore, the terminal information recording unit 205 acquires the response interval 511 included in the global packet and passes it to the response interval adjustment unit 203. The response interval adjustment unit 203 acquires a response return time, which is a time for returning a response global packet that is a response to the global packet, from the response interval 511 (S704).

  Next, the control request processing unit 204 detects whether or not a control request for the Internet terminal 110 is received from the mobile terminal device 130 during the period from the reception of the global packet to the calculated response return time ( S705).

  If it is determined that a control request has occurred (Y in S705), the control request processing unit 204 stores the control request content in the control request command included in the response global packet (S706). On the other hand, if the control request is not generated by the response reply time (N in S705), data indicating no control content is stored in the control request command (S707), and the frame included in the response global packet (hereinafter referred to as frame 2). Is generated and passed to the encryption processing unit 202. Note that when there is no control request from the user of the mobile terminal device 130 to the terminal device at home, the server device 200 does not need to transmit information indicating that there is no control request to the Internet terminal 110 side, so the operation shown in S707 The response global packet can be returned only when a control request from the mobile terminal device 130 is generated by omitting the procedure.

  Then, the control request processing unit 204 creates the frame 2 in which the control request command, the terminal ID unique to the controlled Internet terminal 110, the port number, and the control request are described (S708), and the packet generation unit 206 transmits the frame 2 A response global packet including a header part in which information of the source and destination addresses and port numbers is described and a data part including frame 2 is generated. The data structure of the response global packet will be described with reference to FIG. In the control command, for example, information such as “turn on the operating state of the air conditioner 103” is described.

  The encryption processing unit 202 acquires the response global packet generated from the packet generation unit 206 and performs encryption processing of the data unit, and the communication unit 201 transmits the response global packet subjected to encryption processing to the router 101 side. Then, the series of processing ends (S709).

  FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of a data configuration of the response global packet 800 generated by the server apparatus 200 according to the first embodiment.

  The frame 2 generated in the control request processing unit 204 is included in the data unit 802 and includes a port ID including the terminal ID 807 of the Internet terminal 110 to be controlled and the local port number 510 included in the data unit 502 of the global packet. 808, a control request command 809 including a control command requested from the mobile terminal device 130 to the Internet terminal 110 is included.

  Further, the frame 2 is encrypted by the encryption processing unit 202 and then passed to the packet generation unit 206 to generate a response global packet 800 including a header unit 801 and a data unit 802.

  The generated response global packet 800 is passed from the packet generation unit 206 to the communication unit 201, and the communication unit 201 transmits the terminal ID of the Internet terminal 110 to be controlled from the table 205 a of the terminal information recording unit 205, that is, frame 2. The terminal ID that matches the terminal ID 807 included in the ID is extracted, the terminal ID 807, the transmission destination address 803, and the transmission destination port number 804 are acquired and attached to the header of the response global packet to generate a response global packet.

  The response global packet 800 includes the address of the terminal that is the global address of the router 101 in the transmission destination address 803, the port number of the terminal in the transmission destination port number 804, and the address of the server device 200 in the transmission source address 805, The transmission source port number 806 includes a port number that can be used by the server apparatus 200.

  Next, an operation procedure in which the router 101 receives a response global packet from the server device 200, converts it into a response local packet, and transmits it to the Internet terminal 110 will be described.

  First, when receiving a response global packet from the server apparatus 200, the router 101 refers to the conversion table, converts the destination address 803 included in the response global packet to the address of the Internet terminal 110, and sets the destination port number 804 to the Internet. A response local packet is generated by converting the port number of the terminal 110. Then, the router 101 transmits a response local packet to the Internet terminal 110.

  When the local packet or response global packet is not received for a certain period of time, the router 101 deletes the combination of the address and port number of the Internet terminal 110 and the address and port number of the router 101 recorded in the conversion table. If no combination already exists in the correspondence table of the router 101, the response global packet is discarded.

  FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing an operation procedure when the Internet terminal 110 according to the first embodiment receives a response local packet.

  After transmitting the local packet to the router 101, the communication unit 111 waits for reception of a response local packet during the notification interval (S901).

  When the response local packet is received within the notification interval (Y in S902), the response local packet is passed to the encryption processing unit 112. The encryption processing unit 112 decrypts the data part 802 of the response local packet and passes it to the control unit 116. The control unit 116 matches the terminal ID 807 included in the data unit 802 with the terminal ID held by the Internet terminal 110, and the port number 808 matches the local port number 510 when the frame 1 is generated. Authentication is performed (S903). If the authentication fails (N in S903), the process returns to waiting for a response local packet.

  When the control unit 116 succeeds in the authentication process (Y in S903), the control request command 809 of the data unit 802 is acquired and read. If the content of the control request command 809 is data indicating “no control content” (N in S904), the reception process ends.

  On the other hand, if the content of the control request command 809 is “control request present” and controls the Internet terminal 110 or the connected home appliance 103 (Y in S904), the Internet terminal 110 is in accordance with the content of the control request command 809. Alternatively, the connected home appliance 103 is controlled (S905). This control request is, for example, a request such as “starting the air conditioner from 7 o'clock”.

  If the communication unit 111 does not receive a response local packet within the notification interval (N in S902), the notification interval adjustment unit 115 performs processing to shorten the notification interval (S906). For example, when the notification interval is set to 20 minutes as an initial value, 19 minutes, 18 minutes,... Are shortened in increments of 1 minute until a response local packet is received. If a response local packet is received when the notification interval is shortened to 10 minutes, the notification interval is set to 10 minutes and the local packet is transmitted to the router 101 every 10 minutes. In this case, it goes without saying that the notification interval can be set to 10 minutes or less, for example, 9 minutes 30 seconds.

  Note that the Internet terminal 110 according to the first embodiment does not always perform the operation of shortening the notification interval in the notification interval adjustment unit 115 described above, but the table holding time of the connected router 101 at the time of activation. Can be confirmed.

  FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a data configuration of local packet data transmitted from the Internet terminal 110 in order to acquire the holding time of the correspondence relationship between the local address and the global address in the router 101 when the Internet terminal 110 is activated.

  For example, the Internet terminal 110 uses the packet generation unit 113 to include four different transmission destination port numbers (for example, 5000 to 5003), different transmission source port numbers, and a response included in the data portion in the transmission destination port number included in the header portion. Four local packets having four different notification times (for example, one to one-fourth intervals) are generated in the interval, and are simultaneously transmitted from the communication unit 111 to the server apparatus 200 side. The notification interval and the port number are examples, and the present invention is not limited to this.

  Then, since the correspondence relationship between the global address and the local address is cached in the correspondence table 600 for a certain period in the normal router 101, the correspondence relation is recorded for a certain period, but the correspondence relation for which a certain holding time has passed is deleted. Is done. Therefore, the response packet data whose retention time has passed is not returned.

  Therefore, the communication unit 111 of the Internet terminal 110 performs reception processing. For example, when the response global packet of the local packets 1001, 1002, and 1003 is received, but the response global packet of the local packet 1004 is not received. , The notification interval adjustment unit 115 determines that the corresponding cache period in the router 101 is “3 minutes”, and sets the local packet polling interval to the same cache period of 3 minutes.

  FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing an operation procedure when the Internet terminal according to the first embodiment obtains the conversion table holding time of the router and obtains the polling interval when it is activated.

  First, a plurality of local packets having different polling intervals are created by the packet generation unit 113 of the Internet terminal 110, encrypted by the encryption processing unit 112, and then transmitted from the communication unit 111 to the router side (S1101).

  Next, the communication unit 111 of the Internet terminal 110 waits for reception of a response local packet (S1102), and determines whether the response local packet has been received (S1103). When the response local packet has been received (Y in S1103), the notification interval adjustment unit 115 acquires the longest polling interval received last as the correspondence holding time in the router 101 (S1104).

  On the other hand, when the response local packet cannot be received (N in S1103), the Internet terminal 110 ends the process.

  As described above, the Internet terminal 110 according to the first embodiment specifies the notification time of the local packet by determining the holding time of the conversion table in the router, and the local packet according to the notification interval. A communication unit 111 that periodically and repeatedly transmits to the router 101 is provided.

  Therefore, in an environment where the router 101 is always connected to the Internet network, even if the polling method is used, the router 101 can always hold a correspondence table in which the relationship between global and local addresses and port numbers is recorded. Even when a control request using the mobile terminal device 130 is transmitted from an external user, the server device 200 generates a global packet with the global address of the router 101 corresponding to the terminal ID and transmits it to the router 101 side. Thus, the conversion can be performed by referring to the conversion table recorded in the router 101 to the local address in the local network. For this reason, control information from the user outside the home using the mobile terminal device 130 is transmitted to the target Internet terminal 110 in the home in real time, and the home appliance 103 installed in the home according to the user's request Control is possible.

  In addition, in the present invention, since the router setting is unnecessary using the polling method, remote control from outside the house is enabled by connecting the Internet terminal 110 according to the present invention to the conventional router 101. Therefore, the convenience of the user who uses the Internet terminal 110 according to the present invention can be dramatically improved.

  Furthermore, the server device 200 only has to send a response global packet to the terminal device to be controlled in the home only when there is a control request via a user outside the home or the mobile terminal device 130. This eliminates the need for the server apparatus 200 to confirm whether there is a control request from the Internet apparatus.

  Further, since the notification interval adjustment unit 115 of the Internet terminal 110 detects the holding period of the conversion table of the router 101 at the time of activation, the correspondence relationship of the router 101 disappears as in the conventional case, and a control request from outside the house cannot be made. Can be prevented.

  Furthermore, since the UDP packet is a setting in which the address relationship between the transmission destination and the transmission source is maintained for a certain period even in the conventional router, it is not necessary to add a new function to the router, and the present invention is used using the existing router. Can be implemented.

  Then, the server device 200 can always know the current global address of the router 101 by confirming the terminal ID of the Internet terminal 110 to be controlled, and once the connection is disconnected, the router 101 has another global address. Even in such a case, the control information from the portable terminal device is transmitted to the controlled Internet terminal 110 without performing any special setting work.

  Note that it is also conceivable to return the control results of the Internet terminal 110 and the home appliance 103 according to the first embodiment to the mobile terminal device 130 of the user outside the home. This control result is information such as “completion of air conditioner reservation from 7 o'clock” and “completion of hot water supply at 10 o'clock”. Hereinafter, the procedure of control result transmission will be described.

  The control unit 116 of the Internet terminal 110 acquires the control request command 809 included in the response local packet data unit 802 and controls the Internet terminal 110. When the control target terminal is the air conditioner 103 or the like, the control content of the control request command 809 is transmitted to the device control unit 103b.

  The device control unit 103b of the home appliance 103 performs control according to the control request, but returns the data of the control result to the control unit 116 of the Internet terminal 110.

  The control unit 116 of the Internet terminal 110 includes the control result data received from the home appliance 103 or the control result of the Internet terminal 110 in a frame (hereinafter referred to as frame 3) to be transmitted to the server device 200, and performs encryption processing. It passes to the part 112.

  Also, the encryption processing unit 112 encrypts the frame 3 and passes it to the communication unit 111. The communication unit 111 generates a local packet to be transmitted to the server apparatus 200 by the same method as described above, and transmits the local packet to the router 101. Therefore, control result data is included in the local packet.

  The router 101 converts the local address of the received local packet into a global address, records it in the correspondence table 600, and transmits the global packet to be transmitted to the server device 200 via the Internet network 120.

  The communication unit 201 of the server apparatus 200 receives the transmitted global packet and passes it to the encryption processing unit 202, and the encryption processing unit 202 decrypts the frame 3 and passes it to the control request processing unit 204. Then, the control request processing unit 204 reads the control result data of the home appliance 103 included in the frame 3 or the control result data of the Internet terminal 110 to obtain the control result, and the communication unit 201 acquires the control result. The control result can be transmitted to the end of the series of processing.

In the method of the present invention, the adjustment method of the notification interval of the local packet in the notification interval adjustment unit 115 has been described using a unit of one minute. However, it is not always necessary to shorten the unit in units of one minute. Obviously it may vary from one to the other.
(Embodiment 2)
Next, another embodiment 2 of the communication system according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 12 is a functional block diagram of the portal server 1201, the server 200, and the Internet terminal 110 according to the second embodiment. In the communication system according to the second embodiment, a portal server 1201 is provided in addition to the configuration of the communication system in FIG. 2 of the first embodiment described above, and a control request from the user's mobile terminal device 130 is sent to the portal server 1201. The home appliance 103 that is sent and connected from the portal server 1201 to the Internet terminal 110 via the server device 200 is controlled. In FIG. 12, the same components as those in FIG. 2 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted.

  The portal server 1201 is a server that handles a dedicated application for performing remote operation of home appliances from outside the home, for example, and includes a communication unit 1204 that transmits and receives packet data to and from the outside, The encryption processing unit 1203 that performs decryption and the request processing unit 1202 are included. The request processing unit 1202 reads a control request from the mobile terminal device.

  Next, the processing procedure of the communication system according to the second embodiment will be described. First, the user has a unique terminal ID of the home network in the portal server 1201 via the Internet network 120 using the mobile terminal device 130. A control request to the Internet terminal 110 such as a home appliance is transmitted. This control request is information such as “reservation of a news program from 10:00” as described above.

  Next, the communication unit 1204 of the portal server 1201 receives a control request from the mobile terminal device 130 and transmits the control request received from the mobile terminal device 130 to the server device 200 via the Internet network 120.

  Then, the control request processing unit 204 of the server device 200 generates a control request command 809 included in the frame 2 in accordance with the received control request, and further includes the address of the portal server 1201 in the control request command 809.

  The following processing procedure is the same as that of the first embodiment described above, and the control request processing unit 204 generates a frame 2 including the control request command and the address of the portal server 1201, passes it to the packet generation unit 206, and sends the packet generation unit 206. The response global packet including the header portion is generated and passed to the cryptographic processing portion 202. The encryption processing unit 202 encrypts the frame 2 and the communication unit 201 transmits the frame 2 to the router 101.

  The communication unit 111 of the Internet terminal 110 receives the response local packet from the router 101, and the encryption processing unit 112 decrypts the response local packet data unit 802 and passes it to the control unit 116. The control unit 116 acquires the control request command 809 included in the data part 802 of the response local packet, and controls the Internet terminal 110 or the home appliance 103 according to the control content of the control request command 809. Then, the device control unit 103 b of the home appliance 103 transmits the control result data to the Internet terminal 110.

  Next, the control unit 116 of the Internet terminal 110 passes the control result data received from the home appliance 103 or the control result data of the Internet terminal 110 to the packet generation unit 113, and the packet generation unit 113 includes a data unit and a header unit. A reply local packet is generated and passed to the encryption processing unit 112.

  The encryption processing unit 112 encrypts the data part, and the communication unit 111 transmits a local packet to be transmitted to the portal server 1201 to the router 101.

  The router 101 converts the received local packet into a global packet to be transmitted to the portal server 1201 and transmits it to the portal server 1201 via the Internet network 120.

  The communication unit 1204 of the portal server 1201 receives the global packet including the control result information relayed by the router 101 and passes it to the encryption processing unit 1203. The encryption processing unit 1203 decrypts the data part and passes it to the request processing unit 1202. The processing unit 1202 acquires the control result of the home appliance 103 included in the data unit or the data of the control result of the Internet terminal 110 and passes it to the communication unit 1204. The communication unit 1204 receives the control result of the received home appliance 103. Alternatively, the control result of the Internet terminal 110 is transmitted to the mobile terminal device 130.

  As described above, in the communication system according to the second embodiment, the portal server 1201 that uses a dedicated application of the Internet terminal 110 that performs remote operation of home appliances is provided. A dedicated server for the terminal 110 can be used.

  Further, even when providing an Internet terminal for providing another service, it is possible to use the same server device 200 by separating the portal server 1201 and the server device 200 that periodically receives packets. Become.

  In the above description of the embodiment, a mobile phone is used as the mobile terminal device 130. However, the mobile terminal device 130 is not limited to this, and the Internet network 120 such as a PC or PAD is used in addition to the mobile phone. It goes without saying that a similar function can also be used in a connectable terminal device.

  The in-home terminal apparatus according to the present invention can be used as a terminal apparatus that transmits and receives packet data by connecting to a router connected to an external network using the in-home network, and in particular, a terminal that performs unified remote control of home appliances It can be applied to household appliances such as devices and air conditioners.

1 is a schematic diagram showing an overall configuration of a communication system according to Embodiment 1. FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of a terminal device such as a home appliance connected to the server, the Internet terminal, and the Internet terminal according to Embodiment 1. FIG. 6 is a sequence diagram in transmission / reception of a local packet of the Internet terminal according to Embodiment 1. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an operation procedure when the Internet terminal according to Embodiment 1 periodically transmits a local packet to a router. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a data configuration of a local packet generated in the Internet terminal according to Embodiment 1. FIG. 4 is a reference diagram of a correspondence table held by the router according to the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an operation procedure when the server apparatus according to the first embodiment receives a global packet from a router and returns a response global packet to the router. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a data configuration of a response global packet generated by the server device according to Embodiment 1. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an operation procedure when the Internet terminal according to Embodiment 1 receives a response global packet. It is a figure which shows the data structure of the local packet data transmitted from an internet terminal in order to acquire the holding time of the correspondence of the local address and global address in a router at the time of starting of an internet terminal. 6 is a flowchart showing an operation procedure when the Internet terminal according to Embodiment 1 acquires a conversion table holding time of a router and acquires a polling interval when it is activated. The functional block diagram of the portal server, server, and internet terminal which concern on Embodiment 2 is shown. It is a sequence diagram which shows the flow of the packet data of the terminal operation in a house by the conventional polling system.

Explanation of symbols

100 local network 101 router 102 PC
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 103 Air conditioner 103a Communication part 103b Device control part 110 Internet terminal 111 Communication part 112 Encryption processing part 113 Packet generation part 114 Notification part 115 Notification interval adjustment part 116 Control part 120 Internet network 130 Portable terminal 200 Server apparatus 201 Communication part 202 Encryption processing part 203 Response interval adjustment unit 204 Control request processing unit 205 Terminal information recording unit 205a Table 206 Packet generation unit 500 Local packet 600 Correspondence table 800 Response global packet 1201 Portal server 1202 Request processing unit 1203 Encryption processing unit 1204 Communication unit

Claims (8)

A home terminal device that is connected via a home network to a router connected to an external network to which the server device is connected, and transmits and receives data.
The router holds a correspondence between a global address given to the router and a local address of the home terminal device for a predetermined period,
The in-home terminal device
Generating means for generating data to be transmitted to the server device;
Communication means for transmitting and receiving data to and from the server device via the router;
Detecting a correspondence holding period in the router, and determining means for determining a period equal to or less than the holding period as a data transmission interval;
The communication means repeatedly transmits data to the router side according to the transmission interval,
The generating means includes at least a local address of the home terminal device as a transmission source address in a header portion, a local port number of the home terminal device as a transmission source port number, an address of the server device as a transmission destination address, and a transmission An in-home terminal device characterized by generating data including a port number of the server device as a destination port number and including at least a response data reply interval as a response from the server device in a data portion. The in-home terminal apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the determination unit determines to shorten the transmission interval when the response data is not received from the router within the transmission interval. The generating means generates a plurality of data having different reply intervals,
The communication means transmits a plurality of data generated by the generation means,
The in-home terminal device according to claim 1, wherein the determination unit detects the holding period of the correspondence relationship in the router from a reply interval of the response data. The in-home terminal device according to claim 3, wherein the determination unit detects the longest reply interval among the response data sent back from the server device as the holding period in the router. The server device
A second communication means for transmitting and receiving data;
Response interval adjustment means for obtaining a reply interval to the home terminal device included in the data and calculating a reply time of the response data;
Second generation means for generating response data to be transmitted to the in-home terminal device,
The in-home terminal device according to claim 1, wherein the second communication unit returns the response data generated by the second generation unit to the router according to the reply time. A communication method used for a home terminal device that is connected via a home network to a router connected to an external network to which a server device is connected, and transmits and receives data,
The router holds a correspondence between a global address given to the router and a local address of the home terminal device for a predetermined period,
The communication method is:
A generation step of generating data to be transmitted to the server device;
A communication step of transmitting and receiving data to and from the server device via the router;
Detecting the holding period of the correspondence relationship in the router, and determining a period equal to or less than the holding period as a data transmission interval,
In the communication step, data is repeatedly transmitted to the router side according to the transmission interval,
In the generating step, the header section includes at least the local address of the home terminal device as a source address, the local port number of the home terminal device as a source port number, and the address of the server device as a destination address, A communication method comprising generating a data including a port number of the server device as a transmission destination port number and including at least a reply interval of response data as a response from the server device in a data portion. A program used for a home terminal device connected via a home network to a router connected to an external network to which a server device is connected, and for transmitting and receiving data,
The router holds a correspondence between a global address given to the router and a local address of the home terminal device for a predetermined period,
The program is
A generation step of generating data to be transmitted to the server device;
A communication step of transmitting and receiving data to and from the server device via the router;
Detecting the holding period of the correspondence relationship in the router, and determining a period equal to or less than the holding period as a data transmission interval,
In the communication step, data is repeatedly transmitted to the router side according to the transmission interval,
In the generating step, the header section includes at least the local address of the home terminal device as a source address, the local port number of the home terminal device as a source port number, and the address of the server device as a destination address, A program that includes a port number of the server apparatus as a transmission destination port number, and that generates data including at least a reply interval of response data that is a response from the server apparatus in a data portion. A communication system in which an external network to which a server device is connected and a home network to which a home terminal device is connected are connected via a router,
The router holds a correspondence between a global address given to the router and a local address of the home terminal device for a predetermined period,
The in-home terminal device
Generating means for generating data to be transmitted to the server device;
Communication means for transmitting and receiving data to and from the server device via the router;
Detecting a correspondence holding period in the router, and determining means for determining a period equal to or less than the holding period as a data transmission interval;
The communication means repeatedly transmits data to the router side according to the transmission interval,
The generating means includes at least a local address of the home terminal device as a transmission source address in a header portion, a local port number of the home terminal device as a transmission source port number, an address of the server device as a transmission destination address, and a transmission A communication system comprising: a port number of the server device as a destination port number; and generating data including at least a reply interval of response data as a response from the server device in a data portion.

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