JP2005242534A - Information providing system and data generation apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an information providing system and a data generation device capable of improving the convenience of data output from a sensor installed in a building or a facility and presenting useful information to a user To do.
An object forming unit reads out and refers to setting information from a storage unit and refers to time information (time information) indicated by an internal clock. The setting information includes information regarding the location, data type, data format, and the like. The object converting unit 106 generates object data from digital data indicating the output result from the sensor based on the setting information and time information. This object data has general meaning and is identifiable data.
[Selection] Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to an information providing system and a data generation apparatus that make use of data and information in fields such as electric power, environment, and energy.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is a system that collects information from managed devices installed in a building or the like and provides a service based on the information. For example, Patent Literature 1 describes a server system that controls the operation of a management target device based on information collected from the management target device and indicating the operation state of the management target device. Patent Document 2 discloses a facility management apparatus that operates a management target device by a program for reducing energy, collects measurement values of an operation state from the management target device, and feeds back an operation result to future operation. Has been described. Patent Document 3 discloses remote monitoring that can prevent compressor failure by taking in information from distributed compressors and sending information indicating the operation status of the compressors to the maintenance department. The system is described.
JP 2002-109018 A JP 2001-306134 A JP 2003-91313 A

  Conventionally, data output from sensors installed in buildings, facilities, and the like merely indicate numerical values, and interpretation of the data depends on a system that uses the data. Therefore, even if the data is meaningful in a certain system, it has no meaning (or the interpretation result is different from the original data) in other systems with different specifications for interpreting the data. There was a problem of becoming.

  In addition, the data output from the sensor is simply numeric data, and no information for identifying the data is added to the data itself. Therefore, when data output from a large number of sensors is used, an enormous amount of data is output. It was difficult to identify certain data from the data. Furthermore, the format of the data output from the measurement / control device that performs measurement / control of the managed device based on the data output from the sensor is a format that depends on the specialized manufacturer that manages the measurement / control device. It was. Therefore, the compatibility and reusability between data is very low, and it is difficult to link and link with systems and services that use the data. From the above, it has been difficult to present useful information to the user based on the data output from the sensor.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and can improve the convenience of data output from sensors installed in buildings, facilities, and the like, and is useful information for the user. It is an object to provide an information providing system and a data generation apparatus capable of presenting information.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and the invention according to claim 1 adds information for identifying the output data to the output data indicating the output value from the sensor. A data generation device that generates object data; obtains the object data from the data generation device via a network; and transmits information based on the object data to a user terminal possessed by the user via the network An information providing system comprising: a network device that performs the above-described operation.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the information providing system according to the first aspect, the data generation device stores setting information necessary for generating the object data, and the setting information from the storage unit. And an information adding means for adding information for identifying the output data to the output data based on the setting information and the time information.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the information providing system according to the first or second aspect, the object data includes the output data, data indicating time based on time information, and data indicating a place. And data indicating the type and format of the output data.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the information providing system according to the second or third aspect, the setting information includes information for identifying a location and information for identifying the type and format of the output data. It is characterized by that.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the information providing system according to the fourth aspect, the setting information further includes conversion information for converting a data format of the output data.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a data generation device that generates object data by adding information for identifying output data to output data indicating an output value from a sensor.

  According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the data generation device according to the sixth aspect of the present invention, the setting information necessary for generating the object data is stored, the setting information is read from the storage unit, and the setting information is read out. And an information adding unit for adding information for identifying the output data to the output data based on the information and the time information.

  According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the data generation device according to the sixth or seventh aspect, the object data includes the output data, data indicating time based on time information, and data indicating a place. And data indicating the type and format of the output data.

  According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in the data generation device according to the seventh or eighth aspect, the setting information includes information for identifying a location and information for identifying a type and format of the output data. It is characterized by that.

  According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, in the data generation device according to the ninth aspect, the setting information further includes conversion information for converting a data format of the output data.

  According to the present invention, meaning is given to uniquely specify data for data output from sensors installed in buildings, facilities, etc., so the convenience of data output from sensors The effect that can be improved is obtained. Moreover, the effect that useful information can be shown with respect to a user is also acquired.

  The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an information providing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. The information providing system includes a network 1, a data generation device 10, a user terminal 20, server systems 30 to 32, and an analysis server 40. The network 1 is a network of various forms such as a public Internet line, a telephone network, and an optical network.

  The data generation device 10 gives general meaning to data output from sensors installed in buildings, facilities, equipment, etc., and generates object data. The user terminal 20 is a terminal operated by a user (client) who is an object of information provision. The user terminal 20 is a terminal having a network connection function, such as a general-purpose personal computer, a mobile phone, or a PDA (Personal Digital Assistance). The number of user terminals 20 is arbitrary.

  The server systems 30 to 32 acquire the data output from the data generation device 10 via the network 1 and perform various processes on the acquired data. The configuration of the server systems 30 to 32 is as follows. The server system 30 includes a WEB server, an application server, and a database server. The server system 31 includes a WEB server 310 connected to the network 1, an application server 311 connected to the network 1, and a database server 312 connected to the application server 311. The server system 32 includes a server system 320 including a WEB server and an application server, and a database server 321 connected to the network 1. The analysis server 40 performs various analysis processes on the input data.

  Any number of servers can be installed in the server systems 30 to 32. Further, the server systems 30 to 32 may have a configuration other than the illustrated configuration. In other words, the server systems 30 to 32 can be arbitrarily expanded. The server systems 30 to 32 and the like include at least a network device (computer such as a WEB server) provided with an environment connected to the network 1 and a communication environment for transmitting and receiving data to and from the data generation device 10 and the user terminal 20. It only has to be provided.

  Communication between each of the server systems 30 to 32 and the analysis server 40 and the data generation device 10 is performed based on SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol). SOAP is a protocol for accessing object data on a network by a communication protocol such as HTTP (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol) using a message described in an XML (Extensible Markup Language) format. In communication using SOAP, protocols such as HTTP, SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol), and FTP (File Transfer Protocol) are used as lower protocols. Communication using SOAP enables communication of object data between computers having different environments such as OS. Note that object data can be used by another general-purpose protocol without necessarily using SOAP.

  The data generation device 10 generates object data based on the data output from the sensor and transmits it to the server system 30 or the like. For example, when the data generation device 10 transmits data to the server system 30, the data generation device 10 first sends message data including inquiry information for inquiring whether or not reception is possible based on a protocol such as HTTP to the server system. 30. The server system 30 interprets the received message data and creates message data including response information for replying to the data generation device 10. Subsequently, the server system 30 transmits message data to the data generation apparatus 10 based on a protocol such as HTTP. When the data generation device 10 receives and interprets the message data and determines that the server system 10 is in a receivable state, the data generation device 10 sends the message data based on the object data to the server system 30 based on a protocol such as HTTP. Send.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram functionally showing the configuration of the data generation apparatus 10. Sensors S1 to Sm (m is a positive integer) and a monitor / controller 50 are connected to the data generation device 10. The monitor / controller 50 is a monitor or controller such as a measurement / control device or a BAS (Building Automation System) installed by a specialized manufacturer that handles the sensors s1 to sn (n is a positive integer). Sensors S1 to Sm and sensors s1 to sn are various sensors installed in buildings and facilities. The data output from these sensors is measurement data of facilities, equipment, equipment, etc. such as voltage, current, electric energy, integrated electric energy, outside air temperature, and outside air humidity, and alarm data that informs abnormal conditions. .

  The data generation apparatus 10 includes an input unit 101, an A / D conversion unit 102, a communication circuit 103, a connection unit 104, a pulse conversion unit 105, an objectification unit 106, an input unit 107, a communication circuit 108, a connection unit 109, and a storage unit 110. A general-purpose communication unit 111, a communication unit 112, a communication circuit 113, an interface unit 114, and a wireless interface unit 115.

  The format of data output from the sensors S1 to Sm and the sensors s1 to sn is either analog, digital, or pulse. Some sensors have an A / D converter inside and output digital data. In addition, the integration type data such as the integrated power amount is often pulsed data. Analog, digital, or pulse data output from the sensors S <b> 1 to Sm is input to the input unit 101.

  The A / D conversion unit 102 converts analog and pulse data output from the input unit 101 into digital (digital pulse) data, and outputs the data to the communication circuit 103. The A / D conversion unit 102 does not perform data conversion on digital data. The digital data is input to the connection unit 104. The pulse conversion unit 105 counts the number of pulses per unit time for the digital pulse data, and converts the digital pulse data into digital data indicating a measurement value obtained by the sensor. The object converting unit 106 generates meaningful object data based on the data output from the pulse converting unit 105 and the connecting unit 109. Details of processing by the objectification unit 106 will be described later.

  Data output from the sensors s1 to sn is input to the monitor / controller 50. The monitor / controller 50 outputs digital data in a format depending on the specialized manufacturer. This digital data is input to the input unit 107 and input to the connection unit 109 via the communication circuit 108. This digital data is output from the connection unit 109 to the object unit 106.

  The objectification unit 106 generates object data and stores it in the storage unit 110. The storage unit 110 stores object data and also stores setting information including information related to output data from various sensors and information related to the installation location of the sensor. The general-purpose communication unit 111 reads out the object data from the storage unit 110 and creates XML format data (XML document) based on the object data. Then, the general-purpose communication unit 111 adds incidental information necessary for communication to the created XML document, and generates message data in a format based on SOAP. The general-purpose communication unit 111 also has a function of receiving message data input from an external network from the communication unit 112 and interpreting the message data.

  The communication unit 112 performs control related to communication with the outside. The communication unit 112 acquires message data input from an external network from the communication circuit 113 and outputs the message data to the general-purpose communication unit 111. Further, the communication unit 112 outputs the message data output from the general communication unit 111 to the communication circuit 113. The interface unit 114 is connected to an external network (Internet, LAN, etc.) via a communication cable. The wireless interface unit 115 is connected to an external network (Internet, wireless LAN, etc.) by wireless communication. The wireless interface unit 115 includes, for example, a card slot. By inserting a wireless LAN card into the card slot, wireless communication with the outside becomes possible.

  The functions of the objectification unit 106, the general-purpose communication unit 111, and the communication unit 112 are realized by a CPU (central processing unit) of a computer, for example. The storage unit 110 is, for example, a storage area in a hard disk drive or memory.

  The data generation device 10 can be connected to another data generation device 10 via the interface unit 114 or the wireless interface unit 115. When various sensors are scattered apart or when the number of inputs of the input unit 101 or the input unit 107 is limited, a plurality of data generation devices 10 can be connected and used. Administrators can build highly scalable systems.

  The configuration of the data generation device 10 is not limited to the above configuration. For example, the configuration in the range A of FIG. 2 may be housed in the same device, and the input unit 101, the A / D conversion unit 102, etc. in the range B may be installed independently of the device, All the configurations in the range A and the range B may be housed in the same apparatus. Various sensors may be provided in the data generation device 10.

  Furthermore, the input units 101 and 107 may have different configurations or the same configuration. That is, the input route a to which data from the sensors S1 to Sm are input and the input route b to which data from the sensors s1 to sn are input may be separate routes, or a single integrated route. It may be a route.

  Next, setting information stored in the storage unit 110 will be described. The setting information includes location information regarding the location where the sensor is installed, identification information for identifying a plurality of output data from the sensor, type information indicating the type of output data, and format information regarding the format of the output data. .

  The location information is information related to a specific name of a specific building or facility where the sensor is installed. The identification information is information for identifying data input to the objectification unit 106. For example, by preparing a plurality of signal lines and individually assigning the signal lines to the output data from each sensor, each output data and each signal line can be associated with each other in a one-to-one relationship. It is also conceivable to multiplex a plurality of digital data and assign one signal line to the multiplexed data. In this case, the order of transmission is assigned to a plurality of different digital data, and the digital data is transmitted substantially in that order. Therefore, the order in which each digital data is transmitted and each digital data are in a one-to-one relationship. Can be matched. The identification information is information indicating the correspondence as described above, and is information created in advance based on a physical connection relationship, a communication protocol, or the like.

  The type information is information related to the type of data. The type information includes information indicating a voltage value, a current value, an electric energy, a temperature, and the like, and more specifically, an instantaneous voltage value, an instantaneous current value, an integrated electric energy, an outside air temperature, a cold water supply temperature, and the like. Contains information. The type information also includes information indicating whether the data is a maximum value, a minimum value, an average value, or the like. Further, the type information includes information indicating data related to abnormality such as a sensor. For example, the sensor may output alarm data indicating an abnormality when detecting an abnormal state such as failure or no data acquisition. The type information is information regarding the type of data as described above.

  The format information is information indicating the format of the output data. The format information includes unit information related to the data unit and prefix information related to the data prefix. The unit information is information in which the data type is associated with the data unit. For example, the unit information indicates that a unit of W is associated with a numerical value indicating the integrated electric energy, and a unit of ° C. is associated with a numerical value indicating the outside air temperature. The prefix information is information regarding data prefixes (kilo, mega, etc.). For example, when a unit of W is associated with data of 10, information for specifying whether the numerical value is 10 W or 10 kW is prefix information. The names given to the above information are given for convenience of explanation, and the actual data format is not limited thereby.

  Next, data output from the monitor / controller 50 will be described. The data output from the monitor / controller 50 is in a format depending on the specialized manufacturer. Some specialized manufacturers publish the rules regarding the format, and according to the rules, it is possible to convert data in a format depending on the specialized manufacturer into general-purpose numerical data. The storage unit 110 stores conversion information necessary for the above conversion. The objectification unit 106 reads out and refers to the conversion information from the storage unit 110, and converts the data output from the connection unit 109 into general-purpose numerical data. If the specialized manufacturer does not publish the rules regarding the format of the data, the sensor and the data generation device 10 may be directly connected to acquire data as in the input route a.

  Next, a method for generating object data by the objectification unit 106 will be described. The objectification unit 106 reads out and refers to the setting information from the storage unit 110 and also refers to time information (time information) indicated by the internal clock. The objectification unit 106 may read the setting information from a server such as the server system 30 and refer to it. The objectification unit 106 generates object data from digital data indicating the output result from the sensor based on the setting information and the time information. A method for generating an object included in the object data is as follows. The objectification unit 106 generates a location object based on the location information in the setting information. The place object is associated with a unique name such as a building or facility where the sensor or the data generation device 10 is installed. Further, the objectification unit 106 generates a time object based on the time information. The time object is related to the time (time) when the object data is generated.

  Further, the objectification unit 106 generates a measurement point name object based on the type information in the setting information. The measurement point name object is related to the type of data. Further, the objectification unit 106 generates a measurement data unit object and a measurement data amount unit object based on the format information in the setting information. The measurement data unit object is related to a data unit (W, V, A, ° C., etc.). The unit object of measurement data amount is related to the data prefix.

  Further, the object converting unit 106 generates an object of alarm data based on the type information in the setting information. The alarm data object is associated with failure data indicating an abnormal state such as failure or no data acquisition. The alarm data object is generated when defect data is input to the objectification unit 106. The objectification unit 106 generates object data given meaning to the measurement data by the above operation.

  FIG. 3 is a reference diagram showing the contents of the object data 1000 generated by the objectification unit 106. The object data 1000 includes a place object 1001, a time object 1002, a measurement point name object 1003, a measurement data amount 1004, a measurement data unit object 1005, a measurement data amount unit object 1006, and an alarm data object 1007. The measurement data amount 1004 is numerical data input to the objectification unit 1006.

  The location object 1001 to the alarm data object 1007 are related to the measurement data amount 1004, so that the object data 1000 can be distinguished from other object data. Thereby, the object data 1000 may exist anywhere in the information providing system.

  Next, a method for providing information to the user in the information providing system will be described. The data generation apparatus 10 transmits message data including inquiry information for confirming whether or not data can be received, for example, to the server system 30. In this case, the general-purpose communication unit 111 creates message data. A server (for example, a WEB server) in the server system 30 receives the message data, creates message data including reply information for replying to the data generation apparatus 10, and transmits the message data to the data generation apparatus 10.

  This message data is input to the interface unit 114 or the wireless interface unit 115 via the network 1. The message data is input to the communication unit 112 via the communication circuit 113. The communication unit 112 outputs the message data to the general-purpose communication unit 111. The general-purpose communication unit 111 interprets the message data and determines whether the server is in a receivable state.

  When the server is in a receivable state, the general-purpose communication unit 111 reads object data from the storage unit 110 and creates an XML document based on the object data. Then, the general-purpose communication unit 111 adds incidental information necessary for communication to the created XML document, and generates message data in a format based on SOAP. Subsequently, the general-purpose communication unit 111 outputs message data to the communication unit 112. The communication unit 112 outputs message data to the interface unit 114 or the wireless interface unit 115. This message data is transmitted to the server system 30.

  In the server system 30, the WEB server receives message data from the data generation device 10 and interprets the message data. The WEB server obtains object data by interpreting message data. The WEB server passes object data to the application server in response to a request from the application server. The application server accumulates the object data in the database server, reads out the object data from the database server, and processes the data.

  For example, the application server reads object data indicating the amount of power used, and creates a graph or the like indicating the amount of power used per minute or hour in a specific building based on the measurement data indicated by the object data. Or an application server reads the object data which show the temperature of the air-conditioning equipment installed in the specific building, and produces the graph etc. which show temperature, such as every minute and every hour. Information about the created graph is stored in the database server, or passed to the WEB server in response to a request from the WEB server. Of course, the application server can create information related to various measurement data in addition to power and temperature.

  When there is a request for specific data from the user terminal 20, the WEB server in the server system 30 creates an XML document based on the requested data, and transmits it to the user terminal 20 by communication based on SOAP. On the WEB browser of the user terminal 20, the requested data is displayed in a format such as a graph. For example, a graph such as hourly power consumption for the past week is displayed on the WEB browser. Thereby, the information provision system can provide useful information to the owner of the building or facility, the resident, the manager, or the like who is the user of the user terminal 20.

  Note that communication performed in the information providing system is not limited to communication based on SOAP. The communication may be, for example, communication that transmits / receives an HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language) document or the like according to a protocol such as TCP / IP (Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol), HTTP, or FTP.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the data generation device 10 assigns meaning to uniquely identify the data output from the sensor or the like, and generates object data. As a result, the data is not mere numerical data, but data in a general format in which time, place, data name, etc. are associated with the numerical data. Therefore, this data can be used even in systems with different specifications, and the convenience of the data is improved. Moreover, useful information can be provided to the user by using this data.

  In addition, the data generation device 10 can convert data in a format unique to the professional manufacturer into general-purpose numerical data based on the conversion information based on the communication protocol published by the professional manufacturer. Thereby, data output from a monitor or controller such as a measurement / control device of a specialized manufacturer or BAS can also be used.

  In addition, since object data used in the server system 30 or the like has a general-purpose format, various forms such as the server systems 30 to 32 and the analysis server 40 are possible as the form of the system that uses the data. . Of course, the user terminal 20 can also obtain object data directly from the data generation apparatus 10 and use the data.

  The object data generated by the data generation device 10 is data that can be distinguished from other object data. Thereby, even if the amount of data becomes enormous, a computer using the data can easily identify each data. Therefore, a designer or administrator of the information providing system can easily cope with an increase in the number of connections of the data generation apparatus 10 to the network 1. As described above, a designer or administrator can construct an information providing system with high expandability.

  As described above, the embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail with reference to the drawings, but the specific configuration is not limited to these embodiments, and includes design changes and the like within a scope not departing from the gist of the present invention. It is.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the information provision system by one Embodiment of this invention. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a data generation device 10. FIG. It is a reference figure which shows the content of object data.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Network, 10 ... Data generation apparatus, 20 ... User terminal, 30, 31, 32 ... Server system, 40 ... Analysis server, 50 ... Monitor / controller, 101, 107 ... Input unit, 102 ... A / D converter, 103,108,113 ... Communication circuit, 104,109 ... Connector, 105 ... Pulse converter, 106 ... Objectification 110, storage unit, 111, general-purpose communication unit, 112, communication unit, 114, interface unit, 115, wireless interface unit.

Claims (10)

A data generation device that adds information for identifying the output data to output data indicating an output value from the sensor, and generates object data;
A network device for acquiring the object data from the data generation device via a network, and transmitting information based on the object data to a user terminal possessed by a user via the network;
An information providing system comprising: The data generation device includes:
Storage means for storing setting information necessary for generating the object data;
Information adding means for reading the setting information from the storage means and adding information for identifying the output data to the output data based on the setting information and time information;
The information providing system according to claim 1, further comprising:   The object data includes the output data, data indicating a time based on time information, data indicating a location, and data indicating a type and a format of the output data. Item 3. The information providing system according to Item 2.   4. The information providing system according to claim 2, wherein the setting information includes information for identifying a location and information for identifying a type and format of the output data.   5. The information providing system according to claim 4, wherein the setting information further includes conversion information for converting a data format of the output data.   A data generation device that generates object data by adding information for identifying output data to output data indicating an output value from a sensor. Storage means for storing setting information necessary for generating the object data;
Information adding means for reading the setting information from the storage means and adding information for identifying the output data to the output data based on the setting information and time information;
The data generation device according to claim 6, further comprising:   The object data includes the output data, data indicating a time based on time information, data indicating a place, and data indicating a type and a format of the output data. Item 8. The data generation device according to Item 7.   9. The data generation apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the setting information includes information for identifying a place and information for identifying a type and a format of the output data. The data generation apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the setting information further includes conversion information for converting a data format of the output data.

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